We are thrilled to announce a new feature to the Ideasicle X platform that will give Organizers of idea projects the power to invite Observers (view only) and Idea Directors (full permissions) to each idea project. Virtually every beta tester and recent customer has brought this up to us as a need (thank you, 180/NY, White Rhino, North, and Lucky Generals, for your suggestions). Here’s what this new feature means for Ideasicle X users.
Read MoreI’ve presented thousands of ideas in hundreds of presentations over the last 12 years with Ideasicle. Sometimes I leave the presentation excited and motivated to do more, other times I want to smash all my Beatles records. You could say I have pretty thick skin at this point. So today I’m going to reflect on how I think clients can review other people’s ideas without inadvertently ruining everything.
Read MoreReviewing brand ideas as a team exposes latent, fundamental disagreements within the leadership team. These disagreements will likely come out eventually, even without a brand idea process. And the longer these issues remain latent, the bigger the conflicts will be when they do finally come out. But here’s the thing. Reviewing several tangible brand ideas as a leadership team has the magical ability of getting it all out on the table now.
Read MoreIt’s one thing to come up with an idea. Doing so requires hard work, perseverance, and an open mind. But it’s quite another to recognize an idea as great. In fact, I’d argue recognizing a great idea is as important a skill as coming up with the idea in the first place. So I asked a few of my well-oiled advertising friends to chime in and tell me how THEY know an idea is great.
Read MoreAccording to IBIS World, there are 417,827 marketing consultants in the United States in 2022, ranging from pure-play client-side consultants to subject-matter experts to freelance creative people to everything inbetween. How does a consultant differentiate from the other 417,826 consultants out there? By augmenting their offering with big ideas using Ideasicle X, that’s how.
Read MoreWe are giving away 5 one-year subscriptions to our idea generating platform. Ideasicle X is all about ideas, right? Lots of ideas and really great ideas. So we thought we’d highlight that fact with what we’re calling the “Bad Ideas Lead To Great Ones Challenge.” Check it out and try to win.
Read MoreI remember reading the appeal from a Ukraine advertising agency to creative people the world over for the first time. Reading the words from this Ukrainian advertising creative person asking for ideas to help stop World War 3 really hit home for me, as I bet it did with many in our business. It was billed as “The most important brief ever” and man were they right. Here I am running and idea-generating platform! I had to contribute to this calling. And now I want to share the entire process with you, including the ideas.
Read MoreBeen pitching Ideasicle X to agencies constantly lately. I can’t tell you how many agencies have the following reaction to the platform: “It’s so refreshing that you’re forcing the team to focus on the big idea and not on the execution.” Apparently agency teams get too executional with their ideas too quickly instead of getting the idea right first. Having been in the virtual-idea business for ten years, I thought it was obvious that you needed a big idea first AND THEN execute it. But I guess not. And I have some thoughts as to why this may be happening.
Read More…After studying another powerful force, creativity, and how/when inspiration strikes, I think differently about Tarot cards. Not that I don’t think they work, they definitely do. But I’ve rethought why they work. It’s less that the cards retain some mystical, magical force and more that we are paying attention and actively looking for connections.
Read MoreWe call ourselves a “SaaS,” or a software as a service, because it’s technically true. But what’s lost in that categorization is the role human beings play in our company’s purpose. It’s not an “idea machine,” which would suggest an artificial intelligence pumping out ideas. No, Ideasicle X is a machine whose purpose is to increase the odds of human intelligence happening. And that intelligence is anything but artificial. What follows are the ways our software platform is designed to be in continuous service to the real (and very human) heroes.
Read MoreIdeasicle X is all about ideas, but it’s not the “normal” way to generate them. It’s all virtual, it’s in teams of four, there are no meetings, etc. Well, David Baldwin has been an Ideasicle Expert since 2010 and has been a customer of Ideasicle X with his agency, Baldwin&. Here are David’s tips for other freelancers invited to idea projects on the platform. Wise.
Read MoreIdeasicle X, as wonderful as we think it is for coming up with great ideas quickly, is not designed to replace any creative departments. It’s a fear we’ve heard more than once. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Ideasicle X is designed to be a behind-the-scenes complement to magnify the power of creative departments.
Read MoreSince we launched Ideasicle X this summer, we’ve learned a lot from our customers and trial users. The idea generation model we’ve created is working incredibly well so far. It’s what surrounds the idea generation we’re improving. Just recently a major creative agency in New York City conducted a trial of the platform and not only loved the outcome, but plan to deploy it throughout their NYC and LA offices. But under one condition: the platform needs to allow more people to be involved in the process (not the idea generation part—that will remain four to a team—but the process surrounding it). It was an “aha!” for us and may be for you, too. Here’s how the platform is improving as a result.
Read MoreWe all know by now that the advertising industry has responded incredibly well to virtual, remote work. The day-to-day with clients is getting done, work is getting produced, and in many cases relationships with clients are improving. But one feature of the Zoomification of advertising I was curious about was perhaps the most important one. How has Zoom (and the like) affected agencies’ ability to sell creative work? So yesterday I posted a poll to my LinkedIn contacts, most of whom are in the advertising business and got some interesting answers that come with implications.
Read MoreA new study suggests that, counter to conventional wisdom, the best ideas in a brainstorm are not the first ones that come easily, but are the ones that take a little time. Add to that the reality that creativity has a mind of its own and can’t be forced into a particular time frame. What we’re left with is the realization that time matters and we have to be careful with it when it comes to ideas.
Read MoreThis morning I was listening to Ben Folds’ podcast “Lightning Bugs” and he was interviewing a poet, Alice Major. She used the word “resonate” in a very interesting way that got me thinking. She was speaking about the role of poetry in our everyday lives and she said, “That resonated me.” I’d never heard the word used as a verb in that way. And off my mind went with just how fantastic a description it was for the power of ideas.
Read MoreA wise man once told me, “Half of marketing is knowing when to say no.” Without a confident ability to say no, a marketer is left with random acts of marketing. A promotional idea over here that has zero connection to a social media idea over there. A TV spot that doesn’t continue the conversation on the website. An “About” page on the website that says stuff, but really says nothing. But the question is, how does a modern marketer know when to say no and when to say yes? When you have a clear, powerful, well articulated brand idea, that’s how.
Read MoreThat’s what one of our Ideasicle X freelancers once said she appreciated about the virtual platform. Her ideas where happening while she was busy with other things. And it’s an incredibly important point about the virtual creative work we do, but also about any creative work anyone does for anything. Let me explain.
Read MoreIdeasicle X is a new way to come up with ideas in teams, virtually. And for users of the platform there’s a decent amount of room for nuance, for personalizing the experience, and acquiring the “skill” to truly master the platform. Below I’m going to explain how you can be great at Ideasicle X.
Read MoreIdeasicle X is a new way for freelancers to work, virtually. It’s not your typical freelance gig where you get briefed, go away for a few days maybe with a partner, and come back with comps. Ideasicle X is a platform that allows teams of four freelancers to work together as a team over a few days posting, building, and riffing on each other’s ideas. One freelancer said, “It’s like an idea video game.” But working in this way requires a shift in how you do things. Below are just a few things to think about if you want to be great at Ideasicle X.
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