Lecture Notes: Creative Concepting Series

Introduction to Creative Concepting

• Concepting is akin to brainstorming in advertising.
• Goal: Develop creative concepts with an art director and copywriter.
• Process involves exploring possibilities based on strategy and briefs.
• Concepts are presented to the creative director and possibly the client.

The Importance of Concepting

• Can last from hours to months (e.g., Super Bowl commercials).
• Highlights teamwork between copywriter and art director.
• Encourages sharing all ideas, even the seemingly crazy or stupid ones.

Starting the Concepting Process

• Begin before the project kickoff.
• At this stage, you have a consumer's perspective.
• Write down initial thoughts, perceptions, intrigues, and assumptions about the brand.
• Spend around 10 minutes before the kickoff meeting doing this.

Writing Everything Down

• Writing provides a reference point and clears mental space.
• Useful during prolonged concepting sessions when clarity is needed.

During the Kickoff Meeting

• Learn about the client, project deliverables, and strategy.
• Write down any questions that arise, even if they might be answered later.
• Questions might reflect consumer inquiries, useful for concept exploration.

After the Kickoff Meeting

• Avoid starting partner discussions immediately.
• Step away from digital distractions, focus on a notebook.
• Based on the brief, underline and highlight standout sections.
• Write down any ideas or questions, however fragmented they may be.

Importance of Solitary Work

• Spend at least an hour or a day working alone before partnering.
• Helps prevent narrowing the team’s focus too early.
• More ideas and topics to explore enhance collaborative sessions.

Preparing for Concepting Sessions

• Collect thought starters, idea fragments, and topics for research.
• Use these materials for partner discussions and further development.

Conclusion

• Series will explore transforming thoughts and fragments into strong creative concepts.
• Encourages continued participation in the series for more techniques.