PR ideas and mind maps - the 'wonder wall'
Ideas are everything when planning and delivering a PR campaign. I often think some of our best ideas 'arrive' when our brains are given a chance to simply play and are freed up from the daily grind. However, let's face it most businesses and agencies do not have the luxury of sending teams for brainstorming sessions away from the office to environments that allow their creative juices to flow. (It's great if they do).
However, we can foster great idea and mind map spaces within PR and marketing offices - I am big on open plan work spaces as many of my followers know, but I also like idea hubs - smaller, dedicated areas that are purely dedicated to limitless and judgement-free idea flows.
I actually find that using the old 'school teacher' in front of a board ("shout me some ideas kids") defeates the object of a brainstorm. Some PR team members are contemplative and will have their lightbulb moment while cycling home from the office. Others are what I call clickers - they just instantly get ideas popping into their head once given some good stimuli.
Give me some of that good stuff stimuli!! How??? I recommend 'Wonder Walls' or boards. Just have some fun - images, sticky notes, words, doodles... allow it to grow and then have a couple of columns or a fresh board next to it for more structured ideas.
Grab the pop corm...Projector 'Wonder Walls' - I really like an idea I saw in an ad agency that used a very boring wall in an office that was prohibited from being painted over or for the erection of white boards etc. One new recruit (who was a bit of film buff) suggested a projector - with the mind map of ideas lit up on the wall - she added actual VT - it was fab!
