Out of ideas? Find the collective mind
We’ve all sat in front of a blank page or screen stumped for ideas. Some people find that taking a walk or changing scenery helps with ideation; others find that, as with so many things in life, the internet’s a go-to resource. With all the content on the web, however, how do you know that you’ve found the definitive “it?”
Lots of LOLZ…& more
If you’re creating branded video content, you always want to create a great video that extends its reach by going viral. With 72 hours of content uploaded to YouTube every minute, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when you look there for ideas. The recently released TubeRank (part of the VAN initiative) is a huge help, however.
With TubeRank, you can search for branded and UGC videos that match triggers like LOL, Kawaii and other more emotional attributes while also filtering by other interests, like fashion, automotive or pop culture. When I selected “Loads of Kawaii” and “General Interest,” for example, “Dogs in Slow Motion” came up as the top video match.
This surfaces as the top video match based on a few criteria, such as the share to view ratio. (NB: As has always been the case in advertising in any media, you can’t go wrong with dogs.)
Though this tool is designed to help with the ideation process for viral videos, when you find a meme that’s gone truly viral, it could inspire concepts for creative in any media—TV, print, outdoor—that hopes to generate buzz and earned media beyond the original channel.
I heard it through the Vine
There’s been a lot of buzz around Vine of late, with many asking about its value to advertisers. Though some commentators seem sceptical about the ability of media like Vine or Twitter to express creativity given compressed time and length requirements, as anyone who’s ever had to get a message across in 3 rotations or in :15 of pre-roll knows, constraints often inspire some pretty creative thinking.
As attention spans have shortened while we all move at internet speed, it becomes more important than ever to focus on what happens in the first few seconds and focus on creative relevance throughout. What better way to see imagery and concepts than six-second videos of what people find compelling? An easy way to look into what’s happening is Just Vined, which shows 12 videos at a time in one view. Were aliens to arrive on earth, a Just Vined snapshot of our interests would reveal a love of gadgets (especially those with screens), babies, pets (cats seemed to be just a hair more popular than dogs during the time-frame I viewed this), alcohol and pizza. And not necessarily in that order, particularly depending on the time of day.
Find the collective mind
What resources like Tuberank and Vine curators provide is a view back into the pleasures and passions of the people we’re trying to reach. By plunging into the zeitgeist, creative ideas that result have a better chance at success. With digital resources that make it so easy to tap into our collective mind, it’s not too hard to listen, learn and get inspired. But don’t forget to do some IRL ideation too.
