Strategy and creativity are two tools of the public relations professional for creating successful communication plans
brainstorming or idea generation is one of the techniques that most favors the development of creativity within a team. It consists of one or several sessions in which members present their ideas to solve a problem or create the best strategy.
In the field of communications, this exercise is not foreign at all. When, within a public relations agency, we are asked to draft a new communication plan, the first thing we must analyze is the company’s current situation, its audiences and the objectives to be achieved. The second is directly tied to strategy and creativity.
In this sense, being methodical and relying on your own experience will greatly influence every decision, but the added creativity is what can determine the success of a new communication campaign. And this is where applying brainstorming plays an important role in drawing up a plan.
The first reason is that it allows us to gather different approaches to the same topic. If, for example, the brand belongs to the education sector, the team can uncover interesting topics seen from a technological, scientific or cultural angle. In a brainstorming session, the goal is that from the set of ideas the best ones remain, those with the potential to make a good impact on the media.
Let us keep in mind that the communication plan is the master document in which the objectives, audiences, messages and media strategy are clearly set out. It is important to know that this document is essential before starting contact with journalists and must be prepared by communication experts.
The second reason for applying brainstorming is that it yields broad feedback on previously executed plans, showing which points worked best. It is even advisable to run brainstorming with teams that have experience in different sectors, since they have a different view that can give the plan an authentic twist.
Carrying out this technique is considered good practice among the team of a communication agency, since it fulfills the mission of presenting the client with a plan rich in ideas, grounded in the stated objectives; and internally, it allows free expression of the participants, who become involved in the whole creative process.
