Race for better ideas!
When working with individuals who are not trained in creative problem solving techniques, you need to work with a variety of methods and triggers. One of the fun and efficient tools we invented at BrainStore is the BrainRace. For a specific question - e.g. “what would be a great new claim for this new coffee machine” a variety of subquestions is generated (e.g. “claims that appeal to wiches”, “claims that sound warm”, “claims that are scary” etc.).
Then, the participants get a clipboard and a form with ten lines to write down 10 ideas. Loud music is played, and the participants write down 10 (legible) suggestions on their form. When they have 10 suggestions, they have to run a defined parcours (about 50 meters) as fast as they can, until they reach the “control table” where their form is checked (are there 10 ideas? are they legible?).
If everything is fine, they get an “OK” stamp on their form and they get a second form, where they write another 10 suggestions.
Whenever there is a BrainRace going on in our IdeaFactory, a lot of the staff come down to our great yard (where this exercise usually takes place) and cheer for the participants.
What happens during BrainRace? The Brain actually shuts down, people focus on the competition and thus write down the first ideas that come to mind. This way, we collect subconcious and silly inspirations that can be very useful when later combining these inspirations to ideas.
BrainRace always is a highlight at every CreativeTeam and is a lot of fun as well as a good wake-up exercise in the morning or after lunch.
