How can lateral thinking and storytelling be combined to create a creative strategy?

Combine lateral thinking and storytelling for a creative strategy: - Diverse Ideas: Think creatively from different angles, challenging norms. - Compelling Story: Tell a captivating story with a setup, conflict, and resolution. - Analogies for Insight: Use unrelated concepts to inspire fresh ideas. - Scenarios in Narrative: Integrate imaginative scenarios into a story for innovative strategies. Example: If sales decline, think beyond usual methods. Imagine a story where customers unlock discounts like an escape room. This unique approach, blending creativity and storytelling, can bring fresh and effective marketing ideas.

If you think about it, every story is about conflict. Conflict creates tension and drama that keeps the audience engaged and invested in the outcome of your storytelling. Frankly, nobody wants to hear the obvious. Especially, your audience. Lateral thinking helps us find this conflict and pull people in. Whether it's thinking obtusely about data, or finding an image that your audience might have to think about - either will draw your listeners into what you're trying to say. Use it as your superpower to be memorable and stand-out. Calling the image of an potato, 'Potato' is the worst mistake you can make. The moment you call it 'Apple of the Earth' (as the French do), you'll create tension that will be impossible for anyone to ignore.

Blend lateral thinking's innovation with storytelling's narrative power for a dynamic creative strategy. Lateral thinking generates unique perspectives, encouraging unconventional ideas. Integrate these insights into a compelling story using narrative elements like characters and vivid imagery. This combination engages emotionally, ensuring a memorable and impactful strategy. The fusion of unconventional thinking and storytelling captivates audiences, making the strategy persuasive and memorable.

Lateral thinking is the heart of creative communications. Metaphors, fables, and storytelling have been used to teach, inspire, and persuade since before humans even had words. Telling relevant stories not only surprises and delights your audience: It rewards them for their time and attention. They deserve it! By being "about" your audience in this way, you make your message relevant — and unforgettable.

Lateral thinking is sometimes the most obvious thought, which remains hidden in plain sight, but is expressed differently. It has an element of surprise to it - an 'Aha' moment, a feeling of familiarity, making you feel, why didn't this thought come from me? An example, without mentioning the brand: A large toothpaste brand saw its sales decline consistelnty over time, now challenging their existence. As expected, all stakeholders from different departments were brought in... channel, sales, marketing, advertising agency etc. The idea came from a simple doorman: if they could increase the girth of the tube's mouth, people would consume more of it. This transported the brand into its largest growth cycle ever. That's lateral thinking!

Storytelling, when done well, clearly communicates the storyteller's values and provokes an emotional response from the listener.

Storytelling is sitting around a campfire with your friends. It's sharing memories with your partner of fifty years. It's hugging a loved one close and not saying a word. It's seeing your dreams painted in the clouds, drawing sand angels at the water's edge, hiking to the top of a mountain. It's a good glass of wine on the patio at sunset, a hot chocolate in a snowy mountain cabin. It's a transatlantic flight to see a former flame you'd like to burn bright again. It's dressing up as Santa for your kids. It's knowing when to say nothing, and when to say it all. One thing storytelling is not, is typing in prompts and waiting for patterns of letters to spill onto your screen. For everything else, there's Mastercard.

Storytelling in business, especially in public relations, is about crafting a compelling narrative around a brand or company. It's the art of connecting facts with emotions to engage audiences. Good storytelling in business involves presenting products, services, or company values in a way that resonates with people, turning data and objectives into relatable stories that inspire, inform, and persuade. It's a strategic tool to build trust and relationships with customers, stakeholders, and the public.

A nadie le interesa ver publicidad, de hecho, somos el único oficio donde la gente es capaz de pagar por no ver nuestro trabajo, reconozcámoslo, a nadie le interesa ver publicidad pero sí, la gente busca emocionarse. Las marcas son como las personas, nos gusta relacionarnos con gente entretenida, que tiene algo que contar, una historia que compartir.

In my experience, storytelling has been always the sherry on top of content creation, creative strategy, creative concepts and even direct conversions. It simply brings life to your messaging.

Storytelling is all about weaving a narrative that resonates with your audience. It's about making them feel something, right? Now, bring in lateral thinking. This is about thinking outside the box, looking at things from a fresh perspective. Here's how I'd combine these two: - Start with your story. What message do you want to convey? - Now, flip it. A completely different angle. This is where the lateral thinking comes in. - Next, make it unexpected, make it unique. Ex: if you're talking about your brand's sustainability efforts, don't just talk about what you're doing. Talk about what would happen if you didn't. Show that alternate reality. Make your story more engaging, but it also makes it more memorable. In marketing, that's gold.

Let me tell you the story of how lateral thinking got me to persuade Alyque Padamsee to give me a job at Lintas India in 1987. "So you want to be a 'Resource Planner'? I'd like to make Lintas as large in billing as HTA but with half the number of people." I wasn't prepared for the question. So I asked for two sheets of paper. And started sketching furiously. In the next minute, I presented two diagrams. "This one is an insight generation technique. This one is a campaign idea generation technique. Insightful campaigns can now be generated in three days", I said with the most authority I could muster, considering I had just invented both those processes. I got the job. It is still what I do for a living: grow people who grow brands.

Embrace the messiness of the first draft. No one wants to write it, but I believe in the power of reframe - reframing first drafts as an honor, a privilege even. Invite others into the mess. Hear them, absorb them, and if it's not right, tuck it away for a rainy day. And then write, rewrite, then write again. The best storytellers captivate their audiences in one of two ways - they either deliver them something familiar, in a surprising way. Or deliver something surprising, in a familiar way. Only through lateral thinking can we uncover those elements of surprise to capture our reader, provoke new ideas, and ultimately, leave them with something they can't stop thinking about.

I’ve never used the term “lateral thinking” in my life. It sounds like a term used in those books you see in airports - “Twelve Ways to Maximize Growth!” or whatnot. That said, narrative structure is something almost hard-coded into human DNA. It’s how we understand the universe, the past, the future. Everything has a story, and every story has different points-of-view and interpretations. An under-appreciated element of social marketing is that when people find that their understanding of a certain narrative is the same, they connect. They trust each other. They become a community. Thus, when building a creative strategy in social marketing, you’re looking for ways to help people connect around your brand. That builds longevity.

Each story should be a strategic masterpiece told in an unforgettable way. Create narratives that not only engage but also surprise. Write the last page first. Make people cry and laugh at the same time. Remember posting is not storytelling (or lateral thinking).

Combining lateral thinking and storytelling builds curiosity in your audience mind. Curiosity persuades them to want to take action in owning a piece of your product/service. They are both essential for growth.

Messaging becomes memorable. Communications become effective. Brands can become famous. Easier said than done however, how many true original storytellers do you discover now?

Forget tired formulas and embrace a vibrant mix: combine the boundless creativity of lateral thinking with the captivating power of storytelling. This potent duo sparks fresh ideas, crafts unforgettable narratives, and leaves your audience deeply connected. Don't just grab attention, ignite imaginations and hearts.

Storytelling is not new but each time a story becomes best seller, it takes up the bandwidth of storyteller to increase the intensity of situation and circumstances in a way to glue the audience from the beginning to end. It requires significant efforts through lateral thinking to nurture in the art of storytelling. It takes a vibrant mix of ideas to hook the audience to the story.

L'un des plus grands avantages de cette combinaison est d'apporter une solution innovante et créative qui répond à un besoin et qui saura toucher les émotions des utilisateurs.

To practice both storytelling and lateral thinking, immerse yourself in creative activities that blend narrative construction with unconventional problem-solving. Engage in writing exercises where you craft stories from unique perspectives or with unexpected plot twists. Dive into a variety of storytelling mediums - from written to oral - while also challenging your mind with puzzles and brain teasers. Regularly put yourself in scenarios that require innovative thinking, like creative arts or design, where storytelling is used as a tool to convey complex ideas in an engaging way. This approach helps develop your ability to craft compelling narratives while simultaneously sharpening your lateral thinking skills.

Try reverse thinking. For 5 minutes write down all the worst ideas (on notes) that you can think of for communicating / telling your story. Then spend 10 minutes writing the opposite of each note. A very simple but efficient approach.

There’s a simple trick to forcing yourself to think laterally; and here it is: first, make a list of the different kinds of people you have in your audience. Then re-write your story idea from the point of view of each of these people. Doing this will force you to consider ways of articulating your message that you probably wouldn’t have by default. Get into their shoes and try to figure out what matters to them. As always, the best writers are re-writers

Are you ok with failing? If not, you better fix that first. You have to be ok with making mistakes, taking big swings, betting on the dark horse. You have to be able to laugh at yourself and then dust yourself off and try again. Only the real risk-takers will uncover the next big thing that leaves all the other brands in dust.

When you watch movies, or read books, hear good jokes, or watch great advertising, pay attention to the choices the storyteller made to keep you intrigued, involved and interested in the characters. All great advertising doesn't focus on a product til it can be the part of the story that solves the problem, releases the tension, or closes the loop opened from the beginning. That's what makes people care about your message.

There is no perfect recipe to success in storytelling, but in today's data driven world the best storytellers will be willing to take an unflinching look at results and optimize. Don't fall in love with your own work. The most expensive campaigns will not always be the most successful, and neither will the most high profile ones. Your audiences will tell you what is working, and you need to be ready and willing to accept that feedback and use the channels, strategies and creative methods that are most resonant.

One important aspect of applying lateral thinking and storytelling to your creative strategy is to keep it AUTHENTIC and GENUINE. Your audience can sense when something feels forced or false ‼️ So make sure your story and messaging align with your brand values and personality ✅ → This will help build trust and loyalty with your audience, which is essential for long-term success. Do you agree?

Las soluciones más impactantes emergen al cuestionar lo convencional, y la comunicación más poderosa es la que forja conexiones más profundas. Las historias han sido el alma de la humanidad desde que nos reuníamos alrededor del fuego. La clave reside en transformar esas soluciones creativas en narraciones que sorprenden, enganchan y conectan con tus clientes ideales. Si no conoces muy bien a tu público, jamás podrás cautivarlo con tu relato. Estúdialo a fondo. Y luego, recuerda los ingredientes básicos de una historia: Introducción, conflicto, resolución … cada elemento construye el camino hacia la revelación y la acción. Te aseguro que una buena historia tiene el poder de cambiar el futuro de tu empresa. Si no has escrito la tuya ¡empieza!

I was neither a lateral thinker, nor a storyteller till a few years ago. Though, I did admire both qualities in people around me. I suppose it’s very important to be around people who think differently from you and absorb as much as you can before you start to apply it. My very short stint at Dentsu Creative helped me in developing these qualities and applying them together. To quote from one of the most amazing learnings imparted by my manager, last year, “all agency folk will do the same research as you on the Internet. Their ideas will naturally then be near identical to yours. Think beyond them. Craft beyond them. Gather new experiences- do the legwork and turn a thought it on its head before churning an idea out of it.”

Imagine applying lateral thinking and storytelling to your creative strategy as a game of Go, where each move represents an idea, and the ability to foresee your opponent's responses symbolizes understanding your audience. Think of yourself as a long-distance runner, developing mental toughness to maintain consistency in your creativity from start to finish. Ignite the passion within, letting it be the quill that writes your narrative. Embrace the wisdom of the heart over the brain in brainstorming, as it often leads to more genuine and creative ideas. Finally, gamify your innovation process, drawing inspiration from natural swarms, where collective intelligence leads to remarkable outcomes.

In today's digital age, authenticity is highly valued. The combination of lateral thinking and storytelling becomes even more effective with audiences like Gen Z. They prefer content that's not just unique, but also genuine and relatable. Lateral thinking helps in generating unconventional ideas, and storytelling transforms these ideas into narratives that resonate with this socially conscious and well-informed generation.

Trabajar en nosotros, el autoconocimiento, la reflexión y análisis es la vía más realista para afianzar nuestra identidad y podernos diferenciar.

Once we were absoluy stuck coming up with campaign ideas for a highly conceptual fashion account. We made the pitch meeting itself a Diesel ad and won the pitch. Instead of showing them what made us right for them, we merely showed we understood them in a funny, highly engaging way.

The combination of non-trivial solutions (lateral) and the link to how it fits in more complex epics, has proven impact and potential for collective ownership. In the recent presidential campaign in Argentina, one of the candidates based part of the online campaign in memes using Dragon-ball characters. Besides the lateral thinking, they were also able to link the messaging to the overarching analogy. BTW, this campaign lastly overrun with a fraction of the budget the impact of more traditional approaches.

En mi experiencia, combinar el pensamiento lateral para generar ideas innovadoras, desarrollar una narrativa cautivadora, integrar texto e ilustraciones, involucrar a la audiencia y ser original y auténtico, te permitirá crear una estrategia creativa poderosa que impacte y conecte con tu público objetivo. La clave está en atreverse a pensar diferente.