BRUTE THINKING

No one wants to be the weird one in the group, but everyone wants to make a memorable impression on others. Whether in business, school, or social life we want to be remembered for the good things we’ve done. However, if everyone does the same “Good” things in life then no one stands out. Once someone deviates from the standard it immediately gets noticed. So odds are if you take the road less traveled you will most likely discover something miraculous.

Most of the time these groundbreaking ideas or processes don’t just appear out of thin air. They were crafted in a way that allows for innovative thought to take shape. One technique that encourages this thought is called Brute Thinking.

Brute Thinking mashes the properties of two completely different things to create a new solution. See how it worked for one of our clients.

We had a classic car wash client that wanted to promote their $25 hand wash. The problem they had was that many classic car owners felt that they couldn’t trust anyone with detailing their classic car. To start us off, the client gave us two ideas to use in our digital ad:

Target male owners of classic cars with something visual.
Show a man enjoying a candle light dinner with his car.

While we appreciated the clients willingness to participate in the brainstorming process, the ability to properly translate their ideas into a successful ad was bleak. Our first step was to break down their company into the basic elements of what a classic car auto was like.

They wash classic cars.
They treat your car with care.
They use soap and sponges.
Mainly men own classic cars.
Cars are made of cold hard metal.
What does classic car culture look like?

The list went on…

The next step was to ask a friend to give you a random word. Any word will work, sometimes the simpler the better. In this case the word my team provided was pillow. This time, we listed the characteristics of a pillow.

Feathers
Soft
Firm
Mostly white
Used to sleep on
Comforting

The list went on again…

Now that you have two completely unrelated lists, this is where you start merging them together. For example, Our classic car wash uses soap that is as light as feathers. Another example could be, The hum of a muscle car’s engine is as comforting as a soft pillow. The trick to creating good copy from these characteristics is to play off of contrasting items while keeping your target market in mind. Calling a car’s engine comforting doesn’t seem to be the best comparison, but to a car fanatic that is the most relaxing sound for them.

When our team tried this exercise we came up with:
Your hard body deserves a soft touch. Sponge Baths starting at $25.

While this example is specific to a digital display campaign, Brute Thinking can be applied to any situation that requires a unique solution. Give it a try!

by: Melvin Blohm