It’s so easy to be distracted by new technology, channels, and media, some of the foundational principles get overlooked. The big idea is one such principle.
As David Ogilvie said, “It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night.”
Quite simply, if you emphasize too many ideas, you emphasize none of them. So every piece of marketing should be shaped by one big idea.
The problem is that few people understand big ideas. And even those who do can have difficulty finding one.
What Is a Big Idea?
Although it was first introduced as an advertising principle, it holds true for marketing, branding, and even product development.
What is the big idea? It’s the principle idea you want your prospect to walk away with after reading your promotion. In English class, your teacher called it a theme. But in marketing, it’s a much richer concept.
The big idea can be a metaphor. It takes an idea, simplifies it, then gives it a handle so it’s easy to carry around.
Often it’s visual in nature. The picture it evokes, along with the sales pitch, brings the product to life, making it much more appealing than benefits alone could have done.
The big idea makes your brand or product bigger than life.
5 Questions
Even Ogilvie reported having trouble coming up with an idea so memorable, it would qualify as a “big” idea.
“I doubt if more than one campaign in a hundred contains a big idea. I am supposed to be one of the more fertile inventors of big ideas, but in my long career as a copywriter I have not had more than 20, if that.”
For the rest of us, that’s hopeful.
Or not, depending on how you look at it.
Nevertheless, how can you know a big idea when you see it? Ogilvie offers these five questions:
- Did it make me gasp when I first saw it?
- Do I wish I had thought of it myself?
- Is it unique?
- Does it fit the strategy to perfection?
- Could it be used for 30 years?
Keep in mind, the best ideas are simple and timeless. If it’s complicated in any way, it’s still too small.
A good example is the commercial Poo-Pourri launched with.
No one had ever shown a woman on a toilet before, much less a beautiful woman in a party dress. It’s simple, hysterical, and unforgettable.
Get Creative
Big ideas aren’t found. They’re invented.
That’s an important distinction. You won’t find it spelled out in a product’s documentation. It hasn’t been written down anywhere or stashed among your data.
That’s because the big idea isn’t a benefit wrapped in shiny paper. It’s a fresh way of looking at something we’ve looked at so long, we don’t see it any more.
It’s a metaphor.
It’s an image that’s so iconic, it’s unforgettable.
It’s made by right-brained, imaginative synapses that no could can possibly track, much less describe.
I mean, think about it. Who knows how Einstein came up with the Theory of Relativity? It was an intuitive leap based on hunches and thought experiments.
And that’s exactly how big ideas come into being.
How to Get Started
Before you can invent a big idea, you must feed your mind with all the relevant facts and figures about your brand or product. Do your research, then let your mind go.
One ad man finds his ideas by putting his feet on his desk and discussing movies with his partner. Another lounges on the sofa in his office.
Most of mine come to life in the moments before I wake up or in the shower.
You’re looking for that spark of inspiration that makes your product so unique and memorable, it can’t help be be noticed.
What are your thoughts about big ideas? Have you found the perfect big idea for your brand or product?
For help finding your big idea, contact me today.
