Creative idea generation techniques within an online marketing firm : a case study

Abstract

This study’s main focus is to examine the use of idea generation techniques in an online marketing firm. The main aims of this study are twofold. First, this study investigates how marketing professionals generate creative ideas, with particular focus on whether they make use of any creative idea generation techniques. Second, this study explores the extent to which idea generation tools can enhance the quantity and quality of ideas generated by these professionals. Nine professionals who work within an online marketing firm participated in this study which involved two phases of research. During the first phase, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with all nine professionals. Several themes were extracted by means of thematic analysis from these in-depth interviews, shedding light on the knowledge and understanding of the meaning of creativity and innovation, the importance of creativity and innovation in online marketing, the participants’ knowledge about idea generation techniques, their use of idea generation techniques, brainstorming individually and in teams, and the importance of allocating time and space to generate ideas. During the second phase of research, these same professionals were split into two groups based on their interview responses, in order to balance out as much as possible their understanding of the terms creativity and innovation, as well as their knowledge of and experience using idea generation tools, and a quasi-experimental study was carried out. This included a pre-test where both groups were asked to generate ideas for a new website for a specific client, an intervention comprising training in two idea generation techniques (Starbursting and Random Word) for one of the groups (the test group), and a post-test where the two groups were again asked to generate ideas for a better website for this client. The ideas generated at pre-test and post-test were counted and rated on their quality, in terms of their originality (novelty) and relevance (appropriateness), by two independent raters using a 7 point Likert scale. Data analysis revealed a noteworthy increase in both the number and the quality (and hence the overall creativity) of ideas in the test group after they had received training in the two idea generation techniques. These findings indicate that using idea generation techniques enhances the level of creativity as it increases not just the number of ideas generated but also their quality. Although further research is required with larger samples before any generalizations can be made, these findings offer preliminary support for the notion that idea generation techniques enhance the quantity and quality of ideas generated in online marketing.