Is Novelty Alone the Hallmark of a Monster Idea?

You have an idea. "It’s a whopper," you say to yourself. It's the kind that will change your business forever. It’s the type of marketing idea that you’re sure will cause light to fall from the heavens and angelic voices to chime in unison at the very thought of the awesomeness of the concept. You know it’s a monster idea because you’ve never seen or heard anything like it, and everyone knows originality is the hallmark of a monster idea. And they’re not wrong.

But what if originality isn’t the only thing an idea needs to grow monstrous? What if there’s more to the puzzle, what if novelty alone isn’t enough? Could it be that a truly monstrous idea has to be more than original? Indeed, it does.

Novelty is a wonderful tool, but novelty isn’t an idea, nor is it the most powerful characteristic of an idea. We’ve all experienced amazing ideas that weren’t novel. They were a perfect twist of an existing idea or the betterment of something that’s been around for a while. No one would argue smartphones aren’t a monster idea. But they’ve completely changed our communications culture and they certainly aren’t a novel idea. Cell phones have been around for years, and the internet has been a part of our culture for decades. Novelty didn’t make the idea of the smartphone monstrous. There had to be other factors involved.

The idea of a smart-talking, self-absorbed ladies man pedaling products isn’t an original idea, but Old Spice turned that idea into one of the most monstrous advertising campaigns of 2010, completely reversing their sales trends in the process. Novelty is only one of the characteristics we can use to judge the monster potential of our marketing and advertising ideas. What are the others? Glad you asked.

Does it Evoke an Emotion?
Emotion is humanity expressed. It’s a powerful tie that must be generated, not manufactured. Emotion binds a brand to a belief. Look at Nike or DeBeers for examples of how authentic emotion generated can influence an idea’s monster potential.

Does it Create an Experience?
Experience offers a chance to prove brand character, not just tell it. We have an experience with a brand in two ways: brand experience and physical experience. Brand experience reveals the character of a brand as much as the value of the product or service. Physical experience is an exchange with the consumer in real life, not just marketing life.

Does it Entertain?
Entertainment is the hallmark for memorability in the marketing and advertising industry. A wise old ad man once said, “People don’t read ads, they read what entertains them. Sometimes, that’s an ad.”

Is it Novel?
Novelty does play a role in the monster potential of an idea, but only if the purpose of that novelty is to generate curiosity. Make people authentically curious about your brand and they'll seek out answers for themselves.

Is it Authentic?
Authenticity is most noticed when it’s not there. We've all experienced a brand message that seemed like it didn’t fit. There are two types of authenticity: brand authenticity (is it congruent with the expectations of the brand?) and audience authenticity (does it fit with who the messaging is aimed at?).

Is it Story-Driven?
As humans we're innately drawn to stories. It’s how we retain and pass along information. Stories teach, warn, entertain and inspire. When our ideas are wrapped in the context of a story, the brand character and qualities can be communicated freely.

Does it Scare You?
Risk is an essential element to creativity. If you feel there’s no risk in your idea, it probably won’t disrupt your audience, either. You don’t have to take a blind swing at the ball, but no one hits a home run without first deciding to take a big cut.

Gauge your ideas by these characteristics and you can start sharpening your pitchfork and gathering your mob, cause you’ll have a monster on your hands.

Stefan Mumaw is the creative director and purveyor of REIGN, a Kansas City, Mo.-based ad agency. He's authored five books, the most recent being "Chasing the Monster Idea." Reach Stefan at stefan@chasingthemonsteridea.com.