When it comes to creating an awesome marketing campaign, creativity is key. Without creative thinkers, you’ll be left with a stale, been-there-done-that approach to marketing that’s unlikely to inspire amazing results. Once you’ve assembled a team that you believe has the capability to produce something stellar, it’s time to encourage them to get creative. If you need a little help getting the brainstorm started, use these creativity-boosting tips.

1. Give them time. Poor time management is a major problem in agencies and marketing departments all around the world. When your employees are overloaded with work and unachievable deadlines, stressed out, and constantly having to spend their time updating spreadsheets rather than brainstorming with other creatives, you’re not on the right track. Instead of pushing them to focus on the administrative side of the workload, use marketing project management software to seamlessly keep the team on track and they should have more free time to generate interesting ideas.

2. Encourage free speech. It’s difficult to speak up and put your ideas out on the table with a boss who constantly talks over you. Give the team a chance to voice their ideas and keep your opinions quiet until it’s necessary to give feedback. Allow the creative process to flow and aim to take a listening role while the team works through their ideas.

3. Don’t be harsh. Nobody wants their ideas tramped all over at work. If a team member puts an idea forward that you don’t especially like, aim to point out the positive aspects of the idea before leading them in a stronger direction. Choose your words carefully to avoid making employees feel like they can’t share their ideas for fear of being humiliated.

4. Schedule your meetings wisely. The time of day you choose for brainstorming sessions could actually make a difference to the quality of the ideas your team comes up with. Mid-morning should work best, as everyone’s perked up from their morning coffee and hasn’t yet hit the mid-afternoon energy crash. Bring sugar and caffeine to the brainstorming meeting if you want some extra energy in the room.

5. Encourage competition. Consider entering your marketing team into a design or marketing campaign competition. There are various entry levels available, from local contests to international competitions. The higher the stakes, the more likely you are to put some fire under your team. This sort of strategy tends to work well for a team that thrives under pressure but easily falls into complacency.

6. Have employees submit ideas before the meetings. Brainstorming meetings can sometimes be tough for introverted creatives who tend to get drowned out by the louder, more confident people in the room. You can solve this problem by asking everyone to submit their ideas before the meeting and then work through them out loud as a team. Avoid putting a name to the idea – let the team work on each one and expand on it without attaching it to one particular person.

7. Create a positive environment. Creativity thrives well in a positive, high-energy atmosphere. Offices that are filled with tedium and factory-level focuses on productivity aren’t conducive to creativity. Create the atmosphere that’s necessary for imaginative minds to flourish and the good business ideas should start to flow more naturally.

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