Many companies articulate a need to innovate in order to grow. If you work for such a company, you might be mandated to deliver new product ideas for your brand. At some point, you may need to create fresh, new ideas to fill your brand innovation pipeline. That’s when conducting an Innovation Workshop might be useful.

When it comes to conducting any type of brainstorming session, the more prepared you are as a moderator, the better the outcome. I’ve run many a workshop in my career, and I thought I’d share some of the tips that have helped me shepherd good ideas into existence. Here are the ten steps to running a successful innovation workshop that you can employ the next time you need to deliver new ideas:

1. Assemble the best team you can

Getting the right mix and right number of participants should not be considered lightly. It’s helpful to get a cross-section of people on your team, including marketing, sales/trade marketing, product development/R&D, consumer insights, customer support, agency partners and even other creative people not currently working with your organization. Try to assemble folks who are expansive, positive thinkers. It’s okay to have people who like to challenge ideas; you just don’t want a negative person who constantly throws up roadblocks. Picking the right people will yield demonstrably better results. The optimal number of people usually depends on the number of stakeholders and the size of your brand, but the ideal number is anywhere between 8 to 12 people. Eight people give you enough brainpower for broad thinking. Any more than 12, the group gets harder to manage.

2. Find an appropriate venue for your brainstorming session

Do your meeting off-site and with as little distractions as possible. It’s hard to run a workshop when people are running off to their desks to finish a document for senior management, or to get on a conference call in the middle of your session. Engage the team by taking the session outside of your corporate offices. I’ve held brainstorming sessions in places like catering halls, hotel suites, loft spaces, restaurants, private residences and agency offices. Make sure you pick a place that’s convenient to get to and big enough for the group. Set up the room in a cocktail-style fashion to encourage group interaction. The most important thing is for the space to feel open and inviting. Lots of light is a plus. Good acoustics for multiple discussions is important. A dark, closed off space leaves little room for creativity and collaborative thinking while a bright, open space invites discussion and imaginative thinking. In addition, make sure there is adequate wall space so that your new product ideas can hang on the walls for all to see.

3. Set the context

The goal of a brainstorming session is to get as many ideas on the table. The evaluation part comes later. When setting the context for an innovation session, it’s important to outline what’s expected of the group. As I mentioned in an earlier post, make sure you articulate your core brand promise or the brand’s vision so that participants understand the starting point for ideation. For example, if you are a maker of pens and you have articulated your vision to become the ‘Brand for Unleashing Creativity,’ then set up the context at the start of the brainstorming session. In addition, make sure you set innovation guardrails on what’s in-scope and what’s out-of-scope. This will help focus the session and ensure you have realistic, do-able ideas by the end of the session.

4. Create templates to capture an idea

In addition to assembling the usual markers, Post-its, easels and easel pads, bring in a stack of templates to capture an idea. The template outlines the Idea, the Insight, the Benefits, Reasons to Believe and the packaging. These are the building blocks to positioning, and once these are outlined, you have a starting point for a written concept. On the right is an example of a template I might bring in. I write it with a marker (vs. printing it on paper) so that people know that it’s a draft. During your break out sessions, give a stack of these templates to the group. After they have ideated on their easel pads or paper, ask them to capture the idea on the idea template. If you have the budget, hire an illustrator to bring the idea to life. Groups will ‘brief’ the illustrator with the template they’ve created, and the illustrator works fast to draw the idea with the packaging and a name. It’s a great way to prototype on the spot.

5. Start with the brand idea and use platforms to ideate

As I mentioned earlier, the brand idea or vision should be used as your starting point. With a broad vision, it’s helpful to provide a more tangible starting point. Using innovation platforms is a great way to dimensionalize a broad area to spark new thinking. An innovation platform is a creative jumping off point that goes deeper into an area your brand would like to capitalize on. Present the platforms to inspire thinking on a certain area for your brand and encourage participants to ideate using them. In a previous post, I highlight the importance of creating platforms that are interesting and inspired from places outside or your category - like music, art, culture, brands, and people. This will allow you to stretch your participants and hopefully inspire divergent thinking. I typically use these platforms in a breakout session. I’d brief the group using a platform and charge one of the groups to come up with fantastic ideas for the brand that fits under the platform. Using platforms gets people thinking more expansively within a specified area and hopefully great ideas will emerge.

6. Use a variety of exercises

To help your group develop great ideas, have a few different prompts for them to work with. Develop a moderators’ guide for the daylong or two-day innovation workshop. Vary the day with different exercises to maximize the creativity of the group. One exercise might be ideating directly from innovation platforms. Another might be ideating off a presentation – like a cultural trends presentation or a consumer insights presentation. Another might be ideating off a totally unrelated object – like a can opener or a bento box. If you have ideas you’d like to polish, you could have the group pretend that a famous fictional character – like Bugs Bunny or Santa Claus, is launching the idea. Or you could have another company ‘take-over’ the idea, and ask, “What would this idea look like if Apple were to make it?” The last two exercises are great if you have a lackluster idea that needs a little more shine. Making all the exercises in your day purposeful and specific will help keep the day interesting and the ideas flowing.

7. Encourage bad ideas and build

I love to encourage people to share bad ideas – or rather lack-luster ideas. Sometimes these ideas can turn into the best ideas. That’s because a spark of an idea can be hidden within a bad idea – and that can encourage another idea that is a good idea, which can create a great idea and then an amazing idea. Reminding the group that all ideas are welcome will ensure that no body holds back. The one word that should be discouraged is ‘but.’ ‘But’ is a terrible word because it’s always followed by a reason why the idea can’t be done – like it would be too expensive to make or the company doesn’t know how to make it. Instead, take a page from the improvisational world and only use ‘yes, and’ statements. ‘Yes, and’ statements are great because they open up possibilities and produce ideas that have a fighting chance to being developed.

8. Keep it playful and mix it up

Be mindful that your participants are taking a day (or two) out of their busy schedule to spend the day creating ideas for your brand. Approaching the day with a mindset of gratitude will go a long way in setting the right tone for your meeting. Make sure you build in time to kick-off properly with a warm-up. Warm-ups can include anything from telling a personal anecdote or sharing an insight about an inspiring product. Also include energizer exercises throughout your day to keep the energy and creativity going. I like to do Improv exercises as energizers because they usually involve interaction and movement. It’s also fun to do traditional drinking games (without the alcohol) like Zip, Zap, Zop and Viking Master to get people’s brains working. The warm-up and energizer exercises help keep the day playful and interesting. Also make sure people get proper breaks and at least a half hour for lunch. Since you want their full participation during the session, give everyone time to check e-mails and return voicemails at breaks. Mix up the day with different innovation exercises, and pepper in breaks and energizers to create a dynamic flow throughout your day.

9. Take an inventory of your ideas and prioritize

Now you are at the end of your day and you have an inventory of ideas. After each innovation exercise, have a ‘Share + Build’ session to make ideas stronger and then put all the ideas up on the walls. It’s been a long, productive day and the fruits of everyone’s labor should be proudly displayed. The room should be wallpapered with idea templates and illustrations. Ask participants to go around the room and rate the ideas that they like. This exercise will depend on how many participants and ideas you have. For example, you could give each participant five stickers to vote on their favorite five ideas. Or you could get different color stickers and have them vote on the ideas based on certain criteria. For example, Green stickers could mean– ‘Go Now,’ Yellow stickers could represent – ‘Continue Working for the Medium Term’, and Red stickers could signify ‘Like for the Long Range.’ Write out your definitions on the easel pad so that everyone knows the rating criteria. At the end of the voting session, review and prioritize the areas that garner the most interest. Now you are on your way to solidifying ideas.

10. Translate ideas into concepts and then test with consumers

The best way to determine if your ideas are strong is to write them up into concepts and then expose them to consumers. Use the idea templates as a starting point for your concepts. Start with the insight to lead into your concept. Then write a description of the idea, highlighting the benefits and the reasons to believe the idea. Infuse language that appropriately conveys the tone and manner of the idea. So if your product is a beverage that gives you extra energy, use words that convey its boldness. If your product is a skin lotion that soothes your skin, use descriptors that express its calming and nurturing properties. Once your concept is written, test them with consumers. There are several different methodologies you could employ depending on your budget and timing, so consult with a researcher to determine the best methodology to test your concepts.

At the end of your innovation workshop, you will be excited to find that you have a great bank of ideas that bring your brand vision to life. There’s a lot more to be done to validate and commercialize an idea – but articulating the idea is one of the most important parts of the process. Creating innovations is part art and part science, and it is a highly collaborative process. Keep this in mind as you set off to run your innovation workshop like a pro. Good luck and have a great time ideating!

Run an Innovation Workshop like a Pro