Who should take part in a campaign idea workshop?

A campaign idea workshop should include people with different ways of seeing the challenge, such as strategists, account managers, writers and designers. The useful principle is to prioritise imagination over source, because valuable campaign ideas do not belong to one discipline or team.

What should a campaign idea workshop produce?

A campaign idea workshop should produce a shortlist of possible answers to a strategic question, not a finished campaign by committee. The strongest possibilities can then be developed into further questions, hypotheses and tests that help the team make an informed decision about the way forward.

What should happen if the campaign workshop is solving the wrong problem?

Reframe the strategic question as soon as the group recognises the mismatch. A campaign idea workshop can make real progress when participants are trusted to challenge the original framing and align around a question that better reflects the business and audience challenge.

How do we stop the safest campaign idea from winning?

Create enough safety for people to share bold, unfinished and unconventional thoughts before evaluation begins. Tight timelines and expectations can push teams towards familiar ideas, while playful exploration helps avoid a sea of sameness.

How should we run the campaign idea workshop?

One clear strategic question gives ideas somewhere to go

A campaign idea workshop works best when the group is solving one clear strategic question, rather than trying to fix every marketing problem in the room. Agree that question in advance, with enough context on the audience, business challenge and desired decision for people to contribute with confidence. The workshop can then explore possible answers to that single question, rather than producing a long list of disconnected creative thoughts.

A clear question also creates a useful finish line. The group should leave with a shortlist of possibilities, plus the further questions, hypotheses and tests needed to judge which direction deserves to move forward. Research and insight can frame the opportunity, but they cannot create the future on their own. The campaign idea workshop is where people turn what they know into new possibilities.

Sources: Carbon dating: the power of trust and relationships in driving business strategy, What’s next? The answer is already in the room

Bring different minds together before narrowing the field

A strong campaign idea workshop brings strategists, account teams, writers, designers and other useful perspectives into the same conversation. Good campaign ideas can come from anywhere, and a mixed group is more likely to spot fresh connections between audience needs, business realities and creative possibilities. The aim is imagination over job title.

Make room for open discussion before the group starts selecting ideas. Stakeholders need a safe space to share their hopes, concerns and half-formed thoughts, especially when the challenge carries real commercial or organisational tension. Time together away from the working wall can help build the trust needed for honest debate. If the group discovers that the original question is wrong, reframe it early. A better question can unlock a much more fruitful campaign conversation.

Sources: Forget the lone genius, creativity is a team sport, Carbon dating: the power of trust and relationships in driving business strategy, What’s next? The answer is already in the room

The best campaign ideas need collective imagination, not a lone genius

We believe a campaign idea workshop should make space for the people closest to the challenge to think beyond the obvious. Research matters, but it cannot replace the imaginative leap that turns insight into a distinctive campaign direction. That is why we bring together strategists, account managers, writers and designers when developing big ideas, and why we value the contribution over the job title of the person who makes it. We have also used workshops to help Carbon Tanzania explore answers to a single strategic question, develop a shortlist, and frame the hypotheses and tests needed for an informed decision. When the group realised it was answering the wrong question, reframing the challenge created a more productive path forward.