The Ideasicle "X Factor" Blog — Ideasicle X

Welcome to The X Factor Blog. Here you’ll find relevant use cases for Ideasicle X. Articles on the art of generating ideas while working remotely. Insights and studies into creativity itself. All from the desk of our founder and CEO, Will Burns.

Ideasicle Expert Profile: Scott Biniak And The Birth Of LeBron James' "We Are All Witnesses"

I have known Scott Biniak for nearly my entire career. We worked together at Wieden & Kennedy in the late 1990s on the Microsoft account. I remember being struck by his intelligence, passion, and enthusiasm for advertising and strategy. Since that time he went client side at Nike (among other places) and was the force behind LeBron James’ “We are all witnesses” brand idea. I say “brand idea,” but did you know that line started as an unfunded billboard in Cleveland, OH? I didn’t either.

Expert ProfilesWill BurnsFebruary 22, 2023Scott biniak, LeBron James, We are all witnesses, Nike, strategy

For The Love Of God, If You're Going To Spend $7M To Run A Super Bowl Spot, Spend $30K On A Great Idea

For The Love Of God, If You're Going To Spend $7M To Run A Super Bowl Spot, Spend $30K On A Great Idea

The game is over, the ads have run, and once again we are sorely disappointed. The Super Bowl is supposed to be The Beatles of advertising, the best of the best, the spots with the biggest and most creative ideas. But, with a few exceptions this year, they were flat and/or non-ideas. Yet still cost on average nearly $7M a pop to run. Not sure about you, but we’re tired of it and we’re taking this problem into our own hands.

PromotionWill BurnsFebruary 15, 2023super bowl, advertising, creative, spots

Ideasicle Expert Profile: Mark Ray, A Career Built on the Unholy Union of Art and Commerce

I’ve been told that working on Ideasicle X projects is like playing in a band. There are ideas thrown around to the rest of the “band” and they build on those ideas and riff on them until the polished gems emerge. Well, that’s never been more true, literally and figuratively, than when Ideasicle Expert, Mark Ray, is assigned to an idea job. He’s an idea guy and an accomplished musician. Here’s how he came to be, what he values, and how music is at his core.

Expert ProfilesWill BurnsFebruary 7, 2023mark ray, north advertising, Ideasicle Expert

IX Use Case: Increase Employee Motivation Through Virtual Idea Generation

IX Use Case: Increase Employee Motivation Through Virtual Idea Generation

Turns out the most potent motivation techniques do not involve money or bonuses or better coffee (extrinsic motivation), but involve getting validation, recognition, and praise (intrinsic motivation). It occurred to me that virtual idea generation, because you can invite employees to an idea project, has a tangential benefit of providing employees many, if not all, of these intrinsic motivations.

Creativity, Use CasesWill BurnsJanuary 30, 2023dan ariely, wardah malik, motivation, intrinsic

"Brands In Action" Podcast Featuring Ideasicle X CEO Will Burns

"Brands In Action" Podcast Featuring Ideasicle X CEO Will Burns

I was interviewed on the Brands In Action Podcast by David Baldwin. We really covered the gamut on this one. My advertising agencies past (Wieden, Goodby, Arnold, and Leonard/Monahan), how Ideasicle X came to be, how companies can take advantage of it, what creativity is (and isn’t) in public schools, and much more.

News & UpdatesWill BurnsJanuary 26, 2023brands in action, David baldwin, Ideasicle x

ChatGPT Is Not Innovative Or Creative, But It's Still Useful For Innovation And Creativity

ChatGPT Is Not Innovative Or Creative, But It's Still Useful For Innovation And Creativity

We’ve been playing around with ChatGPT now for a few weeks. And while many sages in the advertising industry are poo-pooing it for not being innovative or bringing truly original creativity, I think they are missing a powerful and useful application of this technology. And one we plan to use at Ideasicle X.

Creativity, News & UpdatesWill BurnsJanuary 24, 2023ChatGPT, artificial intelligence, AI, creativity, SEO, Perpetual Traffic Podcast, Michael Cottam

Ideasicle Expert Profile: Claudia Caplan Never Stops Learning

Claudia Caplan is one of my go-to Ideasicle Experts because she has attitude, she is fearless, she’s brilliant, and says exactly what she thinks. All important ingredients in being successful within our little idea generating platform. But one thing I didn’t know until recently is her relentless curiosity and depth that comes with continuous higher learning. Just an inspiration. But I’m going to let her tell you.

News & Updates, Expert ProfilesWill BurnsJanuary 18, 2023Columbia University, Claudia Caplan, Ideasicle Expert

AI Connects Surprising Dots Between Creativity And Spirituality

AI Connects Surprising Dots Between Creativity And Spirituality

Intuitively I have always thought that creativity is a spiritual act. I mean, what is “God” to most people but the ultimate “creator,” right? But I’ve never been able to put my finger on why I feel that creativity is spiritual. So I asked the AI engine ChatGPT and its answer gave me a very interesting insight. Below is the prompt I used, the ChatGPT response, and then my reaction to it. Hope it inspires you a little.

CreativityWill BurnsJanuary 17, 2023creativity, spirituality, ChatGPT, Craiyon, AI

We Are Not An Agency With Individuals, We Are Individuals With Agency

We Are Not An Agency With Individuals, We Are Individuals With Agency

Every Ideasicle Expert has agency over themselves. Beyond their individual genius, their agency over themselves pays powerful dividends when it comes to virtual idea generation. Here’s why.

CreativityWill BurnsJanuary 12, 2023creativity, agency, virtual, creative ideas

If You Want To Have Better Ideas, Get Out Of This World

If You Want To Have Better Ideas, Get Out Of This World

I regularly check the science boards and university press releases for new studies on creativity. Specifically, studies that show us some small or big way to increase our own creativity. In compiling ten years worth of such studies on our Scientific Studies page, I noticed a pattern across many, if not all of those studies. That is, reducing our ability to focus on the physical 3D world increases our creativity. These studies appear quite different on the surface—the creative effects of sound, light, certain activities like walking, etc.—but I believe they are just different ways we can get out of this world in order to be more creative.

CreativityWill BurnsDecember 27, 2022creativity, science, studies, dimensions

Applications Of AI In The Ideasicle X Model: From Wow To Holy Moly

Applications Of AI In The Ideasicle X Model: From Wow To Holy Moly

Could artificial intelligence further improve the virtual model we’ve already created with Ideasicle X? To explore what’s possible I’ve had several conversations with companies who specialize in AI. What follows are simple applications of AI we came up with, progressing from the basic wow to the less expected holy moly.

CreativityWill BurnsNovember 29, 2022creative ideas, artificial intelligence, ai

Ideasicle Expert Profile: Suzanne McKenzie Proves She Is Able Made

Creative ideas are everything at Ideasicle X. That’s why a recent addition to the Ideasicle Expert ranks is Suzanne McKenzie. She began her career as a designer at Boston shops Arnold and Continuum (I worked with her at Arnold). She was not only a gifted designer, she was a conceptual, and big, thinker who could also design. However, soon after stints with the Boston agency world, a tragedy happened and her life changed forever.

News & Updates, Expert ProfilesWill BurnsOctober 11, 2022suzanne mckenzie, able made, nonprofit

When Evaluating Ideas, Not All Ideas Are Created Equal. 4 Filters To Identify The Best.

You’ve got a pile of creative ideas in front of you. Maybe they were generated by your in-house team, your agency, or even from an Ideasicle X project. Regardless, you’re feeling good, fortified, and excited with all this potential. But now you’ve got to evaluate these ideas and decide which ones with which to move forward. Here are a few important criteria by which to filter that list down to the 3-5 best ones.

Tips & TricksWill BurnsSeptember 26, 2022creating ideas, evaluating ideas, brand, agency

Ideasicle Expert Profile: Ernie Schenck, Houdini, And The Box

I got to see Ernie in action several times when I was at Arnold when he freelanced on pitches. Not that he needed auditions for Ideasicle X. The man is an advertising legend. But I remember being so impressed with his lateral thinking and ability to tell a great story. Well, he wrote a book that is a must-read for anyone in advertising because it’s as relevant today as ever. Ernie, take it away.

News & Updates, Expert ProfilesWill BurnsSeptember 5, 2022Ernie Schenck, Houdini, outside the box

IX Use Case: Ideas To Bring Peloton Back To Prominence

PREEMPTIVE BRIEF SERIES: When we see a marketing challenge out there sometimes we’ll proactively write a “preemptive creative brief” for it and prepare a plan using Ideasicle X to solve that challenge. This is one of those times. Please use your connections to help us get this preemptive brief to someone at Peloton.

Use CasesWill BurnsSeptember 1, 2022peloton, inflation, pandemic, brand

Ideasicle Expert Profile: Lisa Taylor And Learning To Read

Lisa Taylor is an Ideasicle Expert. She is a writer by trade, but a mom when not trading words. Evidently, a very good mom. Her son had a learning disability—dyslexia—and Lisa, naturally, had a big idea to help not only her son, but all families dealing with this disability. Best if Lisa tells you the rest.

News & Updates, Expert ProfilesWill BurnsAugust 29, 2022Lisa taylor, dyslexia, dyslexia now what

Ideasicle Expert Profile: Roger Baldacci And Avoiding Burpees

I’ve known Roger Baldacci for almost 20 years now. I invited him to be an Ideasicle Expert because he’s a brilliant concept guy, has ridiculous energy, he sees the world differently than most (bring up anything paranormal and watch him go), and he’s a great collaborator. Well, he recently trained and ran a Spartan race and I thought the process he went through said a lot about who he is as a person and what he might bring to an Ideasicle X project.

News & Updates, Expert ProfilesWill BurnsAugust 22, 2022Roger baldacci, spartan race, training, ideas

An Organizer, An Observer, And An Idea Director Walk Into A Virtual Bar...

An Organizer, An Observer, And An Idea Director Walk Into A Virtual Bar...

Just this month our crack developer team added some exciting new functionality to the Ideasicle X platform. If you haven’t heard, customers told us they wanted a division of labor with the implementation of idea jobs, as follows:

Organizer: sets up the idea jobs
Idea Director: monitors the team’s ideas within the Idea Stream
Observers: can view the Idea Streams but can’t engage with the teams in any way

Today, I want to share a deeper dive on these roles, what to expect, and how each can add as much value as possible to the idea-generating process.

Tips & TricksWill BurnsAugust 12, 2022ideas, creativity, advertising

New Feature: Invite Observers And Idea Directors To Ideasicle X Jobs

New Feature: Invite Observers And Idea Directors To Ideasicle X Jobs

We are thrilled to announce a new feature to the Ideasicle X platform that will give Organizers of idea projects the power to invite Observers (view only) and Idea Directors (full permissions) to each idea project. Virtually every beta tester and recent customer has brought this up to us as a need (thank you, 180/NY, White Rhino, North, and Lucky Generals, for your suggestions). Here’s what this new feature means for Ideasicle X users.

News & UpdatesWill BurnsJuly 27, 2022feature, ideas, creativity, saas

What Does It Mean That A Placebo Will Improve Your Creativity?

What Does It Mean That A Placebo Will Improve Your Creativity?

Okay, this study is almost embarrassing to humanity, but is super useful in our collective struggle against fear and doubt. It's from Lior Noy and Liron Rozenkrantz at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and it suggests that the placebo effect not only works for physical ailments, but as a way to increase our creativity. This study reveals the subtle and frail nature of creativity, but also reveals how we can overcome our own insecurities.

CreativityWill BurnsJuly 22, 2022creativity, placebo, study