Here is a simple tool for generating thousands of marketing ideas, very quickly. Sounds interesting? Here's an example…

Let's say that we are a restaurant chain, looking to expand our business with a new line of restaurants. We want ideas. Here are four steps to thousands of ideas…

First, let's define the main 'parameters of the task'. For a new line of restaurants these are things such as the price-range, the type of food, the type of customer we might appeal to, the style of service.

Second, take a piece of paper (or a spreadsheet) and put each of the parameters at the top of a column.

Third, think of all the alternatives that are possible for each parameter, and list them in the appropriate column.

Fourth and last step, start connecting across the columns to see the restaurant ideas that you have generated.

All of a sudden you have thousands of ideas (the example above actually has 2,240 different restaurant ideas!). Not all of them good, that's true. An expensive, nouvelle cuisine restaurant for bikers with 'silver' service isn't likely to get far.

But there are good ideas in there too, and the secret to getting the right idea is to generate lots of ideas first. This is a tool to develop thousands of ideas, in just minutes. So, just to review, here's the process:

1. Define the parameters of the task
2. Put the parameters in columns
3. List all the alternatives under each parameter
4. Connect across the columns to define the ideas

Brand Manual
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