How to hunt down a new marketing idea

When you walk in the streets, looking around all kinds of ads, does not this question pop up: How talented must those marketers be to create such funny and brainstorming advertisements and marketing ideas?

Do they just knock up or just pick up the ideas? Where are they derived from?

For quite a time, I have been pondering this. And I think that a creative marketing institution must be established to produce those mental goods.

As an individual marketer, one good idea is easy to fabricate and commercialize. Yet it may easily drop off your head. Or it may change from time to time. Or it may not be consistent with previous marketing ideas. It’s unstable.

So the question is really How to hunt down a new marketing idea, constantly and consistently.

Here are my thoughts. Tell me if you agree.

1. Marketing is a team work, it needs a leader and its members.
2. While roles of the team players must be defined, impulse may be given to encourage free idea. Every one must be free to make a suggestion and be awarded if necessary.
3. A marketing proposing system should be built to ensure ideas spring from time to time and constantly.
4. Evaluate each proposals and put them into open discussion.
5. The team leader must encourage and supervise any free proposals.
6. Team leader does not necessarily have to create ideas by him/her self.
7. When an proposal proves to be quality and effective, review and study why it becomes a success.
8. For the unsuccessful proposals, make records for future reference.
9. Treat every member and every proposal seriously and right.
10. Guide and lead any good idea to be a formal and reasonable proposal.

The list can go on and on. And the key word is team work and free thought. Encourage, enable and enforce team work and free thoughts and a systematic marketing institution may be built.