Where to find good ideas...

In Kanye West: God and Monster, author Mark Beaumont shows us West's process when he became Roc-A-Fella's hottest new producer.

He'd surround himself with crates of records and go through them, picking out tunes he liked, cutting them up and mashing them into beats.

Ideas beget ideas.

As Chuck Palahniuk says in Fight Club,

Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy.

So, when you are strategising, free yourself from the pressure of creating something completely new.

Don't get me wrong.

Once in a while, there comes a campaign, seemingly pulled out of thin air, that smashes the status quo.

Remember "Got Milk"?

Or the VW's Beetle campaigns?

How about Nike's "Just do it?"

Here are some more campaigns that made their respective brands household names - CLICK HERE.

Chances are this is not going to happen to you (let's be real!)

Instead of trying to create something out of nothing, draw inspiration from the work around you. The stuff that worked for others.

See, marketers tend to restrict themselves to their industry. I've been guilty of this too! Years of working in one industry can "box" your thinking.

A great idea can come from anywhere.

Sometimes from your competition.

But usually from brands that have nothing to do with your industry.

Open a folder and store campaigns that catch your eye.

We call them swipe files. Even the greats use them!

Every time you need an idea, review your swipe file.

And you won't be left staring at the dreaded blank canvas.