Creativity as Process

Creativity is a central tenant of advertising :MOTIVATION

Many studies view creativity as a product or outcome
:SIGNIFICANCE
(advertisements, etc.) not a process

Viewing it as a process can lead to a better understanding
of how to refine, encourage, manipulate and promote :CONTRIBUTIONS
that process in the real world

What is the relationship, role, influence and impact of
:OVERALL GOAL
creativity in advertising.

introduction

The dominant area of research in Creativity
views creativity in terms of output: Ads, art,
music, written word, etc.(Sasser&Koslow, 2008)

Creative Process research, though not as
extensive, is still divided into two main
streams or thoughts (Lubart, 2000).

literature review

The first explores the factors that influence and
enable the creative process.
Amabile’s (1996) Component Model of creativity
is one of the most cited by
Contemporary scholars.
Doesn’t look at the
process itself.

literature review

The second stream focuses on the process that
individuals undergo when seeking solutions to
creative problems.

Guilford’s (1950) Incubation/Illumination model
forms the foundation of a majority of this
research and is a linear, step-based process.

Orientation Preparation Analysis Ideation Incubation Illumination Evaluation

literature review

In all streams, there seems to be little research
which focuses on this process within the
specific context of advertising.

To address this weakness in the literature, I plan
to use Norcutt and McCoy’s (2006) Interactive
Qualitative Analysis method to identify an
advertising-specific Creative Ideation Process.

literature review

Systems
IQA + Theory = 3 basic RQ’s:
1. What are the elements in the system/process?

2. How are those elements related?

3. How does this system compare to other systems

general research questions

To really understand the method, you have to
understand systems theory.

Is anyone familiar?

Systems are made up of two things:
Affinities (or elements) and Relationships

method

For instance:

This is a linear system with five affinities and
clearly defined relationships
method

My goal is to examine the creative ideation process
advertising students use when encountering a creative
dilemma (i.e. getting a new client or planning a new campaign)

My specific research questions are:
1. What affinities do they use (brainstorming, etc.)?

2. How do those affinities relate to each other?

3. How does their process compare to traditional models
of the creative process?

method

A quick refresher
Mini focus group with creative professors :1
Two focus groups, one with P3, one with P4 :2
-Prompt, index card “brain dump”
Place all cards on wall, clarify any vague cards :3
Silently organize cards into categories :4
Group names each category :5
-these group names become the affinities used in the system

method

14 students randomly selected for interviews :6
-Each Interview consists of two parts:
1. Axial Interview: students are asked to explain each element.
This is an in-depth interview and provides rich, meaningful data
that is used to “tell the story” of the creative process

2. Theoretical Interview: Each student is asked to indicate the
direction of the relationship between each of the affinities
(i.e.- brainstorming influences rough drafts)
This section provides the details about affinity relationships that
are used to map out the system or process.

method

The theoretical interviews are then placed in a
Combined Affinity Frequency Table in order to :7
find the dominant direction of the relationship

method

These relationships are then placed in an
Interrelationship Diagram Table in order to sort
them by delta value and determine which :8
affinities drive the system, and which are the
outcomes of the system

method

These relationships are then mapped into a
:9
cluttered system.
(Bolded, back-facing arrows represent relationships where ties or near
ties occur in the Frequency Relationship Table)

method

Using IQA protocol, redundant links are eliminated :10

method

Finally, the system is rearranged and organized to
:11
create the final system

method

Using the final system as a guide, and the quotes
obtained from the axial portion of the interview, :12
a discussion of each of their affinities and their
relationship is created.

Special attention is given to the timbre/tone within
each of the affinity descriptions.

data analysis

IQA is essentially a modified, more rigorous form of
grounded theory (with a heavy nod to systems
theory).

As such, results are not predicted but are allowed to
emerge naturally from the interviews.

However, I anticipate that the creative ideation
process used by students will be less linear and
more complex than tradition models of the
creative process.
anticipated results

If this study goes well, it will essentially become
a pilot run for a more rigorous study using
advertising creative professionals as the
constituent group.

Further similar studies could also be conducted
on those portions of the system/process that
differ from regular models.

future research

Amabile, T. M. (1996). The social psychology of creativity: A componential
conceptualization. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 45(2), 357-
376.

Guilford, J. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5, 444-454.

Lubart, T. (2000). Models of the creative process: Past, Present and Future.
Creativity Research Journal, 13(3), 295-308.

Norcutt, N., McCoy, D. (2006). IQA Method: Version Two [PDF Document].
Retrieved from https://courses.utexas.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp
Sasser, S. L., &Koslow, S. (2008). Desperately seeking advertising creativity.
Journal Of Advertising, 37(4), 5-19.

references

Creativity as Process

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