Intuition, Information, Incubation, Inspiration: The Reason You Pay a Creative Professional

There are lots of acronyms and clever concepts that go with marketing tips and tricks. Many appear in blogs just like this one. However, I recently stumbled upon a concept that is mentioned almost in passing by Howie Cohen, the copywriter behind Alka Seltzer’s “I Can’t Believe I Ate the Whole Thing” campaign from 1972. The concept of “The Four ‘I’s of Creativity” appears to be his own (it doesn’t show up anywhere else on Google), and it is worth examining in greater detail.

Cohen characterizes his process of intuition, information, incubation, and inspiration at 4:38 in this video:

This concept resonated with me immediately because it codifies the professionalism and process that validates what a creative professional is worth. People rarely question legal fees because they are supported by a lawyer’s education, experience and skill – but the work of a creative professional is equally skilled, and informed by ability, experience and insight.

Cohen’s process also resonated with me because it reflects how I work with creative problems – particularly when it comes to creatively solving and/or articulating a business challenge, whether it is defining the core essence of a brand, mapping out a strategic plan, or defining key messages, mission statements and copy. This is how the “Four ‘I’s” are employed when I work with clients:

1.     Intuition: We have a strong general idea of what a brand/business challenge represents and/or needs, and we have a strong sense of who the target audience is, but we need to unwrap it and study it in much greater detail.

2.     Information: We gather as much information and intelligence as possible that will support solutions to our business challenge. Decisions are easiest to make when you have the accurate information you need to guide your judgment.

3.     Incubation: This is the core of creative talent and expertise – the ability to season and simmer the “creative soup” to reveal the core elements, to get to what is most compelling and relevant.

4.     Inspiration: This is where “the idea” appears – the fully formed, resonant, and accurate idea that is the culmination of the art and science of creative communications. “The idea” tells the full and complete story in a manner that is simple, concise, accurate, and interesting.

Near the end of this video, Cohen also notes (with complete nonchalance), “an ounce of emotion is worth a pound of facts”. This is the core of concise communications: pounds of facts are great, but they can also be time-consuming and boring. A concise creative solution to a big business problem exists – but you may need to employ the skill and experience of a creative professional to pull your “idea” out of the ether.