Here’s a hypothetical assignment: write an internal flyer to notify your company’s employees of the annual picnic.

You begin by putting Creative Advertising #1 to work, making a list of the facts:

Creative Advertising #1

• the picnic’s going to be held
• on the company’s lawn
• the third Saturday of June
• from 1200 (noon) to 1600 (4 pm)
• employees are invited to bring their families and guests
• the company will supply lunch: sandwiches, salads, beverages
• there will be games for the children
• the dress is sports informal

You invite six to eight employees from different departments who attended last year’s picnic to join you in the conference room, which you’ve reserved for an hour (the more participants, the more opinions, and the harder it will be to reach a consensus; six to 10 is a comfortable group). Y_ou distribute the list of facts to each of them, and give them a few minutes to review it.

Then you ask, “What else should we add to our facts list?”

A participant remembers, “Last year, it began to rain during the picnic, and we had to end early.” You suggest setting up a large tent.

A second participant wants to know about dessert. You suggest asking employees to bring one, and share. “And I’ll see if the company will supply fresh fruit.” Everyone likes that idea.

“Are we ready to get started?” you ask the group. “Let’s do new names for the picnic, using Creative Advertising #2.” The group begins throwing out suggestions:

1 Play Day

2 Outdoor Banquet

3 Food Fight

4 Food Bites (Bytes)

5 Mega-Bites

Someone asks, “How about Bite the Hand that Feeds You?” Everyone laughs.

You compliment them: “That’s great work, everybody.” More names follow:

6 Weekend Babysitter

7 Afternoon in the Park

8 Lawn Party

9 Company’s Coming

10 Birthday Party

You decide that the group is sufficiently warmed up. Since time is limited, you skip to Creative Advertising #4 and ask them to make a list of key words about the picnic. They select:

1food

2 bites/bytes

3 party

4 sandwich

5 fruit

6 dessert

7 meal

8 out or outdoor

You ask for some verbs that relate to consuming food and they suggest:

9 eat

10 chew

11 gobble

12 sip

13 swallow