Clarkson Integrator

Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Sawyer Sutton The company What If? held a workshop for first-year business students in the Barben Rooms.

On Wednesday, Caresse and Janet from a company called What If? held several workshops in the Barben Rooms in which they gave first-year business students an introduction to advertising. The talks covered not only advertising to consumers, but also advertisement and marketing of one's own ideas in business when working with their peers.

The floor was strikingly decorated by a wild arrangement of day-glow colored paper, writing implements, rubber dinosaur feet, potted plants, miniature pepper lights and a lack of chairs. What If? pointed out that this collection of decorations will encourage creativity and a calming environment for the workshop.

Caresse and Janet began their discussion by asking the attendees what their definition of creativity was and continued the lecture in this fashion by explaining words and phrases related to the process of marketing one's ideas. According to What If? creativity apparently has four-hundred documented definitions, at least online which often are impacted by what mood you're in. Janet suggested that there are three components to creativity: insight, ideas and impact. She cited an example of where an idea lacking insight didn't make much of a difference. She suggested that the Segway personal mobility system is "useless because it did not replace the car, and because it's expensive." Janet also suggested a product such as the Listerine Pocket Pack was a much greater success for the reason that it had insight, another term which she and Caresse encouraged the audience to define.

After finishing off the term "creativity" it was time to explain greenhousing: the process by which new ideas appear and are nurtured. Janet highlighted that it is essential to not crush an idea after thirty seconds. This, she said, is quite important because of the potential of small general ideas, an idea that may seem absurd at first, may end up making "gajillions of dollars" as she put it.

After performing a simulation of greenhousing, it was time for Caresse to explain lateral thinking; she started by making an allusion to Edward DeMona, "the father of lateral thinking" according to her. She used DeMona's example of rivers of thinking where ideas and knowledge build up into a focused stream of thinking. The point, she said, is that everyone's brain has many of these rivers, and it is important to be able to switch between these rivers, should the individual ever want to be prosperous. The end of the workshop a couple of components to advertising and marketing: revolution, the ability to bend and break cultural norms, and bravery.

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