Ideas come from people. And being part of The Difference Collective, I can stand in front of 50 of the most enquiring, engaged and empowered people in communications. It’s a creative’s ideal to have, at a moment’s notice, both quality and quantity of thinking: the pre-requisites for first-rate ideas.

Anyway, I ran a Collective client brainstorm last week.

No doubt some reading will think: “Cool story, bro.” And you’re right, I spend every day coaxing ideas into existence. Sadly, many will also groan because brainstorms have a bad reputation (that’s someone doing them wrong by the way, ask me about creativity training).

But the thing about The Difference, is, well, different. Everyone had digested the brief before the session. Everyone came to it with a raft of ideas. Hell, everyone turned up on time. An entire communications programme was figured out in an hour. That’s down to the inherent curiosity of everyone in our Collective. If you’re interested in the world and want to improve it, your clients will be more successful.

That brainstorm was my idea of a dream, but its success wasn’t just luck or that it was a “juicy” job with a raft of obvious ideas. It happens every single time The Difference Collective is unleashed on a client brief. And the ideas don’t stop outside these meetings either. In the past few months, our creative specialists have provided brand strategy, copy and visual identity for, among others: a med-tech start-up; a health and wellness exhibition; and a fledgling marketing agency with real bite.

In the regulated world of healthcare, it can appear that creativity is under attack. But The Difference Collective is proof that creativity is the vital spark for communications that can motivate masses and calm pharma’s lawyers.

Our recipe for creative success is simple. Connect the best people and stir.