Where do good ideas go when they die?
Scenario: A client decides “no thanks’ on a bold creative concept. It won’t go to market, but it’s just too good to be forgotten.
We have a ritual for that. Our design director, Katie Schwendeman, lays the concept boards to rest in our digital workspace. Then every few months we revisit this ‘Creative Graveyard’ to pay our respects and celebrate the too-short, too-brilliant lives of our best could-have-beens.
But right now, higher ed needs more of those braver ideas. So, the real question is, why do good ideas have to die in the first place?
What reason might a good marketer have for axing a killer creative idea before it gets a chance to slay?
Because we live in the real world, for starters. So, let’s cover a few of the most common realities together. It’s worth thinking about this before you kick off your next campaign. Without a sufficiently intentional approach to bringing others along, that brave and brilliant idea you want to run can end up sleeping with the fishes.
Cause of Death: By the Status Quo.
You’re ambitious to do next-level work. You’ve just been pitched a next-level idea. But executive leaders have made it clear they’re perfectly happy and comfortable with the level we’re on, thank you very much.
So, you settle for the safer route, and the bolder direction gets buried before it ever takes a breath. But what if we could have changed some hearts and minds together and challenged the status quo for the good of your brand?
Survival Tips:
Consider how you’re actively influencing peers and executive leaders to connect the dots from bold creative work in other industries to your own institutional challenges.
- You already read the industry news about bold campaigns that make headlines. But do you share this kind of critically celebrated work with your peers and executive teams to shape their own aspirations? Send those links to spark meaningful conversations and identify new trends that might challenge a standard practice from your current playbook. Frame these shares in the context of your team and how open you are to trying new things. You never know, it might unlock new budgetary doors.
- Organize and lead periodic ‘creative discoveries’ with your team. These are workshop sessions where you pin up your current campaigns on the wall, lay out images and ideas that inspire you in a mood board, and talk openly with your team about new ways of capturing the character of your brand. When SimpsonScarborough leads these sessions for clients, we like to pull out the‘bravery scale’ (see below) to get people talking about how ambitious we’re being today, and how bold we’d like to become tomorrow.
Cause of Death: By Committee.
Everyone wants their personal brand associated with the hot new marketing campaign. The braver the idea, the more this holds true. But too many hands on an idea leaves a lot of smudges and makes a clear idea fuzzy. Or worse, generic.
Survival Tips:
Think about how you’re building trust with your peers and defining the purpose and goals of their involvement in the feedback process.
- Invite feedback early, but, more importantly, make the “rules of engagement” clear. Ask contributors to focus their comments on alignment with strategy, not personal taste.
- Frame every feedback round around the question: “Does this make the idea stronger or safer?” That simple filter helps the team distinguish refinement from dilution and builds trust that boldness is a shared goal.
Cause of Death: By Band-Aid Thinking.
When short-term pressure takes the wheel, even the smartest marketers can mistake speed for strategy. The result? Hasty decisions that don’t feel like you.
Survival Tips:
- Before briefing creative, agree on the hierarchy of outcomes. Is this campaign meant to solve an urgent need or build enduring equity? Clarity can prevent a quick fix from replacing a powerful idea.
- Create a “red flag” checklist for decisions made under deadline stress—anything that strays from brand purpose, confuses audiences, or panders for clicks should trigger a pause.
Cause of Death: Fear of Backlash
“Fear is the mind-killer,” says Jessica in Dune. She’s right that worrying about the stuff we can’t control makes us do crazy things to overcompensate.
For marketers, that’s overthinking what we can control. It starts innocently enough. We de-fang that headline a bit (wouldn’t want anyone getting the wrong impression). Next, we’re swapping out an edgier photo with a polite looking group of smiling students (at least it feels more positive).
Bit by bit, what began as a confidently original way to state your brand promise and communicate a benefit to students now looks and feels like everything else.
Yes, Coco Chanel famously advised that “before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” But she meant to refine your look and even sharpen your style—not because you’re worried about what others might think, as brilliant satirized in the 1985 film “LA Story.”
Here’s the reality: in 2025, whether we like it or not, any idea worth its creative budget is going to get a reaction. That’s the whole point of this business, my friends.
Survival Tips:
The question becomes, how are you letting go of the old school mentality of controlling every impression in a constant state of media chaos?
- Before briefing creative, agree on the hierarchy of outcomes. Is this campaign meant to solve an urgent need or build enduring equity? Clarity can prevent a quick fix from replacing a powerful idea.
- Create a “red flag” checklist for decisions made under deadline stress—anything that strays from brand purpose, confuses audiences, or panders for clicks should trigger a pause.
The goal should be to lean into culture in positive and authentic ways for your institution. Don’t try to fly under the radar. Otherwise, why are we marketers even here?
We all know what’s at stake. If you’re not winning attention, your brand is losing ground. That means we should do whatever it takes to ‘rebel against boring’ with every chance we get.
Yes, your rebellion will look different from anyone else’s. It’s your mission (and your team’s) to help top leaders and decision-makers to see the value of your vision for the long-term good of your brand, and keep that big, bold, and brave idea out of the graveyard and in the cultural conversation.
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Make sure your ideas don’t have one foot in the grave. Speak to us about empowering curious bravery on your campus today.
