The SCAMPER Technique: How It Unravels Your Creative Brain
The technique that can help copywriters, writers, marketers, entrepreneurs, and startups find better ideas.
Hi, I’m Ben Watkins 👋 Thanks for joining La Vie Ben Rose. Every week, I unravel copywriting questions, examples, and conversion tactics from the most recognized brands. I also look at the different ways to become a better writer and creative thinker.
Here are issues from the past month:
One of the most frustrating things about finding a creative idea is the process of actually coming up with a creative idea.
While I’ve tried head pounding, chugging coffee, and staring into the abyss, I believe there’s an even more effective way to develop creative ideas.
It’s called the SCAMPER technique.
The concept comes from a 1957 book, Applied Imagination, by Alex F. Osborn, who was an advertising executive.
Here’s how the technique works:
S - Substitute: Consider replacing one thing with another - materials, processes, or people involved.
C - Combine: Explore ways to combine ideas to create something new.
A - Adapt: Consider how an existing idea or solution can be adapted or modified for a different purpose or context.
M - Modify: Make changes to existing elements or ideas like size, shape, color, or other attributes.
P - Put to another use: Explore alternative applications or uses for existing elements. Think about how something might be repurposed.
E - Eliminate: Identify elements that can be removed or eliminated without compromising the idea.
R - Reverse/Rearrange: Consider reversing the order of elements or rearranging them differently.
How Copywriting Applies This Technique
As I delved into my research, I discovered how this framework works wonders for copywriting (and my copywriting process).
S = Substitute boring words or phrases with more value, surprise, or importance to your audience.
C = Combine two successful headlines, phrases, or ideas that have worked for other brands.
A = Adapt a winning headline, product, or offer from another startup.
M = Modify any part of the copy that doesn’t add value by eliminating it or giving it more attention.
P = Put to another use and see where it fits with other audiences and how they react.
E = Eliminate one or more elements that have always been included and see what happens.
R = Reverse/Rearrange any part of the product, selling process, or words you’re using to write the copy.
Now, let’s look at a humdinger example.
While we didn’t use the entire acronym, we see how it still helped us with substituting a word.
We combined it with another headline to give the headline more specificity that we pulled from “Recover Up to 30%…”. Then, we modified it by eliminating words and rearranging the headline.
How Online Writing Applies This Technique
This framework can also be applied to writing online, whether it’s a tweet, a LinkedIn post, or a blog article.
Substitute: Change out words, sentences, or paragraphs that are more precise or more emotion-evoking language.
Combine: Not sure what sentence to start with? Write down as many as possible and combine them to create new hooks and sentences.
Adapt: Tweak words, sentences, or overall structure that creates more coherence in your writing. Every adaption should be geared toward making your writing stronger to improve readability and the clarity of your ideas.
Modify: Improve your writing by making slight changes. Maybe wording. Maybe cut out a sentence. Maybe cut out a paragraph. Add bullet points to highlight your points.
Put to another use: Can your writing be understood at a technical or grade level? You may be writing about complex ideas, but you want to ensure they are understood at 3rd or 4th-grade levels.
Eliminate: Removing sentences or words can tighten your ideas. It may be the hardest one because we love our writing. Clear anything out that does not enhance your writing.
Reverse: Would your writing look better if you reworded sentences? Consider rearranging sentences and paragraphs for strong emphasis. Don’t fall with your sentences. Fall in love with chopping them up and rearranging them to perfection.
Does this take time? Hell, yes, it does. But it gives you a framework for editing your work and finding ideas.
As James Clear once said in his article, creativity is a process, not an event.
How Startups Can Leverage This Technique
Startups can leverage the SCAMPER technique for their products and processes.
This is a great example I found of how it can be used for startups.
Substitute: The questions to ask here are: What can you substitute or change—whether that’s your product, problem, or process? How can you substitute it for something else entirely?
Combine: Consider how to combine two or more parts of your process or product in the hopes of achieving something new and different. Can they be combined to create a more efficient customer experience?
Adapt: During the “adapt” phase of your brainstorming, think through what can be added, tweaked, or modified in your product or process to make it better. Sample questions include: How can we adjust the existing product? How can we make the process more flexible?
Modify: Could you modify the product, problem, or process to improve results? Can you change the process to work more efficiently?
Put to another use: Can the product or process be applied to a different use or used another way? What benefits would be gained by using the product elsewhere?
Eliminate: What can be removed or simplified? How can you achieve the desired results without it? This step is about purging aspects that bring nothing to the table.
Reverse: Could your team rearrange or interchange elements to improve results? Is flipping your product or process on its head something your team should consider? Yes.
The Mcdonald’s Example
Ronald Mcdonald (wait, his name is Ray Kroc) put the Scamper technique to use when he founded Mcdonalds.
Put to other uses: Selling restaurants and real estate instead of just simply hamburgers.
Eliminate: Letting customers serve themselves and thereby avoiding the use of expensive waiters.
Rearrange: Having customers pay before they eat.
I knew those french fries were too good to be true.
How to Practice This Technique
One of the best ways to practice this technique is to spend at least 30 minutes (at least) working on ideas, advertising concepts, products, and writing through the lens of this technique.
Another way to apply this concept is with other people. Consider a small marketing team or product managers. They could work through creative problems by thinking collectively about how to solve this problem.
When applied with patience, this technique is one of the best for divergent thinking. You’re thinking outside the box. You’re challenging assumptions.
Most importantly, you’re iterating and iterating and iterating. The best kind of creativity comes from countless iterations.