DOI: 10.1002/mar.

21083

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Exploring creative marketing thought: Divergent ideation

processes and outcomes

Philip A. Titus

Bowling Green State University

Correspondence
Philip A. Titus, Associate Professor of Marketing,
Department of Marketing, College of Business,
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green,
OH 43403-0266.
Email: ptitus@bgsu.edu
Abstract
Most marketing professionals deem creativity vital to successful marketing performance. How-
ever, while previous research has advanced an understanding of creative organizations, much less
is known about the cognitive processes that direct the creative thinking of marketing profes-
sionals. This article presents a theoretical framework, the Divergent Marketing Thought Model
(DMTM), that explores the ideation modes, processes, and outcomes involved in the generation of
divergent marketing thought. The proposed model, which is based on a synthesis of research from
psychology, marketing, and creativity, offers insight into specific divergent ideation processes that
mediate the generation of creative marketing thought. Informed by the DMTM, several formal
research propositions are advanced.

KEYWORDS
creativity, divergent thinking, ideation, imagination, marketing, problem solving

1 INTRODUCTION of creative marketing ideas. The theoretical framework, referred to

The importance of creative thought to marketing innovation and per-
formance is well documented (e.g., Andrews & Smith, 1996; Day, 1994;
Finch, Nadeau, & O'Reilly, 2013; Kotler & Trias de Bes, 2003; Levitt,
1986; Sasser & Koslow, 2008; Thomke, 2001). Levitt (1986) aptly
makes this point in his classic article detailing the role of imagina-
tive thought in marketing practice. As such, most marketing profes-
sional now deem creativity an essential marketing skill (Andrews &
Smith, 1996; Oliver & Ashley, 2012). Previous research investigat-
ing creativity has primarily focused on understanding the environ-
mental and structural factors that influence organizational creativity
and innovation (e.g., Amabile, 1983; Amabile, Conti, Coon, Lazenby, &
Herron, 1996; Hargadon & Sutton, 2000; Kim & Mauborgne, 2000).
Related research has investigated the influence of mental imagery
(e.g., MacInnis & Price, 1987) and imagination (e.g., d'Astous & Desch-
enes, 2005; Huang & Mitchell, 2014) on consumer purchase and
consumption behavior. Although research has appreciably advanced
understanding of creative organizations and consumers, with rare
exception (e.g., Day, 1994; Ferguson, 2009), few studies have exam-
ined the creative thinking of marketing professionals. As Brenton
and Levin (2012) note, the marketing literature is silent about the
cognitive processes that direct the creative thinking of marketing
professionals.
This article provides an initial attempt to understand creative mar-
keting thought by advancing a conceptual framework describing the
ideation modes, processes, and outcomes involved in the generation
as the Divergent Marketing Thought Model (DMTM), is based on
the integration of research findings from psychology, marketing, and
creativity. The article considers what constitutes creative marketing
thought while addressing the role of specific cognitive processes in its
generation. In particular, the DMTM offers new insights into distinct
divergent ideation processes and how they moderate the generation
of creative marketing ideas. Finally, informed by the proposed DMTM,
several formal research propositions are advanced that provide
direction for future creativity research.
2 CREATIVE MARKETING THOUGHT
Any attempt to conceptualize the cognitive mechanisms underlying
marketing ideation must start with an operational definition of what
constitutes creative marketing thought. At a rudimentary level, cre-
ative marketing thought can be conceptualized as imaginative, new-
to-the-world, marketing ideas (Levitt, 1986; Miller, 1987). Andrews
and Smith (1996) suggest that creative marketing thought possesses
the unique characteristic of meaningful distinction. They defined mar-
keting program creativity as the “extent to which the actions taken
to market a product represent a meaningful distinction (or departure)
from (current) marketing practices in a product category” (p. 175, ital-
ics added). Their definition, which is rooted in Levitt's (1986) per-
spective on creative marketing, views creativity as the imaginative
and thoughtful search for meaningful distinction. Taken together, prior

Psychol Mark. 2018;35:237–248. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/mar 

c 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 237
238
research suggests that creative marketing thought consists of (market-
ing) ideas characterized as providing meaningful distinction to market-
ing programs—more specifically, marketing ideas that are meaningful
to customers (i.e., personally relevant or valuable) and distinct because
they represent a significant departure from current marketing pro-
grams, products, and practices. However, as conceptualized here, cre-
ative marketing ideas are not synonymous with commercially successful
marketing ideas. It is clearly possible to generate distinctive and valu-
able marketing ideas not intended for commercialization, or creative
ideas that fail because of poor marketing execution.
The construct of meaningful distinction is not restricted in its appli-
cation to conceptually complete and refined marketing ideas. Rather,
meaningful distinction is viewed more broadly to include the many
and varied cognitive outcomes produced throughout the marketing
ideation process. As such, it encompasses not only the initial gen-
eration of original marketing ideas but also the other ideation out-
comes that preceded them. The DMTM explicitly recognizes that
newly conceived marketing ideas are not conceptually equal but vary
in their state of theoretical development. Furthermore, as judgments
about what is, or is not, creative are relative to the individual or
group making those judgments, the conceptual attributes of distinc-
tion and utility must be viewed as relative rather than absolute cre-
ative criterion. This view finds support from previous research that
conceptualizes creativity as a socially constructed phenomenon (e.g.,
Amabile, 1983)—a creative perspective particularly germane to mar-
keting in which customers serve as the ultimate judge of creative
marketing.
Conceptual differences in newly generated marketing thought are
particularly evident in the initial stages of marketing ideation. Finke,
Ward, and Smith (1992) advanced a model of creative cognition known
as the Geneplore model that explicitly recognizes the existence of
preinventive forms or structures that serve to stimulate further cre-
ative thought. Their model posits creative thought as a function of both
generative and explorative cognitive processes. The generative pro-
cesses allow individuals to construct preinventive forms that provide
additional creative insight into a given problem. Once generated, indi-
viduals then explore preinventive structures to determine their rel-
evance to the creative task. Ramocki (1996, p. 48) emphasized the
importance of preinventive structures to ideation, observing that “peo-
ple who make major (creative) contributions, do so by toying with
preinventive structures.” Thus, when viewed within the context of cre-
ative marketing thought, previous creativity research suggests that
marketing ideation encompasses a wide range of conceptually distinct
cognitive outcomes.
2 DIVERGENT THINKING
Psychologists have repeatedly acknowledged the value of divergent
thinking to ideation and personal creative performance (Baer, 1993;
Guilford, 1950; Torrance, 1962, 1974). Guilford (1950) was the first
to identify divergent thinking as a vital ideation skill, defining it as
the ability to generate a large number and wide assortment of orig-
inal ideas or solutions. He conceptualized divergent thinking as a
TITUS
multidimensional creative ability encompassing ideation fluency, flex-
ibility, originality, and elaboration. In addition, he maintained that
ideation fluency represents an individual's ability to generate a large
number of ideas, while flexibility embodies the ability to generate a
wide assortment of ideas. Ideation originality denotes an aptitude for
generating unique or uncommon ideas, whereas elaboration is charac-
terized by an ability to build on or advance the conceptually devel-
opment of newly conceived ideas. Consistent with prior creativity
research, divergent thinking is conceptualized here as a fundamental
marketing ideation skill that is positively related to the ability to gen-
erate a large number and wide assortment of creative marketing ideas.
Furthermore, divergent thinking is a multifaceted ideation ability that
encompasses several distinct ideation abilities that facilitate the gen-
eration of a large number and wide assortment of creative marketing
ideas. The DMTM shown in Exhibit 1 details the relationships between
these idea-generating tasks and abilities.
3 THE DMTM: IDEATION PROCESSES
AND OUTCOMES
Central to an understanding of divergent thought and ideation is the
realization that idea generation is not an effortless cognitive activity in
which individuals casually evoke concepts in a free-associative manner.
Rather, most divergent thinking occurs in concert with a specified
marketing problem and ideation objective (e.g., product improvement,
positioning, branding). As such, divergent idea generation comprises
a more complex and effortful cognitive activity. The DMTM identifies
several divergent ideation tasks and processes believed to be fun-
damental to the generation of creative marketing ideas. The DMTM
constitutes an extension and application of Finke et al.’s (1992) Gene-
plore model to divergent marketing thought and ideation. The DMTM
differs from the Geneplore model in its marketing application and level
of detail regarding the idea-generating constructs involved in the gen-
eration of divergent marketing thought. Divergent ideation is believed
to be a function of several interrelated divergent thinking abilities that
mediate the generation of a diverse set of creative marketing ideas.
These ideation abilities include the capacity to generate a large number
and wide assortment of inventive marketing structures, interpreta-
tions, and transformations (Exhibit 1). Effective divergent ideation also
requires an acute perceptual sensitivity to unfamiliar ideation stimuli,
a healthy sense of curiosity, and robust tolerance for ambiguity and
failure.
The DMTM postulates the presence of discrete cognitive tasks
and processes that yield distinct ideation outcomes associated with
the generation of creative marketing ideas. Divergent thought and
ideation is initiated by expected and unexpected encounters with
thought-provoking ideation stimuli. These thought-provoking encoun-
ters, referred to as creative provocations, trigger intervening perceptual
responses that mediate the subsequent initiation of divergent mar-
keting interpretation. Divergent marketing interpretation provides the
creative insight required to transform inventive marketing structures
into creative marketing ideas. Thus, as the DMTM shows, divergent
ideation (i.e., fluency, flexibility, and originality) is a function of (1) the
TITUS 239

Divergent Ideation Processes

Encounter Encounter Divergent Divergent Ideation

Characteristics Perceptions Interpretation Transformation Outcomes

* Encounters Creative * Stimulation * Marketing * Marketing * Divergence

- Expected Provocations Meanings Target Domains - Fluency
- Unexpected - Relationships - Mapping - Flexibility
Inventive Marketing * Legibility - Perspectives - Selection
* Ideation Stimuli Structures * Creativity
- Tangible * Marketing * Marketing Idea - Novelty
- Intangible * Familiarity Meaningfulness - Formulation - Utility
- Composition - Market Value - Modiication
- Complexity * Inventive Marketing - Distinctive - Elaboration
- Combinations
- Simpliications
- Episodes Familiar

Divergent
Person Ideation
Characteristics Modalities
Unfamiliar
* Domain Relevant
- Knowledge * Creative
- Experience Synthesis
- Task Motivation
* Creative
* Creative
Abstraction
Orientation
- Ambiguity
- Curiosity

Exhibit 1 Divergent marketing thought model (DMTM)

characteristics of the stimulus encounter; (2) an individual's domain-
relevant knowledge, experience, task motivation, and creative orienta-
tion; and (3) the ability to divergently interpret and transform inventive
marketing structures into creative marketing ideas.
3.1 Creative provocations: divergent encounters
Inventive history is replete with anecdotes recounting important cre-
ative breakthroughs prompted by encounters with thought-provoking
stimuli (Michalko, 1991; Nayak & Ketteringham, 1986). These encoun-
ters serve as the creative provocations or inventive marketing structures
necessary to initiate divergent thought and ideation. Creative provo-
cations include encounters with both tangible (e.g., people, places, arti-
facts) and intangible (e.g., memories, facts, emotions) stimuli. Though
different in form, encounters with both tangible and intangible stim-
uli are posited to operate in a like manner to initiate divergent thought
and ideation.
Most stimulus encounters fail to initiate divergent thought because
they represent familiar, expected, easily processed cognitive events.
As Hoyer, MacInnis, and Pieters (2013) note, encounters with familiar
stimuli prompt less thought because they are so easily identified and
categorized and therefore processed more routinely. With repeated
exposure to stimuli, they become easier to recognize and process, a
phenomenon known as perceptual or processing fluency (Jacoby &
Dallas, 1981; Lee & Labroo, 2004). Perceptual fluency often leaves
familiar stimuli in a perceptual state such that they no longer deliver
enough sensory or intellectual stimulation to prompt divergent
thought. Conversely, unfamiliar or novel stimuli tend to trigger diver-
gent thinking because of their ability to create perceptual confusion
that interrupts routine cognitive processing (Peter & Olson, 1987).
Unfamiliar stimuli are more difficult to recognize and thus require
additional thought and effort to interpret. It is the unexpected and
serendipitous encounters with unfamiliar or novel ideation stimuli that
function as the predominant mechanism for initiating spontaneous
divergent thought. Thus, the observation that novelty begets novelty
represents a central tenet underlying the divergent ideation process.
Furthermore, as encounter divergence increases (i.e., number and
assortment of unfamiliar stimulus encounters), so will the aggregate
fluency, flexibility, and originality of divergent thought generated.
Thus, encounter divergence directly affects both ideation divergence
(i.e., fluency, flexibility, and originality) and idea creativity (i.e., idea
novelty and utility). While any stimulus or inventive marketing struc-
ture can potentially spur divergent thought, it is most often encounters
with unfamiliar stimuli that initiate divergent ideation. Thus, research
propositions P1 and P2 posit:
P1: Encounters with unfamiliar stimuli (e.g., people, places, artifacts)
are more likely to prompt divergent ideation than encounters
with familiar stimuli.
P2: Ideation divergence (fluency, flexibility, and originality) and idea
creativity (novelty and utility) are positively correlated with
aggregate encounter divergence.
3.2 Encounter perceptions
As mentioned previously, encounters with unfamiliar stimuli (e.g., novel
people, places, memories, artifacts) often provide the catalyst for
spawning divergent thought and ideation. According to the DMTM,
240
the perceived stimulation, legibility, and familiarity of encountered
ideation stimuli mediate initiation of divergent marketing thought. The
nature of these perceptions depends on the characteristics of the
ideation stimulus and the person confronting it.
3.2.1 Encounter stimulation
Previous research has established the value of employing pictures,
artifacts, and other external stimuli to foster the generation of new
ideas (Goldschmidt, 2011; Herring, Jones, & Bailey, 2009; Knoll, Hor-
ton, Krull, & Dittmar, 2015). However, precisely how external ideation
stimuli influence the initiation of divergent thought is less clear. Prior
research suggests that each stimulus emits its own unique amount
of sensory energy or stimulation (Hoyer et al., 2013). However, while
every stimulus encounter transmits some degree of perceptual stim-
ulation, the selective nature of attention dictates that not every
stimulus will be consciously processed (Driver, 2001; Smyth, Morris,
Levy, & Ellis, 1987). Research also suggests that a stimulus must dis-
charge a minimum amount of sensory energy or stimulation before its
presence will be detected and consciously processed (Driver, 2001;
Mothersbaugh & Hawkins, 2016). Given that perceptual stimulation
varies in intensity, it raises the prospect that marginal stimulation
levels may render an ideation stimulus unnoticeable and, therefore,
ineffective as a mechanism for initiating divergent ideation. Similarly,
too much perceptual stimulation may overload one's perceptual sys-
tem and inhibit ideation initiation. Thus, moderate levels of percep-
tual stimulation may provide the most favorable conditions for ini-
tiating and promoting divergent thought and ideation. Collectively,
prior research findings imply that compared with expected encoun-
ters unexpected stimulus encounters require a greater amount of per-
ceptual stimulation to attract attention and initiate divergent ideation.
Nevertheless, perceived encounter stimulation appears to mediate the
initiation of divergent thought and ideation. As such, research proposi-
tion P3 formally states:
P3: A curvilinear, inverted U-shaped relationship exists between
perceived encounter stimulation and the initiation of divergent
marketing thought, such that (1) a moderate amount of per-
ceptual stimulation provides the optimal condition for initiat-
ing divergent ideation and (2) unexpected stimulus encounters
require a greater amount of perceptual stimulation to initiate
divergent ideation compared to expected stimulus encounters.
Encounter stimulation arises from the unique design characteristics
of the stimulus and may take the form of sensory or intellectual stim-
ulation. Sensory stimulation surfaces in response to the sensory cues
embedded in an ideation stimulus (e.g., shape, aroma, weight, sound,
movement). Sensory-laden stimuli (e.g., puppies, lemons, waterfalls)
often prompt the contemplation of real or imagined sensory experi-
ences (e.g., stimulus flavor, fragrance, tactile sensation). Alternatively,
an ideation stimulus may provide intellectual stimulation in the form
of symbolic cues (e.g., words, numbers, signs) that provoke conceptual
thought. Symbolic-laden stimuli prompt divergent ideation by activat-
ing prior knowledge that arouses intellectual curiosity, exploration, or
experimentation (e.g., beliefs, facts, feelings, memories). As such, the
TITUS
type and amount of perceived stimulation evoked by an encounter will
vary depending on the cue composition of an ideation stimulus. That
is, encounter (stimulation) perceptions will vary depending on the den-
sity and diversity of sensory and symbolic ideation cues possessed by
a stimulus. In general, the greater the density and diversity of sensory
and symbolic ideation cue composition, the greater the divergence of
encounter perceptions, ideation divergence, and creativity. However, a
stimulus may be so heavily populated by sensory and symbolic ideation
cues that it produces a state of perceptual confusion that restricts
ideation divergence and creativity. Thus, P4 contends:
P4: Encounter perceptions vary depending on the density and diver-
sity of ideation cue composition, such that (1) a curvilinear,
inverted U-shaped relationship exists between ideation cue
composition and perceived encounter stimulation, with (2) mod-
erate cue density and diversity providing the optimal condi-
tions for initiating divergent marketing thought, and (3) greater
ideation cue divergence (e.g., sensory, symbolic) being positively
correlated with divergence of encounter perceptions (i.e., sen-
sory or intellectual), idea divergence (fluency, flexibility, original-
ity), and idea creativity (i.e., novelty, utility).
3.2.2 Encounter legibility
As discussed previously, ideation stimuli commonly possess unique
design characteristics that mediate the initiation and generation of
divergent thought. The potential of a stimulus encounter to trigger
divergent thought is also dependent on its perceived legibility. This
notion finds support from related research on environmental legibility
(e.g., Lynch, 1960; Passini, 1984). Lynch (1960, p. 2) viewed legibility
as a psychological construct, defining it as “the ease with which the
parts of the environment can be recognized and organized into a coher-
ent pattern.” Passini (1984) defined legibility as the quality of an envi-
ronment that facilitates the extraction and comprehension of relevant
information. Both legibility perspectives focus on the need to extract
relevant information from complex environments.
As Exhibit 1 shows, creative provocations often involve the extrac-
tion of relevant information from complex stimuli (e.g., customer
photographs, comments, artifacts). The ability to extract relevant
information from an encountered ideation stimulus depends, in part,
on its perceived legibility. Perceived legibility, as conceptualized
here, represents the ease with which the individual components
or features of a stimulus can be recognized and organized into a
meaningful whole. Stimulus legibility is important to the ideation
process because it affects the ability to grasp the meaning, purpose,
construction, and operation of an encountered stimulus. Central to the
DMTM is the belief that a minimum amount of perceived legibility is
required before a stimulus can initiate divergent marketing thought.
Complex ideation stimuli, those containing a large array of unique
design characteristics (e.g., elements, relationships, patterns), often
require substantial thought and effort to decipher. It is not uncommon
for complex ideation stimuli to be perceived as so illegible, and thus
meaningless, that they lose their power to initiate divergent ideation.
However, ideation stimuli offering few unique design characteristics
may be viewed as highly legible, but not stimulating enough to initiate
TITUS
divergent thought. Moderate perceptions of stimulus legibility would
likely offer the most favorable conditions for initiating and generating
divergent thought. Encounters with moderately legible stimuli are
believed to function in a manner similar to the creative provocations
proposed by De Bono (1992). De Bono argued that creative provo-
cations surface as gaps in understanding and provide the impetus
for generating new ideas intended to close those gaps. Analogously,
reduced encounter legibility may produce gaps in understanding that
initiate divergent ideation. Therefore, P5 asserts:
P5: Perceived encounter legibility mediates divergent ideation, such
that (1) the relationship between perceived legibility and diver-
gent ideation initiation represents a curvilinear, inverted U-
shaped relationship, with (2) ideation initiation, idea divergence,
and idea creativity cresting under moderate levels of perceived
encounter legibility.
3.2.3 Encounter familiarity
Encounters with unfamiliar ideation stimuli trigger divergent thought
because of the inherent perceptual confusion they produce. Stimuli
perceived as unfamiliar or unusual are prone to being judged as pro-
viding marginal legibility and are subsequently more likely to prompt
divergent thought than familiar stimuli. Accordingly, perceptions of
stimulus familiarity play an important role in regulating the initiation
of divergent marketing thought. Of particular concern is whether an
ideation stimulus offers enough novelty (i.e., unfamiliarity) to prompt
divergent thought. Unfamiliar ideation stimuli are also more likely to
be perceived as moderately legible and subsequently more likely to ini-
tiate divergent thought than familiar (i.e., more legible) stimuli. Thus,
legibility perceptions are likely to vary depending on the perceived
familiarity of an encountered stimulus. Encounter legibility then will
undoubtedly fluctuate with the depth and breadth of an individual's
domain-relevant knowledge (i.e., stimulus familiarity). In general, indi-
viduals having greater stores of domain-relevant knowledge are more
likely to enjoy greater familiarity with a wide range of domain-related
ideation stimuli. A professional florist may find the terms “Rose” and
“Gardena” equally familiar, whereas a casual gardener may find the
term “Rose” considerably more familiar than “Gardena.” Increased
stimulus familiarity is likely to translate into improved perceptions
of encounter legibility, reduced perceptual confusion, and a lower
prospect of initiating divergent thought. This phenomenon may explain
why novices occasionally outperform experts on select ideation tasks.
Possessing more domain-relevant knowledge then may put experts at
a creative disadvantage when encountering familiar, domain-related
ideation stimuli, which impede the initiation divergent ideation. As a
result, proposition P6 predicts:
P6: Perceived stimulus familiarity is (1) positively correlated with
the depth and breadth of domain-relevant knowledge and
(2) negatively related to the initiation of divergent marketing
thought.
Previous research suggests that highly creative individuals tend to
have a greater tolerance for ambiguity than less creative individuals
241
(Couger, 1995; Merrotsky, 2013; Tegano, 1990). Budner (1962, p. 29)
defined ambiguity tolerance as “the tendency to perceive ambiguous
situations as desirable.” These findings are consistent with the notion
that reduced stimulus legibility and familiarity (i.e., increased ambi-
guity) can foster divergent ideation. Individuals with a penchant for
ambiguity may have a creative advantage when encountering unfamil-
iar or marginally legible stimuli because of their inclination to tolerate
the tedious process of breaking complex stimuli into smaller discern-
able parts. Prior research suggests that stimulus deconstruction can
aid personal creative performance (Feldman, 2008; Michalko, 1991;
VanGundy, 2005). Breaking complex ideation stimuli apart helps reveal
principles, dimensions, patterns, and relationships that promote idea
divergence and creativity. These research findings serve as the basis
for P7 that proposes:
P7: The tolerance for ambiguity moderates the relationship
between perceived legibility, familiarity, and the initiation
divergent marketing thought, such that a greater tolerance for
ambiguity moderates the negative impact of extreme stimulus
novelty and illegibility on the initiation divergent marketing
thought.
3.3 Divergent ideation modes
While it seems clear that encounters with unfamiliar or unusual
ideation stimuli have the power to initiate divergent ideation, the
ability of familiar stimuli to trigger ideation is less evident. Under
what conditions might an encounter with a familiar stimulus trigger
divergent marketing thought? The DMTM posits the existence of sev-
eral distinct modes of divergent ideation that facilitate the initiation
of divergent thought by making familiar ideation stimuli unfamiliar
(Exhibit 1). This assertion finds support from prior research positing
the existence of multiple modalities of creative thought (Abraham,
2014; Forceville & Urios-Aparisi, 2009; Ox & Van Der Elst, 2011; Ware,
2000). Ox and Van Der Elst (2011) referred to this aspect of (creative)
thought as transmodality, viewing human thought as much too com-
plex to be adequately captured by a singular mode of creative thought
(Ware, 2000). Research also underscores several distinct modes of
imaginative thought that are particularly germane to creative perfor-
mance and, by extension, divergent thinking. In particular, creative syn-
thesis, creative abstraction, and vicarious imagery have been linked
to improved personal creative performance (Amabile, 1983; Dejong,
1989; Goldschmidt, 2011; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 1999).
Precisely how these modes of thought manifest themselves within the
context of divergent ideation is less clear.
As the DMTM shows, each mode of divergent thought represents
an alternative pathway for initiating and promoting divergent mar-
keting ideation. These ideation modes facilitate divergent ideation
by mentally transforming familiar stimuli into unfamiliar ideation
stimuli, called “inventive marketing structures.” Employing divergent
ideation modes is an intentional (albeit intuitive) effort to make famil-
iar stimuli conceptually strange, novel, or unfamiliar. Encounters with
conceptually transformed stimuli constitute creative provocations
and serve the same divergent ideation function as encounters with
242
unfamiliar (conceptually unaltered) stimuli. Each mode of divergent
ideation is believed to produce its own unique type of inventive
marketing structure.
3.3.1 Creative synthesis
Mednick (1962) viewed creativity as the practice of making new
connections or relationships between seemingly unrelated concepts
or ideas. He referred to this conceptual exercise as associative think-
ing and described it as involving a process of trial-and-error that
linked concepts together in unfamiliar or unexpected relationships.
Koestler's (1966) work supports this perspective, suggesting that
the ability to link dissimilar concepts or ideas together is essential to
personal creative performance. Couger (1995, p. 202) referred to this
process as creative synthesis and defined it as “the act of combining or
rearranging concepts and ideas in a way that results in the formation
of new, novel relationships and configurations.” Mumford, Costanza,
Threlfall, Baughman, and Reiter-Palmon (1993) claimed that most
successful or valuable creative outcomes evolve from systematic
combination. Collectively, this research suggests that the generation
of original/novel combinations and relationships is a defining quality
of creative synthesis.
The value of forming novel combinations has not been lost on the
marketing profession. Product innovations often represent little more
than the creative synthesis of two familiar products into something
new (e.g., snowboards, sailboards). Such product combinations high-
light the commercial value of cross-pollinating ideas, knowledge, and
objects to marketing practice. As conceptualized here, creative syn-
thesis involves the process of forming new, unfamiliar relationships
between familiar marketing concepts, objects, or stimuli. Creative
synthesis facilitates divergent idea generation by mentally combin-
ing familiar stimuli to form unfamiliar, novel, inventive marketing com-
binations (e.g., garage-camping, air-showers, carpet-shadows). When
viewed within the DMTM, creative synthesis represents a fundamental
mode of divergent thought that involves the ability to mentally synthe-
size or transform familiar stimuli into unfamiliar inventive marketing
combinations.
Creativity research has explicitly recognized the central role
of interdisciplinary knowledge in personal creative performance
(Amabile, 1983; Baer, 1993). Amabile (1983) conceptualized the
ability to creatively synthesize disparate fields of knowledge as a
basic creative ability. Couger (1995) observed that effective creative
synthesis was typically preceded by prolonged periods of informa-
tion acquisition or knowledge building. These findings suggest that
the ability to divergently synthesize or formulate inventive mar-
keting combinations varies depending on the depth and breadth of
an individual's domain-relevant knowledge. Individuals possessing
greater stores of domain-relevant knowledge are more likely to com-
bine familiar stimuli to form unique/unfamiliar inventive marketing
combinations. Thus, P8 postulates:
P8: Creative synthesis is moderated by domain-relevant knowledge,
such that (1) the ability to formulate a large number of unfamil-
iar inventive marketing combinations is positively related to the
depth of available domain-relevant knowledge and (2) the ability
TITUS
to generate a wide variety of inventive marketing combinations
is positively related to the breadth of available domain-relevant
knowledge.
3.3.2 Creative abstraction
Marketing practice regularly involves the discovery of creative
solutions to complex problems containing an array of marketing
facts, issues, and assumptions. Such problem complexity often hides
important marketing issues, principles, and relationships. Abstract
thinking helps marketers formulate creative solutions by stripping
away irrelevant or redundant problem details, thus exposing market-
ing principles and relationships that help simplify, define, or redefine
marketing problems. The problem-solving benefit of abstract thinking
is underscored by the work of Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser (1981), who
found important differences in the way experts and novices interpret
and solve physics problems. Chi et al. found that when confronted with
basic physics problems, novice physics students tended to classify
them on the basis of elementary physical properties (e.g., inclined
planes, springs, pulleys). In contrast, expert physicists tended to clas-
sify the same problems on the basis of theoretical, abstract, or shared
principles of physics (e.g., conservation of energy). The physicists’
abstractions represent higher order theoretical summaries or simpli-
fications of problems. In a related study, Ward, Patterson, and Siforis
(2004) found student creative performance benefited greatly when
task instructions encouraged students to engage in more abstract
thought. Goldschmidt (2011) also found abstract thinking to foster
creative performance when using external stimuli to assist creative
design. Goldschmidt (2011, p. 97) concluded that “without abstraction
it is hard to distance oneself from the source (concrete stimulus) and
transfer only the essential (abstract) relationships” to an analogous
target object or problem.
In general, abstraction involves the act of removing or separating—
that is, the process of extracting the inherent (abstract) qualities from
an actual physical (concrete) object or concept to which they belong
(Mish & Morse, 1994; Steinmetz & Dowling, 1997). Furthermore,
creative abstraction commonly involves the discovery of novel or
unfamiliar patterns and relationships between elements, facts, or
attributes of a complex marketing problem or stimulus. Creative
marketing abstractions regularly surface as new theoretical frame-
works (i.e., new knowledge) designed to simplify the complexities of
marketing stimuli, problems, or psychological phenomena (e.g., social
media, brand management, attitude formation). As such, creative
marketing abstractions often represent simplified versions of reality
in much the same way as abstract paintings represent simplified visual
representations of reality. The outcome of creative abstraction is a
set of unfamiliar inventive marketing simplifications (e.g., simplified
visual images, product designs, theoretical understandings). Creative
abstraction, as conceptualized here, represents a distinct mode of
divergent ideation that involves the ability to formulate inventive
marketing simplifications in response to encounters with familiar
marketing concepts, products, problems, or stimuli. Creative abstrac-
tion can also transform familiar or conventional marketing (problem)
perspectives into strange or unfamiliar marketing viewpoints.
TITUS
Consider, for example, Charles Revlon's classic marketing abstraction
that Revlon might manufacturer cosmetics, but it also “sells hope” or
Leo McGinneva's observation that “customers don't want quarter inch
drill bits, they want quarter inch holes” (Levitt, 1986, p. 128). These
classic marketing abstractions implicitly recognize that customers
purchase (abstract) solutions rather than (concrete) physical products.
Such theoretical simplifications illustrate how abstracting underlying
customer benefits from familiar products can produce unconventional
(unfamiliar) marketing perspectives that foster the generation of
divergent marketing perspectives. Viewed collectively, these research
findings give support to P9, which hypothesizes:
P9: Creative abstraction, or the ability to formulate inventive mar-
keting simplifications, is positively correlated with the diver-
gence of marketing relationships and perspectives entertained.
Creative abstraction sometimes involves the extraction of specific
traits, qualities, or properties from a familiar stimulus. Extracting indi-
vidual properties or features from familiar stimuli often renders them
strange or unfamiliar and thus free to be experienced in a new or
unfamiliar way. For example, black-and-white photographs (i.e., color
abstractions) of familiar people or objects may direct attention to
unfamiliar characteristics or traits of those stimuli (e.g., outlines, pat-
terns, shadowing). Creative abstractions can also foster the transfer-
ence of novel (unfamiliar) qualities from one stimulus to another (famil-
iar) stimulus. Marketing abstractions commonly manifest themselves
in the design and development of products. Product designers regu-
larly transfer patterns, colors, and textures found in nature (e.g., trees,
flowers, animals, rocks) to the design of furniture, clothing, toys, and
other household items. Likewise, many product innovations represent
little more than inventive marketing abstractions (e.g., cordless tools,
road maps, Life board game). As such, the ability to engage in creative
abstraction appears to be another useful mode of divergent ideation.
As discussed previously, inventive marketing abstractions include
both rudimentary extractions of individual stimulus properties and
conceptual simplifications of complex stimuli (e.g., marketing mean-
ings, principles, relationships). And though most everyone is endowed
with the ability to engage in creative abstraction, the willingness to do
so depends on one's creative orientation. In particular, an individual's
tolerance for ambiguity, innate curiosity, and intrinsic task motivation
can all foster or impede the divergent formation of inventive mar-
keting abstractions. This notion finds support from prior research
that has found task motivation (Amabile, 1983), curiosity (Couger,
1995; Ruggiero, 1991; Tierney & Farmer, 2002), and a tolerance
for ambiguity (Merrotsky, 2013; Tegano, 1990) positively related to
improved creative performance. Given the simplifying properties of
creative abstraction, it seems likely that individuals having a greater
tolerance for ambiguity will possess the patience required to deci-
pher complex marketing problems or stimuli. Similarly, individuals
inherently interested in the creative task at hand will be more likely
to tolerate the ambiguities of solving complex marketing problems.
Thus, the ability to generate a larger number and wide assortment
of inventive marketing abstractions is likely to be moderated by and
positively correlated with an individual's tolerance for ambiguity and
243
intrinsic task motivation. Creative abstraction also contains a sizable
learning or discovery component (i.e., the ability to uncover new
marketing insights); as such, possessing a robust sense of curiosity
should also enhance an individual's creative abstraction abilities. This
is to be expected, as naturally inquisitive individuals tend to playfully
experiment with new ideas and stimuli out of their desire or need to
understand the world and its workings. Inherently, curious individuals
then are more likely to generate a larger number and wider assortment
of inventive marketing abstractions. Thus, P10 states:
P10: Creative abstraction ability is moderated by an individual's cre-
ative orientation, such that the ability to generate a divergent
set of inventive marketing simplifications is positively corre-
lated to a tolerance for ambiguity, task motivation, and innate
curiosity.
3.3.3 Vicarious imagery
In general, creative works are designed to produce desired psycho-
logical responses from select target audiences. These psychologi-
cal responses can represent powerful audience (customer) reactions
that transcend the initial sensory experience accompanying the art–
audience encounter. Photographers select certain subjects, objects,
and activities to photograph because the visual imagery evokes desired
viewer thoughts and feelings. Likewise, actors adjust their dialect,
appearance, and posture to elicit specific psychological responses from
audience members. The same art–audience relationship also holds
true for sculptors, dancers, musicians, and songwriters who attempt
to arouse targeted psychological audience responses. Given such cre-
ative aims, artistic success for these individuals often depends on their
ability to vicariously imagine and anticipate the type and intensity of
audience responses their creative work will evoke. Prior research has
found vicarious imagery to be extremely beneficial to actors, authors,
and songwriters who need to identity or empathize with the fictional
characters they portray on stage, in print, or in song (Root-Bernstein &
Root-Bernstein, 1999). Talented creative writers often describe their
creative process as a purposeful attempt to vicariously enter the minds
and worlds of their characters. Some authors have gone so far as to
suggest that they do not write their stories so much as vicariously
experience them (Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 1999). Seasoned
actors often describe the experience of getting into character as a psy-
chological state of being rather than acting—an imaginative process of
entering the psychological experience or world of the character. For-
mally defined, vicarious thinking represents another mode of creative
thought that provides substitute or surrogate experience obtained
through the imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience
of another (Mish & Morse, 1994, p. 1316).
Marketers, like other creative professionals, commonly devise
marketing initiatives to produce desired psychological responses
from customers. Designing these marketing initiatives often requires
that marketing professionals invest considerable time in vicariously
imagining how customers are likely to respond (Levitt, 1986). These
imaginative experiences or episodes often help marketing profession-
als break free from their conventional (familiar) or known reality and
experience unfamiliar customer realities. Vicarious imagery enhances
244
divergent marketing thought by allowing marketing professionals to
gain a deeper understanding of the customer's psychological experi-
ence and, in a vicarious sense, become the customer. The more aligned
a marketer's vicariously imagined reality is with the customer's actual
reality, the easier it is to generate meaningfully distinct marketing
ideas. Likewise, vicarious imagery can prove useful to marketing
professionals endeavoring to diverge from their familiar, conventional
reality and experience an unfamiliar (strange) alternative reality. As
conceptualized here, vicarious imagery initiates divergent ideation
through the construction of imaginary inventive marketing episodes
(e.g., imagined people, places, objects, events). Vicarious imagery
represents another valuable mode of divergent marketing ideation
designed to make the familiar unfamiliar.
Previous research suggests that most vicariously imagined episodes
are rooted in an individual's known, familiar past experiences (Ward
et al., 2004). Ward et al. (2004) investigated the renderings of students
who were asked to imagine, draw, or describe what life might be like
on another planet. The resultant drawings and descriptions possessed
a remarkable likeness to life on earth. Most alien creatures were repre-
sented visually with heads and appendages that resembled the human
form, implying that much vicarious imagery is grounded in an individ-
ual's known or familiar reality. These findings suggest that a produc-
tive imagination may require a sufficient amount of relevant (familiar)
life experience from which to deviate or diverge. Furthermore, it raises
the possibility that creative individuals may intuitively engage in the
practice of vicarious imagery as a problem-solving and ideation tac-
tic. Such vicarious imagery constitutes the deliberate attempt to alter
known realities to form imaginary episodes or experiences that spawn
new-to-the-world ideas. These vicariously imagined experiences fos-
ter ideation by altering or suspending familiar beliefs, principles, laws,
or attributes of a familiar reality for the express purpose of experienc-
ing a thought-provoking alternative (unfamiliar) reality. As such, vicar-
ious imagery represents another valuable mode of divergent ideation
involving the formulation of inventive marketing episodes or realities
designed to provoke creative marketing ideas. If vicarious imagery
involves the generation of imagined marketing episodes, it follows that
one must possess some familiar reality or life experience from which
to deviate or diverge. Generating a diverse set of inventive market-
ing episodes requires that an individual possesses a collection of rel-
evant (familiar) life experiences to vicariously transform (e.g., prod-
uct interactions, event participation). An individual's collection of life
experiences serves as the initial target stimulus from which to vicar-
iously deviate. The depth and breadth of an individual's relevant life
experiences moderates the ability to generate a large number and
wide assortment of inventive marketing episodes. Accordingly, P11
predicts:
P11: The ability to formulate inventive marketing episodes is mod-
erated by life experience, such that (1) episodic fluency is pos-
itively correlated with the depth of life experience and (2)
episodic flexibility and originality are positively correlated with
the breadth of life experience.
Vicariously imagined inventive marketing episodes constitute com-
plex ideation stimuli that vary in their sensory form and distinctiveness
TITUS
(e.g., visual, tactile, auditory). As such, the ability to effectively employ
inventive marketing episodes, as ideation prompts, will also be medi-
ated by encounter perceptions of stimulation, legibility, and familiar-
ity. Likewise, the moderating effects of an individual's creative orienta-
tion (e.g., tolerance for ambiguity, innate curiosity, task motivation) on
divergent ideation will resurface to affect the initiation and generation
of divergent marketing thought. Therefore, proposition P12 predicts:
P12: The ability to formulate inventive marketing episodes is moder-
ated by an individual's creative orientation, such that episodic
divergence is positively related to (1) tolerance for ambiguity,
(2) task motivation, and (3) innate curiosity.
3.4 Divergent interpretation
While inventive marketing structures serve as the impetus for diver-
gent ideation, it is the divergent interpretation of those structures
that provides the creative insight required to guide the development
and elaboration of creative marketing ideas. Divergent interpretations
represent new, unfamiliar marketing understandings, perspectives,
and relationships, which prompts the divergent transformation of
inventive marketing structures. Divergent interpretation represents
another important ideation process encompassing the ability to
discover new, unfamiliar marketing insights (i.e., marketing meanings
and meaningfulness). As the DMTM posits, the ability to generate
a large number and wide assortment of marketing interpretations
mediates the subsequent transformation of inventive marketing
structures.
3.4.1 Marketing meanings
Divergent interpretation is best understood by examining the process
of synthesizing two seemingly unrelated concepts (e.g., gum and
light). When viewed independently, the marketing meanings evoked
by the concepts gum and light differ radically from their meanings
when combined. When presented in combination, gum and light create
two unfamiliar inventive marketing combinations (i.e., light–gum
and gum–light). These disparate inventive marketing combinations
have the potential to produce unfamiliar yet different marketing
meanings or interpretations. For example, the light–gum combination
could be interpreted as a form of dietary gum (e.g., sugar-free gum,
hunger-quenching gum), or consumable light (e.g., nutritional light,
flavored light). In contrast, the marketing meanings inspired by the
gum–light combination might include glowing gum, gum-shaped lights,
or sticky lights. Similarly, interpreting unfamiliar inventive marketing
abstractions can also produce thought-provoking marketing meanings.
For example, abstracting the underlying benefits from a (concrete)
product, such as a flashlight, may produce a variety of inventive
marketing simplifications (e.g., night movement, night safety, night
searching). The divergent interpretation of these inventive marketing
abstractions may, in turn, lead to a variety of creative insights (e.g.,
portable lighting, light as protection, playing with light). Generating
diverse marketing meanings can help facilitate subsequent divergent
transformation while simultaneously fostering ideation divergence
and creativity. Thus, divergent marketing ideation appears to require
TITUS
not only the ability to identify or produce unfamiliar inventive market-
ing structures, but also the ability to generate a large number and wide
assortment of novel marketing meanings or interpretations. Thus, P13
hypothesizes:
P13: Ideation divergence and creativity are mediated by and posi-
tively correlated with the ability to compile a large number and
wide assortment of marketing meanings.
Previous research on comprehension has found that prior knowl-
edge guides the assignment of meaning to encountered objects, events,
and circumstances (Peter & Olson, 1987). Research has also revealed
that when faced with partial or incomplete knowledge, individuals
commonly make inferences or construct meanings (Mothersbaugh &
Hawkins, 2016; Peter & Olson, 1987) to help make sense of the world
around them. The ability to assign new meanings thus depends on the
depth of an individual's available knowledge. These research findings
hold serious implications for understanding divergent interpretation
because it involves the construction of diverse, unfamiliar marketing
insights or meanings—a comprehension process. Analogously, the abil-
ity to construct a large number and wide assortment of novel market-
ing meanings will depend on the depth and breadth of an individual's
domain-relevant knowledge. Consequently, P14 asserts:
P14: Divergent interpretation is moderated by the availability of
domain-relevant knowledge, such that (1) meaning fluency is
positively correlated with the depth of domain knowledge and
(2) meaning flexibility and originality is positively correlated
with the breadth of domain knowledge.
Divergent interpretation also depends on the degree of perceived
legibility and familiarity accorded an encountered inventive market-
ing structure. The ability to divergently interpret inventive market-
ing combinations, abstractions, or episodes requires enough perceived
legibility to allow new marketing insights or meanings be assigned to
those structures. As such, the degree of perceived legibility attributed
to inventive marketing structures should mediate the ability to gen-
erate a divergent set of marketing insights or meanings. Likewise,
interpreting inventive marketing combinations requires the ability to
observe similarities between seemingly unrelated stimuli (e.g., product,
attribute, or symbolic combinations). This view is consistent with Med-
nick's (1962) work on associative thinking, which found stimulus simi-
larity to affect an individual's ability to form new relationships between
two or more associative elements. Dissimilar marketing combinations,
those containing few points of correspondence or resemblance, are
likely to prompt more distinct marketing meanings, but at the expense
of meaning fluency and flexibility. In contrast, inventive marketing com-
binations containing more points of correspondence or shared resem-
blance are likely to increase interpretation fluency and flexibility, but
at the expense of meaning originality. Hence P15:
P15: Divergent interpretation is mediated by encounter percep-
tions, such that perceived legibility and similarity are (1) pos-
itively correlated with meaning fluency and flexibility and (2)
negatively correlated with meaning originality.
245
3.4.2 Marketing meaningfulness
Divergent interpretation encompasses not only the discovery of new
marketing meaning, but also an ability to identify their potential rele-
vance to future marketing practice. As conceptualized here, divergent
interpretation involves the creative search for meaningfulness—the
unearthing of potential distinctiveness and utility of marketing insight.
As such, divergent interpretation requires the ability to identify a large
number and wide assortment of meaningful and distinct marketing
implications. More specifically, an ability to recognize marketing
insights that have potential marketing utility (e.g., customer value),
and or, provide distinct marketing advantages (e.g., product differen-
tiation, branding). The divergent search for marketing meaningfulness
requires an ability to generate unique, unexploited, marketing oppor-
tunities/advantages that can be transformed into creative marketing
ideas. Thus, P16 contends:
P16: Ideation divergence and creativity are positively correlated
with the ability to generate a large number and wide assort-
ment of meaningfully distinct marketing opportunities inspired
by newly discovered marketing insights/meanings.
The divergent search for marketing meaningfulness is commonly
undertaken in conjunction with a predetermined customer problem
or strategic marketing issue. Therefore, identifying the relevance of
new marketing insights depends heavily on the depth and breadth of
an individual's knowledge of the problem at hand. Problem knowledge
largely consists of industry or domain knowledge about customers
(e.g., problems, preferences, behaviors) and current marketplace offer-
ings. For example, knowledgeable marketing professionals are more
likely to recognize the strategic value and distinctiveness of new mar-
keting insights than their less knowledgeable counterparts. The abil-
ity to generate a divergent set of meaningful marketing opportuni-
ties is moderated by one's domain-relevant customer and marketplace
knowledge. Thus, P17 posits:
P17: The ability to generate a large number and wide assortment of
potential marketing opportunities is positively correlated with
the depth and breadth of one's domain-relevant customer and
marketplace knowledge.
3.5 Divergent transformation
The ultimate goal of divergent (marketing) ideation is the develop-
ment of creative marketing ideas. Generating creative marketing ideas
requires the ability to transform inventive marketing structures into
distinct and valuable marketing ideas, strategies, or customer solu-
tions. Divergent transformation functions as a type of preliminary
concept development in which divergent interpretations direct the
initial formation of creative marketing ideas. Divergent transforma-
tion is conceptualized here as a bipartite construct involving (1) the
identification of relevant marketing applications (i.e., target prob-
lems/domains) and (2) the initial generation of meaningfully distinct
marketing ideas (i.e., idea formulation and modification). This bipar-
tite conceptualization shares some resemblance to prior creativity
246
research investigating the role of metaphor in the generation of cre-
ative thought and comprehension (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; Ox & Van
Der Elst, 2011; Wolff & Gentner, 2011). Lakoff and Johnson (1980)
conceptualized metaphoric thinking as a distinct mode of thought that
facilitates the transfer of inferences and insights between seemingly
disparate domains. Metaphoric thinking acts as a mapping process (Ox
& Van Der Elst, 2011) that helps transfer shared characteristics (i.e.,
points of correspondence) from a source domain to another target
domain (Gentner & Bowdle, 2001; Markman, 1997; Wolff & Gentner,
2011). As conceptualized here, divergent transformation operates in
a manner similar to the structural mapping process advanced by con-
ceptual metaphor theory. That is, divergent marketing transformation
involves an assessment of a source stimulus (i.e., inventive marketing
structures) to discover structural principles, understandings, and rela-
tionships (i.e., divergent marketing interpretations) that can be applied
to relevant marketing problems or target domains (i.e., divergent trans-
formation).
The random trial-and-error character of most creative endeav-
ors (Carlson & Gorman, 1992; Mumford, Medeiros, & Partlow, 2012;
Thomke, 2001) suggests that divergent transformation also contains
some element of chance. This serendipitous quality arises from the
volume of possible target domains and approaches to consider when
transforming inventive marketing structures or meanings. For exam-
ple, consider some of the marketing domains in which the previous
gum–light interpretations might be operationalized (e.g., candy, tools,
toys, art). Likewise, transforming any gum–light interpretation (e.g.,
consumable light, safety light, search light, shaping light) into a cre-
ative marketing idea will require considerable trial-and-error. A trans-
formational process whereby specific design elements (e.g., color, size,
shape, graphics) are arranged and rearranged to form initial market-
ing (product) concepts (e.g., glowing gum; post-it work lights, flash-
light treasure hunts, sculpting glow putty) subsequently undergoes
additional conceptual detailing and elaboration to form creative mar-
keting ideas. The reliance on trial-and-error transformation regularly
provides encounters with unproductive creative outcomes (i.e., cre-
ative failure); a creative experience many individuals cannot tolerate.
Needing to select from such a diverse set of target domains or pre-
liminary concept formulations introduces considerable ambiguity and
uncertainty into the divergent ideation process highlighting its heuris-
tic quality. Creative professionals commonly employ systematic idea-
generating heuristics to minimize the ambiguity and random-error
that accompanies ideation (e.g., morphological analysis, attribute rear-
rangement, analogy procedures). For example, creative abstraction can
help simplify the search and selection of suitable marketing domains
by abstracting underlying customer benefits from a source stimulus
(e.g., customer product or service). As an illustration, consider some of
the (abstract) customer benefits associated with the retail brick-and-
mortar shopping experience (e.g., entertainment, exercise, problem-
solving). Abstracting these benefits simplifies the transfer/application
of these benefits to analogous marketing (target) domains (e.g., theater,
fitness, school). Understanding this powerful transforming effect helps
reveal how inventive analogies can produce radical marketing transfor-
mations (e.g., shopping as theater, shopping as exercise, shopping as
learning). If divergent transformation were completely intuitive, obvi-
TITUS
ous, or devoid of chance, the resulting marketing ideas would not
likely prove particularly valuable or distinct. In any event, the divergent
transformation of marketing interpretation appears to require a signif-
icant tolerance for ambiguity, serendipity, and failure. Therefore, P18
suggests:
P18: The ability to generate divergent marketing transformations is
positively correlated with a tolerance for creative (1) ambigu-
ity, (2) serendipity, and (2) failure.
The focus of divergent transformation can also vary in direction
depending on an individual's creative orientation (i.e., preference for
novelty and utility). Some individuals are predisposed to put greater
ideation emphasis on the novelty or distinctiveness of newly formu-
lated marketing ideas, while others give more weight to the functional
value or usefulness of new ideas. As such, the transformational direc-
tion (i.e., novelty or utility), degree (i.e., fluency), and variety of con-
ceptual transformations (e.g., formulations, modifications, and elabora-
tions) are likely to be moderated by an individual's creative orientation
or ideation preferences. Finally, P19 hypothesizes:
P19: The ability to generate a divergent set of transformations is (1)
positively correlated with an ideation orientation/preference
for idea novelty/distinctiveness and (2) negatively correlated
with an ideation orientation/preference for idea utility.
4 FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
The DMTM represents an initial attempt to investigate the role of
divergent marketing thought in generating of creative marketing ideas.
The DMTM provides new research directions and opportunities for
exploring the cognitive mechanisms underlying divergent marketing
thought and ideation. Any material advancement in knowledge of
divergent thought will require the development of new research meth-
ods and measures to empirically test the theoretical construct relation-
ships, propositions, and divergent ideation outcomes advanced herein.
Future research must also begin the task of systematically investigat-
ing the divergent thought processes of assorted marketing profession-
als (e.g., academicians, practitioners, experienced, inexperienced). This
will require continued theory building to provide the conceptual foun-
dation necessary to devise empirical tests of the factors that mediate,
moderate, and promote divergent ideation and subsequent generation
of creative marketing ideas.
Every research endeavor tends to raise more questions than it
answers. The DMTM proposed here is no exception and raises some
questions that may be of interest to future marketing researchers.
For example, further research is required to advance understand-
ing of the problem-solving circumstances under which various
modes of divergent ideation manifest themselves. Compiling a more
complete list of such problem-solving circumstances will improve
future marketing practice and professional development. Additional
research is also necessary to clarify the role of individual differences
in divergent ideation performance, particularly which personal or
TITUS
professional characteristics best predict individual preferences for
particular modes of divergent ideation and which marketing pro-
fessionals are most adept at employing various ideation modalities.
Likewise, the DMTM provides few answers regarding the ideation
modes and mechanisms that underlie idea evaluation, refinement, or
elaboration of creative marketing ideas.
Previous research has emphasized the importance of cognitive flex-
ibility to personal creative performance (Amabile, 1983; Couger, 1995;
Duncker, 1945; Guilford, 1950). Similarly, the value of using creative
problem-solving heuristics to promote cognitive flexibility has been
demonstrated (e.g., Kotler & Trias de Bes, 2003; Terninko, Zusman, &
Zoltin, 1998). However, many useful divergent ideation heuristics are
waiting to be discovered. Future creativity research should continue
to identify, develop, and test new divergent idea-generating heuristics.
In particular, research that identifies new idea-generating techniques
for increasing the divergence of ideation outcomes (e.g., inventive
marketing structures, interpretations, transformations) when employ-
ing alternative modes of marketing ideation (e.g., synthesis, abstrac-
tion, vicarious imagery) would be helpful. Likewise, research that
investigates the effectiveness of various divergent ideation heuris-
tics under varying idea-generating conditions would also prove fruit-
ful. Finally, additional research that assesses the problem-solving cir-
cumstances under which divergent marketing ideation performance
is fostered or impeded when employing collaborative ideation tactics
must be explored. The continued discovery and testing of ideation
heuristics will allow marketing organizations to employ data-driven
ideation heuristics to improve the divergent thinking ability of mar-
keting professionals. Finally, a deeper understanding of divergent
thought and ideation should allow marketing organizations to design
more effective training programs directed at improving the ability
of their workers to generate creative marketing ideas, solutions, and
strategies.
Future research that investigates divergent marketing thought will
no doubt uncover new modes of divergent ideation, inventive mar-
keting structures, and as-yet-conceived divergent ideation constructs
and relationships. Marketing researchers interested in investigating
divergent marketing thought will face the challenge of developing new
research methods (e.g., divergent thought protocols, participant obser-
vations, and reflections) and measures to assess divergent ideation
outcomes (e.g., inventive marketing structures, interpretations, trans-
formations). These are but a few of the research challenges and oppor-
tunities awaiting researchers interested in learning more about the
phenomenon of divergent marketing thought.
5 SUMMARY
This research explores the ideation processes and outcomes associ-
ated with the generation of divergent marketing thought. A simpli-
fied model of divergent marketing ideation, referred to as the DMTM,
was advanced. The DMTM integrates distinct modes of marketing
ideation (e.g., syntheses, abstraction, vicarious imagery) into Finke
247
et al.’s (1992) creative cognition model. The impetus behind the devel-
opment of the DMTM was to provide a theoretical foundation that pro-
vides new insights into the cognitive workings of divergent marketing
thought and ideation. The DMTM represents an extension and applica-
tion of previous creativity research to marketing.
REFERENCES
Abraham, A. (2014). Creative thinking as orchestrated by semantic
processing versus cognitive control brain networks. Frontiers in
Human Neuroscience, 8, 95. http://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.
00095
Amabile, T. M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity: A componential
conceptualization. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 44, 281–291.
Amabile, T. M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J., & Herron, M. (1996). Assess-
ing the work environment for creativity. Academy of Management Jour-
nal, 39, 1154–1184.
Andrews, J., & Smith, D. C. (1996). In search of the marketing imagination:
Factors affecting the creativity of marketing programs for mature prod-
ucts. Journal of Marketing Research, 33, 174–187.
Baer, J. S. (1993). Creativity & divergent thinking: A task-specific approach.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Brenton, B., & Levin, D. (2012). The softer side of innovation: The people.
Journal of Product Innovation Management, 29, 364–366.
Budner, S. (1962). Intolerance of ambiguity as a personality variable. Journal
of Personality, 30, 29–50.
Carlson, W. B., & Gorman, M. E. (1992). A cognitive framework to under-
stand technological creativity: Bell, Edison, and the telephone. In R. J.
Weaver & D. N. Perkins (Eds.), Inventive minds: Creativity in technology
(pp. 48–79). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Chi, M. T. H., Feltovich, P. J., & Glaser, R. (1981). Categorization and repre-
sentation of physics problems by experts and novices. Cognitive Science,
5, 121–152.
Couger, J. D. (1995). Creative problem solving and opportunity finding. Dan-
vers, MA: Boyd & Fraser.
d'Astous, A., & Deschenes, J. (2005). Consuming in one's mind. Psychology &
Marketing, 22, 1–30.
Day, G. S. (1994). Significant issues for the future of product innovation:
Enhancing the ideation capability. Journal of Product Innovation and Man-
agement, 11, 69–761.
De Bono, E. (1992). Serious creativity. New York: Harper-Collins.
Dejong, G. (1989). The role of explanation and analogy; or, the curse of allur-
ing names. In W. Vosniadou & A. Ortony (Eds.), Similarity and analogi-
cal reasoning (pp. 346–366). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University
Press.
Driver, J. (2001). A selective review of selective attention research from the
past century. British Journal of Psychology, 92, 53–78.
Duncker, K. (1945). On problem solving. Psychological Monographs, 58, 1–
113.
Feldman, R. (2008). Deconstructing creative strategy. New York: Association
of National Advertisers.
Ferguson, B. (2009). Creativity and integrity: Marketing the “in develop-
ment” screenplay. Psychology & Marketing, 26, 421–444.
Finch, D., Nadeau, J., & O'Reilly, N. (2013). The future of marketing educa-
tion: A practitioner's perspective. Journal of Marketing Education, 35, 54–
67.
Finke, R. A., Ward, T. B., & Smith, S. M. (1992). Creative cognition. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.
248
Forceville, C. J., & Urios-Aparisi, E. (2009). Multimodal metaphor. Berlin, Ger-
many: Walter de Gruyter.
Gentner, D., & Bowdle, B. F. (2001). Convention, form, and figurative lan-
guage processing. Metaphor and Symbol, 16, 223–247.
Goldschmidt, G. (2011). Avoiding design fixation: Transformation and
abstraction in mapping from source to target. Journal of Creative Behav-
ior, 45, 92–100.
Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5, 444–454.
Hargadon, A., & Sutton, R. I. (2000). Building an innovation factory. Harvard
Business Review, 78, 157–166.
Herring, S. R., Jones, B. R., & Bailey, B. P. (2009). Idea generation tech-
niques among creative professionals. HICSS 2009 Proceedings of the
42nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Washington,
DC: IEEE Computer Sciences, 1–10.
Hoyer, W. D., MacInnis, D. J., & Pieters, R. (2013). Consumer behavior. Mason,
OH: South-Western.
Huang, H. H., & Mitchell, V. (2014). The role of imagination in brand person-
ification in brand relationships. Psychology & Marketing, 31, 38–47.
Jacoby, L. L., & Dallas, M. (1981). On the relationship between autobio-
graphical memory and perceptual learning. Journal of Experimental Psy-
chology: General, 110, 306–340.
Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. A. (2000). Knowing a winning business idea
when you see one. Harvard Business Review, 78, 129–138.
Knoll, S. W., Horton, G. H., Krull, C., & Dittmar, T. (2015). Improving the
effectiveness of ideation using analogies: Choosing the right external
stimuli. Journal of Creativity and Business Innovation, 1, 5–18.
Koestler, A. (1966). The act of creation. New York: MacMillan.
Kotler, P., & Trias de Bes, F. (2003). Lateral marketing: New techniques for find-
ing breakthrough ideas. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago, IL: University
of Chicago.
Lee, A. Y., & Labroo, A. A. (2004). The effect of conceptual and perceptual
fluency on brand evaluation. Journal of Marketing Research, 41, 151–165.
Levitt, T. T. (1986). The marketing imagination. New York: The Free Press.
Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
MacInnis, D. J., & Price, L. L. (1987). The role of imagery in information pro-
cessing: Review and extensions. Journal of Consumer Research, 13, 473–
491.
Markman, A. B. (1997). Constraints on analogical inference. Cognitive Sci-
ence, 21, 373–418.
Mednick, S. A. (1962). The associative basis of the creative process. Psycho-
logical Review, 69, 220–232.
Merrotsky, P. (2013). Tolerance for ambiguity: A trait of the creative person-
ality. Creativity Research Journal, 25, 232–237.
Michalko, M. (1991). Thinkertoys. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.
Miller, W. C. (1987). The creative edge. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Mish, F. C., & Morse, J. M. (Eds.). (1994). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictio-
nary (10th ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Mothersbaugh, D. L., & Hawkins, D. I. (2016). Consumer behavior: Building
marketing strategy. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mumford, M. D., Costanza, D. P., Threlfall, K. V., Baughman, W. A., & Reiter-
Palmon, R. (1993). Personality variables and problem-construction
activities: An exploratory investigation. Creativity Research Journal, 6,
365–389.
TITUS
Mumford, M. D., Medeiros, K. E., & Partlow, P. J. (2012). Creative thinking:
Processes, strategies, & knowledge. Journal of Creative Behavior, 17, 30–
47.
Nayak, P. R., & Ketteringham, J. M. (1986). Breakthroughs. New York, NY:
Rawson Associates.
Oliver, J. D., & Ashley, C. (2012). Creative leader's views on managing
advertising creativity. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 20, 335–
348.
Ox, J., & Van Der Elst, J. (2011). How metaphor functions as vehicle of
thought: Creativity as a necessity for knowledge building and commu-
nication. Journal of Visual Art Practice, 10, 83–102.
Passini, R. (1984). Wayfinding in architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Rein-
hold.
Peter, J. P., & Olson, J. C. (1987). Consumer behavior: Marketing strategy per-
spectives. Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin.
Ramocki, S. P. (1996). Developing creative marketing graduates. Marketing
Education Review, 6, 47–53.
Root-Bernstein, R., & Root-Bernstein, M. (1999). Sparks of genius. Boston,
MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Ruggiero, V. R. (1991). The art of thinking. New York: Harpers Collins.
Sasser, S. L., & Koslow, S. (2008). Desperately seeking advertising creativity.
Journal of Advertising, 37, 5–19.
Smyth, M. M., Morris, O. E., Levy, P., & Ellis, A. W. (1987). Cognition in action.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Steinmetz, S., & Dowling, J. L. (Eds.). (1997). Random house Webster's college
dictionary (2nd ed.). New York: Random House.
Tegano, D. W. (1990). Relationship of tolerance of ambiguity and playfulness
to creativity. Psychological Reports, 66, 1047–1056.
Terninko, J., Zusman, A., & Zoltin, B. (1998). Systematic innovation: An intro-
duction to TRIZ. Boca Raton, FL: St. Lucie Press.
Thomke, S. (2001). Enlightened experimentation: The new imperative for
innovation. Harvard Business Review, 79, 66–75.
Tierney, P., & Farmer, S. M. (2002). Creative self-efficacy: Its potential
antecedents and relationships to creative performance. Academy of
Management Journal, 45(8), 1137–1148.
Torrance, E. P. (1962). Guiding creative talent. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall.
Torrance, E. P. (1974). Torrance tests of creative thinking: Norms and technical
manual. Bensenville, IL: Scholastic Testing Press.
VanGundy, A. B. (2005). 101 activities for teaching creativity and problem solv-
ing. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.
Ward, T. B., Patterson, M. J., & Siforis, C. M. (2004). The role of specificity
and abstraction in creative idea generation. Creativity Research Journal,
16, 1–9.
Ware, C. (2000). Information visualization: Perception for design. San Diego,
CA: Academic Press.
Wolff, P., & Gentner, D. (2011). Structure-mapping in metaphor comprehen-
sion. Cognitive Science, 35, 1456–1488.
How to cite this article: Titus PA. Exploring creative mar-
keting thought: Divergent ideation processes and outcomes.
Psychol Mark. 2018;35:237–248. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.
21083