How about the "Miracle Word Cards" that spark breakthrough ideas?

"Stayable——"

"Once-in-a-millennium——"

"——Minister in Charge"

"Suddenly——"

"Chief —— Officer"

So, what exactly are these words?

These are the "Miracle Word Cards" developed by Dentsu Inc. B Team. We've collected words that, when combined with existing nouns, create a "jump" in planning ideas—truly miraculous words.

Hello, I'm Tomoyuki Torisu, Specially Appointed Researcher in charge of "Peace" for Team B. Every day, we at Team B think about ways to solve the challenges companies face using alternative approaches that differ from the norm.

This time, we introduce one such solution: the "Miracle Word Cards." We're also joined by Tohru Oyama (B Team's Specially Appointed Researcher in charge of "Play"), the creator of the "Miracle Words" that form the basis of these cards.

<Table of Contents>
▼Discovering "Miracle Words" – Phrases that Spark New Ideas
▼Experiencing the Cards' Miraculous Effects in Workshops
▼Putting It into Practice! Solving Problems with Miracle Word Cards
▼Spreading the Miracle Word Cards to Struggling Planners Across Japan!
　 ※Seminar Information

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Discovering "Miracle Words" – Phrases that Spark New Ideas

Team B compiles case studies from 50 specially appointed researchers, based on their experiences and interesting information they pick up in daily life. One day, Mr. Oyama brought in the case study of the popular night tour "Aquarium Stay" at an aquarium in Kanagawa Prefecture.

This service allows guests to stay overnight in front of the large aquarium tank and observe the creatures at leisure. Mr. Oyama was intrigued by the phrase "stay overnight," which doesn't typically come to mind with aquariums. Come to think of it, there's a "bookstore you can stay overnight in" in Ikebukuro, or what if there were a "museum you can stay overnight in"...

Perhaps the word "stay" holds a special power; when attached to existing products or services, it makes them appear new.

Team B searched for other such words and found various examples: "Adult――," "Utterly Cheerful――," "Emotional――," "Afternoon――," and more.

It wasn't just prefixes; there were suffixes too, like "―― ordinance" in Saga's "Sake Toast Ordinance" or Aomori's "Breakfast Ordinance." "―― girls" and "―― con" are also standard.

Simply adding these words to existing product or service names creates unexpected imagery and sparks new ideas. We named these words with such special power "Miracle Words." After carefully reviewing many candidates, we narrowed it down to 100 particularly versatile words to create the "Miracle Word Cards."

Experience the cards' miraculous effects in workshops

We wondered if these Miracle Word Cards could be used as a tool to jumpstart brainstorming sessions. So, in March 2016, we held a workshop in Mitake Town, Gifu Prefecture.

Participants ranged from local junior high students to seniors in their 70s, along with young Tokyo office workers—a diverse group varying in age, idea-generation skills, and backgrounds. Using the cards, they collaborated on ideas for promoting Mitake Town's specialties, such as "Goheda Miso" and "Hanasushi."

In the limited time of 40 minutes, a significant number of ideas were generated.

■Example using the miracle word "Morning――": "Morning Goheda Miso"

Goheda miso spread on toast like jam in the morning. With rice meals giving way to bread and miso soup consumption declining, this idea aims to create new demand by encouraging people to spread miso on toast.

■Example using the miracle word "clock": "Flower Sushi Clock"

An idea to create a flower clock using flower sushi, a common sight in towns. It aimed to leverage the visually striking nature of flower sushi while creating a giant flower sushi clock to generate buzz and news coverage.

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This workshop generated far more enthusiasm than we anticipated. We concluded that using Miracle Word cards can unlock everyone's innate talent for idea generation and decided to implement them systematically.

The second workshop was held at Academy Hills in Roppongi, themed around solving social issues facing NHK using Miracle Word Cards. The issue we decided on after discussions with an NHK director was raising awareness and understanding of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).

Discussions on such sensitive themes often struggle to generate ideas from diverse angles. Our approach was to use Miracle Words to break through this barrier.

Ms. Oyama, who participated in the workshop, shared her experience:

"Using the cards as a catalyst allowed us to generate ideas we wouldn't normally think of, free from preconceptions. We then built on those ideas to shape them into concrete forms. Even with sensitive themes where people might otherwise get stuck and fall silent, we experienced a 'chain reaction of ideas' that led to solutions." (Oyama)

Of course, even when new concepts emerge using miracle words, they don't always directly translate into solutions. The cards' greatest utility lies in breaking through discussions that tend to get stuck or deadlocked. In that sense, this workshop gave us a sense of the cards' new potential.

We also held a workshop in China with university professors. We asked them to create original Miracle Words based on "current trends in China." While we couldn't always grasp their meanings, the professors themselves resonated deeply with each other and were highly engaged. For us, the key takeaway was learning about "real trends in China" through the card creation process. This led to discussions about whether Miracle Word Cards could be used for research across countries and regions.

Over these past two and a half years, we've also accumulated a track record of utilizing the cards in numerous settings, including corporate new product development, new business development, internal training, and programs at universities both domestically and internationally.

Practical Application! Solving Problems with Miracle Word Cards

To demonstrate how to use Miracle Word Cards for generating ideas, Mr. Oyama and I conducted a practical session focused on the theme of "childcare."

Issues unique to our times, such as the shortage of childcare spots and single-parent childcare, are piling up. To generate the kind of breakthrough ideas that wouldn't emerge from discussions starting from scratch, let's harness the power of Miracle Words.

★Basic Usage of Miracle Word Cards

1. Deal 10 cards to each player.
2. Each person selects cards from their hand that seem likely to spark interesting ideas.
3. Show your cards simultaneously, then take turns explaining the Miracle Word you chose.
4. Expand on the ideas generated by all participants.

This time, Mr. Oyama chose "24 hours——" and I chose "——of the Year" as our Miracle Words.

● Why I chose "24 hours—" as my miracle word (Oyama)

Childcare doesn't have a time limit, right? I wondered what would happen if we took a broader view, like "24-hour childcare."

● Ideas sparked by the phrase "24-hour childcare"

• "24 hours" sounds like a convenience store. What about the concept of convenience store parenting?
• What about a new type of daycare center, like a convenience store stocked with all kinds of things, where you can do various childcare-related tasks?
• If there were as many childcare centers as there are convenience stores, that would be a huge help.
• Let's create a childcare-focused convenience store, for example, with attached daycare.
• Since convenience stores operate on shifts, maybe families could organize childcare shifts among themselves too.

● Why I chose "―― of the Year" as the miracle word (Torisu)

I thought it would be nice to record what kind of childcare we did throughout the year, then at year's end, announce the best childcare moment as "Childcare of the Year" and have couples praise each other for it.

● Ideas sparked by the phrase "Childcare of the Year"

• Properly reflecting on childcare at milestones like the end of a year.
• It's important to create opportunities to properly praise family members who work hard at childcare.
• Creating awards like "Firstborn Award" or "First Daughter Award" and having the family vote might be nice.
• It might be good to create and sell kits with trophies and certificates.
• The kit could include tools for recording a year's worth of parenting, with space to write down the "Of the Year" award winners.

In this way, we continuously share ideas sparked by the Miracle Word, writing the core concept of each idea on a sticky note and attaching it to a card. At this stage, we set aside concerns about feasibility. If an idea relates to one already presented, we connect the sticky notes. This visualizes the discussion and shows which ideas are being explored in depth.

I want to spread Miracle Word Cards to all the struggling planners across Japan!

Team B often holds workshops with corporate new business divisions and product development teams, and we frequently encounter people who believe they are "bad at generating ideas."

By using Miracle Word Cards to unlock individual and organizational creativity, I want people to realize that idea generation isn't the exclusive domain of special individuals—it's a skill everyone possesses.

If more people can experience the joy of generating ideas and learn how to do it, we should see more new ideas and exciting projects emerging across Japan.

To achieve this, I believe we need to do more than just act as facilitators ourselves. We need to increase the number of "Miracle Word Facilitators" who can maximize the power of these cards during workshops.

We are conducting seminars to share these insights and help participants master facilitating with Miracle Word Cards. We encourage anyone interested to join us.

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Seminar Information

The 6th seminar will be held on March 4, 2020, at the Japan Management Association Training Room. Details and registration are available at the URL below.

~ Dentsu Inc. B Team's Idea Generation Method ~ Miracle Word Facilitation Seminar
https://school.jma.or.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=150821

For those unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts, distance, or who prefer learning conveniently via PC or smartphone, we also offer an online seminar.
https://jma-mkonline.com/course/course08/