The Joy of ...creativity

Source of image:pexels.com



A great rhetorical question from Geoffrey Colon on Linkedin recently about 'proving the incremental benefit of creativity ' was the spark that got me thinking . The question may be a simple one ,but there are so many parts that feed in to the eventual answer it would require several pieces to fully get to grips with.

The context is in this instance a business one , as in how can businesses both nurture and demonstrate the incremental benefits of being more creative and less safe. It stands to reason after all that greater creativity will yield better results (effectiveness )with maybe less spend (efficiency )....but does that stand up to scrutiny ?

If it were true then surely creativity would be the default setting and not the exception it seems to be today.


One start point for this particular ramble is the much repeated sentiment amongst marketing and ad folk that too much marketing communications content nowadays is formulaic ,safe , boring and low impact, driven variously by either clients' short termism, decision and risk averse culture on the one hand ;or the agencies acquiescing to the demands of clients rather than making a stand for more creativity, and structurally undervaluing and failing to nurture creativity.


This piece is entirely subjective but not a polemic , so if you are looking for an evidence based or scholarly approach , or even a simple answer then best leave now.


I did however begin by looking online for definitions of creativity ,and according to the Oxford living dictionary the word is defined as:

"The use of imagination or original ideas to create something;inventiveness."

If you believe that any content created is by the above definiton creative then we are unlikely to work well together ; ditto if you believe that anything ' wacky' ,unconventional or otherwise extreme is creative . For me creativity untainted by consumer needs or beliefs is literally useless, as it is less likely to resonate with them, our audience.


For me the crux of the debate about the commercial value of creativity lies in understanding ,internalizing and acting on the simple assertion that the true and only appreciation and ultimately impact on purchase behaviour of any and all creative content lies in the hearts and minds of consumers .... who as we are increasingly told are not much bothered by brands anyway and certainly not in the excrutiating detail with which we" producers" pore over every aspect of our would be brand masterpieces. Coupled to low consumer ad recall rates there is seemingly little incentive to reject "good is good enough" and strive for great creative..


So maybe the first big step is philosophical rather than process or indeed dogma driven., how to understand and give consumers what they really want , not what we ,sat safe in our bubble think they want....
This for me means improving our skills and investment in finding those compelling consumer insights that truly if briefly connect our brands to our consumers on an emotional level.


Do not take this as an unconditional declaration of love for the market research and planning community , nor for co creation , nor as an apology to those who create entertainment with sometimes only a tenous ,fig leaf of attempted brand linkage or information consumers might welcome or have use of (take a bow my current,personal most "why did they do this?" ads :confused .com and moneysupermarket.com)


I have way too often felt the pain of failing epically in ad pre testing consumer research,watching from behind the glass what our team thought of as creative and compelling being wilfully ? torn to shreds by consumer indifference, literalism and utter incomprehension..whilst they carefully ate our egg sandwiches and crisps... but maybe that is the lesson. Maybe it is like the high school dance all over again..if the object of one's desire barely notices you and shows even less interest in getting to know you , then wearing an exceedingly loud outfit is unlikely to change the outcome...