When we think of creativity applied in the field of marketing, the first things that come to our minds are the texts or the pictures that go into ad campaigns. But is that it? Professionals now are in the need to master data analytics, customer experience, and product design. Well, we think that the evident changes in the industry surely require a new way of thinking when it comes to creativity in marketing. Let’s explore a few fundamental considerations.
The Role of the Customer
Don’t underestimate your customers. They’re not just consumers. Most of them have a notion of how the business works, as they are already creators or even developers of content themselves. The best idea in these situations is working together. This may sound obvious but it is surprising how many companies mistakenly think that they are “customer-centric”.
Creating content together assures best results for both parties. Take for example companies who’s marketing team spends time with self-employed people in their homes and offices to immerse themselves in the customer’s world. This is the level of commitment that would allow you to create successful campaigns.
The Art of Stimulating Creative Thinking
Here the key is mainly the way companies challenge their employees. If success has to do with creativity, how do we keep impacting and influencing our publics? Easy, our teams must be in an environment where they are able to generate new ideas and create appealing ads.
We are constantly bombarded with a huge amount of advertisements but is time to question what it takes to create a memorable one. By considering everyone’s opinions in the marketing process, you are combining ideas and implementing the best possible campaign. Interesting, new, innovative, or engaging ads will only emerge with the stimulation of imagination. And we all know that two heads think better than one. Drive consumers to your business and establish brand recognition through cooperation and teamwork.
The Creative Marketing Process
The creative process is not something that just comes magically and hits you in the face. You must work at it. When inspiration does strike, make sure you are working. The concept of creative process can be viewed as more of a shaping process than a process of pure creation.
It begins with the foundational data and uses it to tell a story. Creatives shape and form data like clay, shaping a narrative that is sensible, sellable, and accessible. The creative process ends when a product is created: a tangible offering of data to enter a communication channel and affect the marketplace.
Bring Creativity to Measurement
Our last consideration has to do with the measurement of digital engagement. We can now know exactly what’s working and not working in our campaigns, which gives marketing an opportunity to measure and manage itself in new ways, and new ways leads to innovation and creativity lands.
For example, Cisco has created a real-time, online dashboard where the entire marketing organization can look at performance. The leadership team conducts a weekly evaluation to assess, “Is what we’re doing working?” This analysis can be done across different digital initiatives, geographies, channels, or even individual pieces of content. The result is a capability of re-allocating resources.
These tools make it easier to improve our innovation skills. And as we commented in the second point, is also a great way to keep challenging our teams as well as stimulating creative thinking. If there’s a consistent flow of feedback on results, there will be a greater development of our team’s abilities to quickly adjust and create solutions.
