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The Essence of Creativity.

single-brick

If, however, I asked you, “What 40 ways can you think of to use this?,” I’m likely to get a whole different kind of list. After exhausting the obvious uses above, you’ll find yourself uncomfortably searching for other unthought-of uses. Some will be totally silly, or non-sequitar. But before long (probably around number 25 or 30), you’ll actually hit on something truly original (paint it gold and hand it out as a Fort Knox souvenir…). It is here, at this uncomfortable point when you think you’ve exhausted all practical uses for the brick, where true creativity lives. It’s where you start to find new connections between the object at hand and the world around you. You start thinking beyond the obvious solutions. Your ego stops judging every passing thought in the name of quantity.

Creativity can be defined as the process through which the mind finds formerly unrecognized relationships between two entities or ideas. It is something that allows our audience to see something in a different way.

Creativity is hard. It is a trip into uncharted territory. It is bumping into ideas that quite frankly you don’t know how to judge or evaluate.

It is taking the obvious and making it interesting.

Knowing how our mind’s creativity works is the reason few advertising creatives settle on the first idea (or handful of ideas) they find. The thinking being, if it was that obvious to me, it must be obvious to everyone, therefore there’s nothing new or exciting about it. Truly creative solutions are a bit unnerving, not because they are provocative or irrelevant, but because you’ve never seen something quite like this, and your mind doesn’t know how to evaluate them.

So next time you’re presented with an idea or concept that makes you a little uneasy, avoid the reaction of rejecting it out of hand because it is “different.” Deconstruct it to see how that idea was developed. See if it answers the needs spelled out in the creative brief. Live with it for a time. Then form your conclusion.

Posted by Mickey

FRIDAY LINKFEST: JUNE 8, 2012

Posted
June 12, 2012
Categories
Friday LinkFest
New Media
On Customers
Research
Social Media
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We’re happy once again to present links to the top marketing/creative/social media articles of the past week.

How the social media participation of ad/marketing folk differ from regular folk.

If you always suspected that we in the business are way more involved in social media platforms that John Q. Public, well, you’re right. This infographic from Heat Advertising in San Francisco pretty much tells the story. While our involvement in social gives us some real insights to the platforms, we need to challenge ourselves to not get too far out in front of the customer.

Sound-alike soundtracks for commercials are proliferating.

So you’d love to have a Beatles track under your next commercial, but can’t afford it? You could always do what some (even big name) clients are doing: hiring “sound-alike” bands to cut a track that “sounds like” the original. Does this put you on shaky legal ground? This article from the Wall Street Journal tries to answer that, citing a case between the indie group Beach House and Volkswagon (in this case, VW seems to be in the clear).

12 Fundamental Freebies to Give Away to Your Customers.

Giving freebies to customers is a great way to build repeat purchase behavior and spread good stories about your brand. But if you’re like a lot of companies (especially in the B2B space), you figure you don’t have much you can give away. This article will help give you unearth valuable “stuff” you can provide customers that could pay dividends down the road.

4 Ways to Manage Online Reviews.

If you have set up listening posts online to “hear” what’s being said about your company and your brand (via Google Alerts, Social Mention, Trip Advisor or whatever), you’ve no doubt wondered if there’s anything you can do to improve the quality of conversation. This article from Mashable gives you four simple things you can do to entice more and bettter reviews.

Facebook engagement takes a serious dive.

According to findings from a poll conducted among 1,032 Americans by Reuters and research firm Ipsos, 35% of Facebook users said they are less engaged on the social network than they have been in the recent past. Only 20% of members are spending more time on the site. What does this mean for brands? Is meaningful engagement still a possibility on Facebook? This article from Mashable spells it out.

That does it for this Friday LinkFest. A reminder: if you enjoy these articles, you can find more content like this by following me on Twitter by clicking the “follow” button on the Twitter stream to the right, for by following @mickeylonchar at twitter.com.

Have a great weekend.

Posted by Mickey

Friday LinkFest: June 1, 2012

Posted
June 1, 2012
Categories
Customer Experience
Friday LinkFest
Mobile Marketing
New Media
On Customers
Research
Social Media
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End of another big week in the glamourous business of advertising! Time again for another edition of our popular end-of-week feature, “Friday LinkFest.” Plenty of good stuff this week:

Mobile Drives Direct Response for Other Ad Channels

The US is still several years away from seeing a smartphone in every pocket, but the rise of mobile and the fast adoption of smartphones have led to many consumers carrying their very own “portable direct-response tool.” According to research from Google, 43% of smartphone owners used their device to search in response to television ads at least monthly. Unearth more amazing smart-phone-as-second-screen stats in this article from eMarketer.

The Uneven Aging of America

Infographic of the week: Every day, 10,000 American Baby Boomers are turning 65. Where exactly are they living (hint: they’re not all in Sun City)? And how does this affect your marketing? (from Ad Age)

Facebook Paid Status Promotion Platform Is Official

By Facebook’s own accounts, 84% of your page’s “fans” won’t see your most recent post. Ah, but Facebook has a solution: “sponsored updates,” basically like ordinary status updates, but for a fee, Facebook’s EdgeRank will place them at the top of your fans’ walls. Perhaps a worthwhile option to Facebook ads or sponsored stories. Get the skinny here. (From PC World)

Is Pinterest Really Leading to Product Purchases?

Consumers are spending more and more time with image-sharing social networks like Pinterest and Polyvore. They are also clicking through to product websites more and more frequently. And apparently buying, too: this research report from eMarketer show that 32% of online buyers in North America have made a purchase as a result of seeing an image on a social image-sharing site, such as Pinterest. See who’s had the most success.

Why Brands Are Missing The Mark With Moms.

With 83 million moms in the U.S. controlling more than 85% of all household purchases (representing $2 TRILLION a year), it’s critical marketers know exactly how to reach this group. Yet most seem to view “Moms” as a monolithic (or rather, “momolithic”) demographic, when nothing could be further from the truth. So what’s the best way to segment this market and have maximum impact? This POV piece from Eric Porres in MediaPost gives some pointers.

That’s it for another week. Happy reading, and we hope to see you next week.

Posted by Mickey