8 Tips to Boost Creativity
When education and creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson discusses changing education paradigms, he contends we all are born with a tremendous capacity for creativity and divergent thinking.
In school, there’s one right answer in the back of the book and you’re supposed to know that answer without talking to anyone else. When we emerge in the real world, possible routes to success are nearly infinite, and those who collaborate best expand their options.
We can all ‘see lots of possible answers to a question,’ Robinson says. ‘Lots of possible ways of interpreting a question.’
On the topic of how to boost creativity, we offer you eight possible insights:
1. Embrace the unknown
Get outside your comfort zone. It doesn’t matter if the topic relates to something you know or just something catching your eye, continue to expand your knowledge set. As ideas begin to develop, the information gathered will shape and mold your ideas moving forward.
2. Build your confidence
Go beyond knowledge. As ideas form, let them snowball into an avalanche. Ridding yourself of constraints in the brainstorming stage can bring larger than life ideas. Although some ideas may be initially absurd, a small tweak can change a ‘never in a million years’ idea to ‘when do we start?!’
3. Curiosity killed the cat, not your passion
Curiosity and passion go hand in hand; love what you’re getting into. Positivity attaches your creative state to the flow state, where the mind can focus solely on the task at hand.
4. Don’t be afraid of failure
Obstacles allow further definition of an idea. The more an idea gets flushed out, the more structure takes shape. We all live a life of trial and error, but the persistent accept failure as part of the process. As Einstein said, ‘It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.’
5. More than one way to skin a cat (sorry, cats…)
Ideas often evolve in unexpected directions. Take the popsicle. When Frank Epperson left a drink outside with a stirring stick in it one cold night, the next morning he discovered one of the best summer treats we know. Sometimes ideas just come together on mere misfires.
6. Don’t sweat the negatives
Building strengths is just as important as plugging up weaknesses. Playing defense through the entire process is tiring. Turn to the attack and use the strengths of your idea to push forward. No one likes playing to a tie…
7. Experience vs. Originality
Originality matters, but it doesn’t always win. Pepsi and Coke have built experiences unique to their brand. The Pepsi Taste Challenge connected brand imagery with brand preference. The psychological experiment created a fun, interactive atmosphere that swayed consumers. Whether big or small, that experience keeps fans loyal.
8. Surround yourself with inspiration
Who in your life inspires you to work harder, think bigger and be better? More than likely, they’re who you want around you. The company you keep should inspire you to think bigger. Bring in people with different skills but a shared background. Instead of you thinking of everything, allow your support group to fill the gaps they naturally fill.
What are your tips to insight creativity?
Right and Left Brain thinking in Digital Media: Building Campaigns
This is part 1 of a 2 part series on how right and left brain collaboration impacts digital marketing experiences.
It’s no surprise the psychology of left and right brain factors heavily into the strategy of marketing campaigns. With heaps of research readily available, how are brands targeting both left and right brain thinkers?
For background, let’s identify the high level differences between right and left brain thinkers.
As described in the infographic above, right brain thinkers: rely more on emotion, creativity and imagination. They’re the ones wandering the fiction aisle wondering if they left the stove on.
In contrast, left brain thinkers are: logical, fact based realists who made a list of groceries needed to be picked up after confirming they locked the door twice.
Of course these are just extremes, but it poses the question how do we create a digital Yin-Yang that appeals to both thinkers?
The basis for a traditional campaign can no longer just be story telling. Take the Subaru Honeymoon car commercial as an example.
As the couple drives to a remote location in the wilderness, Subaru has identified their target as outdoorsy, adventurous, and unique. When inclement weather hits, the Subaru saves the day.
A touching storyline, sure, but does Subaru sacrifice the left brainers demographic by not appealing to its efficient engine, spacious trunk, or incredible resale value? Of course.
So how can the digital marketer bridge the gap?
Look at how Nike’s #MakeItCount social media campaign accomplishes both. For the right brainers, use the Nike FuelBand so exercise becomes more meaningful. For the lefties, use it to set goals, count steps, times, and progress.
This campaign surrounds creative storytelling and lifestyle content on sport pages, like Nike Running. At the core, Nike.com is still a shopping experience, and left brainers can cut through the fluff and proceed straight to product pages. But right brainers can get absorbed in the site and form an emotional connection with the brand that still ultimately leads to shopping.
Both options above are completely chosen by users and that experience is unique to them.
Interacting with brands is becoming more common as traditional media moves towards having users follow on Facebook or Tweet specific hash tags. What are the campaigns, traditional or digital, that resonate the most with you?
Digital Marketing 2012: What’s on the Horizon?
Everyone is on the look out for the next silicon valley tidal wave. Last year brought great break throughs, but as the saying goes, “that is so 2011.”
What does 2012 have in store for us?
Already showing great signs of growth, I believe the following will transcend digital marketing to uncharted territory:
Mobile Marketing
Of course mobile marketing is a monster that continues to be tackled. In the past year 251% increase in impressions on mobile devices (tablets), with 488% growth in smart phone impressions. Mobile devices are becoming so intuitive that they are an extension of PC’s.
With such an increase in mobile impressions, what can marketers do to keep users engaged?
A main pain point for mobile marketing stems from an experience that lacks depth and excitement. Users don’t expect their mobile devices to compete with their gaming devices at home. However interactive experience ranges from Call of Duty to Angry Birds, both give users the ability to interact in ways that are now second nature.
Chevy has taken that leap into gamification by creating games that put users in the “driver’s seat” for a chance to win a car. Badges and point accumulation are a major theme in this and other campaigns, as brands dictate what users must do to succeed.
Open Graph Sharing
Sharing on Facebook has been taken to a new level thanks to Open Graph. As the developers state “Through a single API, you’re able to deeply integrate into the key points of distribution on Facebook: Timeline, App Views, News Feed, and Ticker. As users interact with your app, actions are displayed on the users’ Timeline and their friends News Feeds and Tickers.”
Open graph continues to evolve, but already has made strides to help brands target consumers at micro levels. Revisions made to the API allow marketers to narrowly target consumers in a frictionless atmosphere.
Facebook’s iFrame offers brand pages the opportunity to create their own applications that will allow sharing like Pinterest and Spotify. As content seamlessly moves through status updates, brands can create more immediate, less disruptive exposure.
Brands are beginning to use this technology to reach greater exposure to their products. Pinterest is an example of brands harnessing this frictionless sharing.
Social Integration
Linking TV with social media isn’t a new idea. However its importance continues to develop.
Using the Super Bowl as an example, although a failed attempt on a universal hash tag, companies like Colle + McVoy were still able to capitalize on the conversations being held around one broad topic.
These insights determined the major discussion themes, peoples’ reactions to ads, and whether companies responded in a timely fashion.
Real time insights lead to further brand awareness, enabling media and analytics to better understand consumer behavior. Directing traffic towards these conversations gives transparency and exposure to the brand.
As Google uses their own social network to influence search rankings, it may be wise to keep that conversation going from TV to Google+.
The new year has just begun and digital marketing strategies have already been forced to change with the times. Trends do you see on the horizon? Do you wish for something that would make digital marketing even easier?
