Creativity is such a diverse beast. It’s not just about having the ideas, a great team, or the right budget; it’s about so many different components working together in tandem to create something that transcends the boundaries. As the bar is continually raised, it’s not just about sparking the creative process, but it’s about structuring it as well. You might say that you can’t put lightning in a bottle, but being creative isn’t about luck, it’s about putting the structures in place to allow ideas to flow freely that’s consistent with the brand…

Nailing The Appropriate Creative Process

Everybody has their own opinion as to what works and what doesn’t. Because people have the misconception that the creative process is all freeform, in order to make it a more concentrated entity, there are a few, albeit simple, practices that need to be in place, but the main one is deceptively simple…

Establishing your objectives or goals will ensure that you’ve got an end product to aim for. The big mistake in being creative is that a deadline is futile. In fact, the vast majority of us create good work under pressure, and it goes back to that idea of cramming the night before an exam. Most people leave things until the last minute, so if we can find a way to start creativity off by providing real, tangible pressures, this will encourage people to work at their best, and at their most focused.

Keeping Up To Date With Trends

Whether you want to call it market research, or just getting into the habit of reading the appropriate news every day, it’s about having this information in your subconscious so you can distil it into the most salient points. Because there’s so much information out there now, we’ve got to find the best resources to keep ahead of the game. We’ve all got our own opinions as to the best texts, but if you’re trying to get as much information while multitasking at the same time, or you don’t have enough time to really sit down and re textbooks beginning to end, you should try this. It’s an Alexa Skill called “SEO agency,” which can provide you with up-to-date information relating to digital and internet marketing.

The most important thing about keeping up to date with these sorts of trends is that it has to become a learned habit. Much like those that work in politics needs to be updated, or, at the very least, get briefed on the latest news, in terms of marketing it should be a knee jerk reaction. We should automatically go towards our preferred resources so that we are up to date. Once we have this as a constant news feed to our team, it can be a sort of background noise that subconsciously influences our decisions.

The Combination Of Personality Traits

You need people to work together, but you want a lot of dynamics. It’s not just about having collaboration as the overriding goal, but it’s about inspiring debate. You want opposing viewpoints, and you want people to tear apart someone’s idea. Not so that person can be shown up as incompetent, but it’s because you’re all working with one goal in mind, having that product be as good as humanly possible. Having different personalities doesn’t just mean different sorts of ideas and processes, it can reinvigorate a flagging team; it can cause ideas to go off in whole new directions.

It’s not just about having a creative team, but it’s about having members that exhibit signs of curiosity, empathy, some knowledge of the data, but also, know how to tell a story. Having a team that is a diverse range of people is highly desired but it may not always produce the appropriate results. It’s treading that fine line between debate and full-blown argument. You want the process to go smoothly, but you also need a structure in which everyone can adhere to. If everybody knows the rules, you can get a diverse group of people together, even though they have opposing viewpoints, and get substantial results.

Making It All Come Together

Once all of the pieces fit, from the structure to the team and the information that underpins it all, it’s now time to put it all into practice. If you are the leader, you were steering the ship. When the creative process is undertaken, goals need to be put in place. It’s not just about one massive goal at the very end, but it’s about providing smaller checkpoints. When you are in charge, it’s essential that you make the morale of the team a priority. Goals and deadlines can hinder creativity, but this is if the task is insurmountable. Like with any problem, breaking it down into manageable chunks works to get things completed on time, but it also instils a sense of achievement.

And it’s important to remember that even though you are putting the stops in place, there are going to be problems that arise. Usually, they come from sources you hadn’t even considered. And this is where business acumen is worth its weight in gold. The creative process can be inverse to the business practices, but you need to provide some sense of enforcement, as well as realise it when people work well. This is another important thing that can be underestimated. It all depends on the roles of the people in the team, but it’s important to never lose sight of the big picture.

Get Creating!

Any marketing campaign requires a fundamentally creative process underpinning it. Sometimes the structure is enough, as well as smaller goals and deadlines, but if you are working with the new team, there can be a lot of social conditioning needed. It’s not just about ensuring a team works together well, it’s about providing the people that are polar opposites so debate is encouraged, and ideas are formed. And remember, there’s no such thing as a bad idea. We can make a big mistake in throwing out a bad idea before it’s had an opportunity to get its legs…