What makes marketing creative: Imagination or innovation?

Everyone is born with creativity but how does one nurture it? And is creativity on the decline? Winston Graham tackled the thorny issue of imagination in marketing.

Is creativity on the decline?

What is it that really makes marketing creative: innovation or imagination?

Because these days companies and celebrities almost walk arm-in-arm, meaning businesses can afford to be less creative.

Indeed, Peter Kelley, from Newsweek, believes creativity may be on the decline, as he tells us here in this piece.

So do we need to go back to the source? Do we need to remember better how we create ideas? Afterall playwright George Bernard Shaw tells us that: “Imagination is the beginning of the creation.”

But if ideas are not put to use, then what would be the point of having an imagination?

How can we nurture our inner thoughts and be inspired?

Reading books

It may be worthwhile and beneficial to your ideas, but equally many in the creative industries don’t find diving into book study as inspiring as, say, a trip to a gallery or a day spent desk researching the best creative work in the business.

Sometimes, though, we can all do with a little help. And with the New York Times bestseller “Show Your Work”, Austin Kleon does just that, as he explains how to take that critical next step on a creative journey.

Lacking creativity

They say that everyone is born with creativity, but in the past months Pepsi, in terms of marketing, has not lived up to that saying – or their own reputation.

Pepsi’s lack of innovative thinking was highlighted in their recent advert which featured model, Kendall Jenner.

The work was hammered, deemed as socially irrelevant, and received a vast amount of condemnation. The internet has been flooded with critical tweets and Pepsi have suffered from a huge social media backlash.

Are celebrities the masks of the brand?

Marketers seem keen on the idea that less work is needed for products once you have celebrities promoting them.

Reaching out to influencers and big names can save money, time and resources, which is a win for corporations.

However, using celebrities to promote all the time can sometimes restrict brands’ attempts to move forward creatively.

But there are companies out there who embrace the creative challenge of using key influencers to brilliantly market what they do.

Take Nike, for example, who use big celebrities to push their brand image, but in innovative, fresh ways. Look at their work with the likes of Lebron James, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney as evidence of their creative excellence.

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