COACHING
Creativity In Marketing
By Thrity Engineer-Mbuthia
Is creativity a skill that is required by a marketer ? I suppose it depends on which side of the divide you sit . You could be a brand custodian and argue that you do not need creativity as you will have an agency to help you . You could be working at an agency where you have a full team of client service , designers and copy writers who eat and sleep creativity .
Today ’ s 21st century marketer requires a myriad of skills . Aside from having a grasp of analytics , ability to communicate concisely and clearly , internalizing the digital space and managing stakeholders with the 8th ‘ P ’ of partnerships - and this is just the tip of the iceburg - one needs to know basics of videography , photography , coding and content creation .
Now again , one may argue that having many skills never goes to waste . Suppose one is more numbers oriented than creative oriented ? Does this mean you will not succeed in your marketing career ?
According to Rawzaba Alhalabi creative thinking “ is the process of nurturing your imagination .” He adds that it allows you or helps you to think out of the box . This suggests that creativity can be cultivated and nurtured .
Edward de Bono is famous for his book - The six thinking hats . His work is all about helping people think creatively and improve their creativity skills .
Edward de Bono says that it is possible to get an individual or even a team to think creatively by using the concept of imaginary hats of different colors . The 6 hats are represented by white , yellow , red , black , green and blue . The idea is to put on a different color hat that allows a person to reflect on different perspectives - thereby enrich a decision making process or a project . The process continues until all the imaginary hats have been worn to encourage creative thinking .
Today ’ s 21st century marketer requires a myriad of skills . Aside from having a grasp of analytics , ability to communicate concisely and clearly , internalizing the digital space and managing stakeholders with the 8th ‘ P ’ of partnerships - and this is just the tip of the iceburg - one needs to know basics of videography , photography , coding and content creation .
The white hat is about looking for all the information available to assess the current position . It is quite similar to a marketer looking for insights , to try to understand perceptions or feelings about brands .
The yellow hat is about optimism and adding enthusiasm to the thought process . When you are excited about something you feel the energy , you feel the passion . Encouragement is a strong motivator , the feeling of being validated and recognized .
Red is about emotion , being able to express your feelings about a situation . As a marketer communication is a key skill . Marketers know that communication must have the rational element as well as the emotional element . If a customer does not like a brand , it could be a positioning challenge , driven by an emotion being expressed toward a brand .
The blue hat is about managing a situation seeing what you can control . You want to launch a brand , but the regulatory environment requires you to go through a process . What can you do - what do you have control over and what must you manage to ensure success .
The green hat is the one to wear when you want to brainstorm and come up with new ideas . Everyone can contribute , no idea should be dismissed as this gives everyone a chance to participate and contribute . Marketers rarely work in isolation , having execution being handled by sales teams , working with legal to ensure compliance to laws , commercial excellence to drive insights through data analysis and innovations team ( all depends on how
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