The average person is exposed to thousands of media messages per day. Some companies may feel that the only way to cut through the clutter is to spend more money. However, savvy marketers know that they can get more exposure, with less ad spending, through creativity.
What is creativity?
Creativity in marketing involves the generation and execution of unique ideas that communicate a message in an original way. For instance, a brake shop can simply offer brake pads for sale. However, using creativity, that same brake shop can show the consequences of not changing brake pads. Creativity simply allows a message to be remembered, which can lead to higher brand recognition and sales.
How to generate creative ideas
One of the most efficient ways for a company to generate many ideas is to involve every employee in the idea creation process. Many companies simply rely on their creative department for ideas. Employees from other departments, however, may have unique insights that can lead to creative ideas. Additionally, including every employee in the creation process will give a company more ideas to throw into the mix. Below is a step-by-step process that you can use to boost creativity in your company.
- Call for ideas – Solicit ideas from every employee in your company. Emphasize the fact that there are no dumb ideas.
- Create a shortlist – Find ideas that uniquely communicate a message that will enhance your company’s brand recognition or help sell your company’s product or service.
- Select and execute the winning idea – After you have a shortlist, select the winner. Then execute the idea. Many companies are sometimes resistant to take a chance on a creative idea. However, bold companies are not afraid to be creative and thus reap the benefits of putting original ideas into action.
Amazon’s Alexa – A case study
One of the largest brands in the world, Amazon, used creativity to sell their Alexa voice product in a recent Super Bowl ad. In the commercial, Alexa “loses” her voice. In her place, Amazon begins to employ celebrities to fill in for Alexa’s voice. The result is a commercial that had much more recall and recognition in a large field of expensive Super Bowl commercials. Instead of a simple demonstration of the Alexa product, Amazon was able to demonstrate the product using celebrities voices which made the ad much more memorable.
Creativity can be the secret weapon that allows a company to outsmart, rather than outspend, the competition. Use the wisdom of your company’s employees to create a pool of ideas. And then execute that creative idea to make a lasting impact on the marketplace.
