APE or die: creativity is key to survival
Sir John Hegarty
Co-founder and Creative Director at The Garage Soho & The Business of Creativity
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Necessity (the truism goes) is the mother of invention. We are never so moved to create something new as when we’re afforded the impetus of discomfort. Where businesses are concerned, there’s considerable pain to endure right now. In the UK, consumer confidence is dwindling as we warily await the autumn budget. The global economy is limping along too according the IMF. It’s dispiriting stuff. But in adverse conditions, the only sensible action is to try to create the future you’d want to live in.
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It looks as though many are already trying. A record number of British start-ups launched last year, according to Natwest. The 900,000 companies that opened for business in 2023 marked a 12% increase on the year before. The number of new patents surged to unprecedented levels too. For the same period, design applications increased by 20.6%. It’s no coincidence that this happened as the country teetered on the brink of recession.
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History shows just how productive we tend to be during downturns. The Great Depression gave us FM radio, the electric guitar and the photocopier. Straightened times in the 1970s led to the computer mouse, the PC and the barcode. The 2008 financial crash led to the gig economy, fintech and crypto (this last one is a useful reminder that not every idea minted in a crisis is worth exploration).
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领英推荐
In this decade, the course of action should be obvious. While business leaders are prone to deprioritising imagination when times get tough, they should invest in it even more. The best riposte to a challenging environment is a new idea, and the will to see it realised. It’s time for a creative revolution.
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Our latest course, A.P.E. – Advertising Principles Explained, launches in exactly a week. It’s an essential primer on how to turn imagination into revenue. Join us on the 23rd September.
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