CREATIVITY IN MARKETING

Creativity in Marketing

Creativity in marketing comes down to one simple phrase: Be interesting to your audience

The essence of marketing is to get your prospect’s attention and motivate them to engage with your brand in ways that will ultimately lead to a sale. To do that your marketing needs to be interesting. The best market research, the best products and services, the most beautiful campaigns are of no use if you can’t get your target audience to take notice and want to learn more. You do that by being interesting.

Personas

The first step is to know who your target audience is and what they care about. How can you be interesting to them if you don’t know that? Only by accident.

You have probably studied the concept of personas. A persona is a profile of the person you are looking to influence with your marketing: what is their role, how do they look at the world, what’s important to them, how do they evaluate and make decisions, where do they go and what content do they consume online, and so on. Personas help you see the world through the eyes of your target audience.

By researching these aspects of your target audience and constructing accurate personas before you start designing your marketing strategy and tactics, you can dramatically increase their effectiveness.

Storytelling

Throughout history, people have strived to make sense of the world and have used stories to bring context to an otherwise chaotic and confusing existence.   The same is true in marketing. We live in a world of digital natives who have access to thousands of information channels that all compete for their attention. Well-crafted stories that create a personal connection (good thing you built that persona!) can help your brand stand out while influencing your prospects to develop a preference for your brand.

Imagine that you are a marketer for a children’s clothing company. What’s going to have a better chance of breaking through the clutter and building interest in your products, an ad that tells the story of Keisha picking out a dress for her first day of Kindergarten or one that talks about how many colors and styles you offer?

Impose constraints

It’s been shown that creativity thrives under constraints. Constraints actually force you to be more creative by denying you the luxury of excess, which can lead to sloppiness and the tendency to substitute flash for substance.

Ernest Hemingway was famous for his sparse language and the lack of artifice in his writing. In fact he once bet his friends that he could tell a whole story in just six words. His story:

“For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”

Try to approach your marketing the same way Papa Hemingway approached a story. Strip away the frills and focus on what’s important—the story itself. That’s what will evoke the behavior you desire from your prospect. And it will unlock your creative DNA.