The Engine Behind Growth Is Creativity

Our clients bring amazing things into the world. What fuels us as marketers—on top of our client's ingenuity—are the thinkers, practitioners and creators who are showing us a new way. In this space, every few weeks we share what is capturing our attention—big or small.

1. CMOs View Creativity As The Ultimate Driving Force For Growth

The 2024 Dentsu Creative CMO survey highlights a significant shift among Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) towards embracing creativity and generative AI in driving business growth. The survey, which involved 950 CMOs globally, reveals that 89% of CMOs view creativity as the ultimate driving force for growth. Additionally, 83% believe that creative ideas can transform businesses, underscoring the essential role of creativity in business transformation.

A key trend identified is the evolving perception of AI. The number of CMOs who believe AI will never create content that emotionally moves people dropped from 67% in 2023 to 49% in 2024. This indicates a growing acceptance of AI as a valuable tool that can enhance human creativity rather than replace it. Approximately 77% of CMOs are now interested in training AI to align with their brand’s identity, showcasing a shift towards viewing AI as a collaborator.

The survey also emphasizes the need for a new kind of creativity that integrates business-driven approaches across all aspects of organizations, from communications to sustainability. This new creativity is omnipresent, blending with culture, commerce, and technology to create more profound connections with audiences. For instance, 88% of CMOs agree that integrating brands with culture, content, and entertainment is more important than ever.

CMOs are also increasingly investing in innovation, with more than half planning to allocate over 20% of their budgets to innovation in the next year. This investment is aimed at leveraging new technologies and creative approaches to stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.

Overall, the 2024 Dentsu Creative CMO survey highlights a transformative period for marketing, driven by a blend of creativity, AI, and cultural integration to meet the evolving demands of consumers and businesses alike. Want to read more check out this article https://lnkd.in/gAJktVU9

PJA Author: Greg Straface

2. Marcus Aurelius and the Green Cement Movement

If you think watching paint dry is boring, how about a two-minute video that regales you with statistics about cement?

In this case, for the Danish mining and cement giant FLSmidth , Munich agency Friends & Fellows leads you into the story with a series of conversations you’d prefer not to have – discussing your food intake with your doctor, or that vacation your company canceled because they needed you at your desk. Where do you go from here but to cement, an essential but pervasive source of pollution just about everywhere.

As the tongue-in-cheek narration notes, global CO? emissions from cement production “almost makes aviation with its 2.5% look like a sustainable industry.”

Then the video pivots, with some beautiful editing, to an insight from Emperor Marcus Aurelius: “What stands in the way becomes the way.”

?At this point you are fully leaning in, and wholly receptive to hear about FLSmidth’s self-appointed role to lead the world in the production of carbon-negative (or green) cement. I mean, someone has to do it, right? The result is a video about the world’s most common building material that you’ll want to watch. Again and again. I swear it.

PJA Author: Hugh Kennedy

3. Bloom

At the agency, we’ve been experimenting with AI for a while and have been simultaneously amazed by its capabilities and confounded by its limitations. I’m flummoxed by AI’s inability to write an email subject line that meets a specific, reasonable character count. Counting is so basic, right? Yet, with a few carefully thought-out prompts, it can write engaging stories for an employee activation program we created for a client. Still, today, it’s not a good solo creator.

But with the right human partner, the results can be amazing. By way of example, I give you Bloom by Emma Catnip .

?Enjoy.

?PJA Author: Ben Resnikoff