Travelling for creatives

Looking outside our windows here in the UK it might be hard to tell some days, but yes, summer is definitely here, which can only mean one thing: it’s time to go outside. While some may enjoy a little staycation, we love travelling abroad during our holiday and come back with recharged batteries and a refreshingly unique creativity boost. Do you want to know how we make the most out of our holidays, enjoying our time off while naturally enhancing our creative skills? Read on to discover our tips.

Getting off to a flying start

Have you ever travelled to another country and found some cultural differences that became apparent as you immersed yourself in your destination of choice? Like showing up on time for a date in Spain, only to find yourself waiting for what feels like an age. Or struggling to get to grips with haggling in Morocco. Beyond understanding or speaking the local languages, there are still many layers to truly grasping how things work in different countries and cultures.?

We love paying special attention to and observing those cultural differences on our travels because we specialise in working with them to make your brand successful in international markets. Using our expertise, we help brands to stand out in a cool way —not like a sunburnt tourist, but more like that person you cannot help but look at because of the perfect blend of their own style with what’s trendy. They make it look effortless and so do we.

Those cultural elements and nuances that come into play, piquing your curiosity, are the basis of great localisation and culturalisation services. Observation, local knowledge, and engagement are all key components of deepening our expertise when it comes to helping your brand thrive in new markets.?

So, while some might opt for the safety of a familiar international restaurant chain for comfort whilst abroad, we won’t! You’ll find us enjoying more off-the-beaten-track cafes and bars, observing and engaging with the local customs, enhancing our awareness of those subtle and not-so-subtle cultural differences to think back on and create with when marketing your brand. Whether it is watching the local telly, reading or skimming through magazines in the native languages of our destinations, or just taking a long look at absolutely everything, being nosey keeps us on top of our game!

Refreshing our ideas

We also love to use our holidays not only to deepen our expertise and understanding of cultural differences, but to get that much-coveted creativity boost, gaining new perspectives and bringing in new ideas that refresh our go-to formulas. Luckily, there are limitless ways of doing this whilst travelling.?

Some of us like to get the creative ball rolling by socialising, going to local events, whether professional or fully recreational, and engaging in stimulating conversations and idea-exchanges. Pro tip: we recommend letting your LinkedIn network know you are going to visit their cities to make your trip even more fun and productive!

But if we feel like taking it easy, we can mix up socialising with other activities that still offer the creative benefits of a holiday abroad. Engaging in some good old people-watching, urban sightseeing, or going to local cultural hotspots can also get our ideas in motion while basking in our new surroundings and landscapes.

Once we’re back on home soil, we can draw from our broadened experiences to boost your brand with a fresh perspective. Did we mention we can also use our trips to try out products before they reach other markets? Check out our experience doing exactly that with Apple Vision Pro here.

Taking inspiration from local trends

Travelling gives us the perfect opportunity to discover and engage with trends that might translate well into your brand’s international marketing strategy through the magic of culturalisation.

There are many examples that if done well, could help your brand look innovative and modern. Recently the viral TikTok from Marks and Spencer in the UK sparked a whole trend across brands in social media, something that people in Great Britain will have easily picked up on and you could too if you were holidaying here. If transposed well, this is the sort of campaign that could be adapted to a local market to cleverly boost your brand making it look fresh and fun.

Spotting local trends is so much easier and natural in the countries and cities they come from, as you’ll see them evolving in their native environment. So when travelling, we love to scroll through social media when we’re just lying in our hotels to effortlessly catch up with what’s trendy and take inspiration while understanding the cultural background.

And, of course, we do all of that while capturing as much content as we can, all in the name of inspiration. If you are travelling to the UK (we’re based in the gorgeous Cotswolds, definitely worth a visit!) and want to chat about how your brand could benefit from a new perspective, get in touch with us!