“Live a creative life!”

This was the challenge proposed to a bewildered group of grad students during my first night of this semester’s class, The Creative Process.  I know I am not the only student who arrived that night eager to spend a semester discussing advertising production processes and sharing war stories about creative departments and campaigns.  Turns out, the course strategy is ‘to read and discuss leading texts on the theory and practice of creativity in science and business.’

So, here I am in week five, writing a paper in support of the belief that creativity is process-oriented rather than talent-oriented, as exemplified in the book The Double Helix:  A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA.  Yep, you read that correctly - I’m learning about creativity via bioscience.  Yawn.  I am an absolute proponent of process and agree with the theory that there are steps we usually take (even if they are not consciously defined) to generate new ideas.  I just didn’t know that there are people out there who study creativity so thoroughly.  Or that I would ever read a book about DNA. 

More interesting are these definitions of ‘creativity,’ from my notes:

The ability to combine old elements in new ways.
It’s about making the familiar strange and the strange familiar.
It’s effective surprise.
When nothing is new except the arrangement.
It’s an anti-probability event.
Whatever makes more out of less.
One word:  Bioassociation

According to my professor, all creative types have something in common: They pay attention and they take notes.  That’s exactly what I am trying to do during class this semester – it’s keeping me awake. 

Creatively yours,
R~

When you see a really good idea, you absolutely have to share it with everyone you know.  It used to be that we’d simply email a cool link to our friends and colleagues, but this one is worth talking about.

My hat is off to Volkswagen and thefuntheory.com.  From pianos to pinball, they have collected some great ideas to inspire healthy behaviors.

For all of my clients with offices on the second floor or higher, let this be an inspiration to you to use the stairs.  At a minimum, consider equipping your stairways to health to help fight obesity by giving it a fresh coat of paint.  Hang some artwork, include an inspirational message or two.  Maybe install Wii Fit stations on a landing, or wire up a video board so employees can compete with one another on the number of trips up the steps.   Please add to the list of possibilities by posting a comment.

Several weeks ago I received an email from a friend who recently applied for an amazing job at a California winery.  This innovative winery is looking for a “Social Media Whiz.”  It’s a temporary (6 month) position that calls for wine tasting, exploring vineyards, learning about winemaking and then reporting off on these experiences online.

The vineyard must have known there would be applicants lining up among the grapes, because they added a unique twist to the application process:  instead of sending a resume to apply, every candidate creates a video about why they are the right one for the job. This means every wine-loving ‘twit’ out there is sending their video to everyone in their email, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter contact lists and asking each to vote for them. Out of hundreds of videos that will be submitted, only ten videos will be chosen by the public as the best. The ten candidates will then be interviewed for the job.

At the end of the voting period, potentially thousands of people will be checking the winery Web site to vote for their favorite candidate. Talk about a great marketing strategy! The selection process becomes a promotional vehicle before the real promotion (blogs, etc.) even begins!  I’d like to see their Web stats after this promotion is over! 

It is our job as marketers to find these kinds of ‘guerilla marketing’ opportunities for our clients, especially in a down economy. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive – just creative and memorable.  Before receiving the email from my friend, I had never heard of this winery. But now I find myself researching them online, browsing their Web site and checking out their wine selection. Oh and P.S. I did go back and vote for my friend!