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A simple Google search about “how to market” will bring up a wealth of information, marketing tips, step-by-step plans, and courses by people that claim to have all the answers. There is so much repetitive marketing-related information out there that it almost seems like marketing campaigns are thought of as a mathematical formula.
There’s no denying that data is important, and having an objective strategy to measure the effectiveness of your ad campaigns and product or service promotions is essential. However, it’s vital to remember that marketing is not hard science, and doing it successfully relies on more than just using the right tools and analyzing the right data.
The more “human” aspects of marketing, like emotions and psychology, also play a vital role in the creation of successful original ideas and memorable campaigns. Creative approaches to marketing often stand out and make people pay attention.
Implementing creative marketing strategies can help you draw in your target audience in a way your competitors never could. Keep reading to learn more about what creativity in marketing is and why it’s so crucial in this highly advertised world.
Understanding Creativity in Marketing
All marketing requires a bit of creativity—it’s just part of the industry. You can’t organize an influencer marketing campaign, run a social media account, or create an impactful video for your digital marketing strategy without some creative ideas.
Creativity in marketing is all about giving the customer experiences that generate emotions and encourage action. An exceptionally successful creative marketing campaign will stick in people’s minds and leave a lasting impression.
For example, consider Budweiser’s recent golden beer can stunt in which they will award one lucky winner with $1 million in a special sweepstakes raffle. Customers that find a golden can in their pack of beer can enter the sweepstakes, as well as social media users that follow the correct steps and post a tagged photo. This creative idea will increase their sales, encourage customers to do their marketing for them on social media, and boost brand recognition.
You don’t have to be in a creative industry to market creatively. Brands and marketers in any industry can use unique, out-of-the-box ideas to enhance their marketing strategies. Staying true to your brand identity while telling an enticing story or providing an unforgettable experience are the cornerstones of creative marketing.
Using Your Creativity to Stand Out
For most of us, there’s no avoiding technology in our daily lives. Because of the vastness of digital marketing, some experts propose that we see up to 10,000 ads every single day. As a result, people have learned how to effortlessly tune out unoriginal marketing attempts. Unfortunately for most businesses, this means that it’s very difficult to stand out.
Creativity is often the determining factor in whether someone passes you over or stops to look. It’s far too easy to overlook a social media post, article, or promotional video with the same themes and messages as so many others. To make a lasting impression, create something interesting, engaging, and completely original.
To avoid blending in with your competition, you need to find harmony between the analytical side of things that revolve around data, campaign performance testing, and SEO, and the more personal and creative side of things. With so much content in front of our eyes daily, a strong vision delivered in an engaging way is needed to capture attention and keep it.
How to Jumpstart Your Marketing Creativity
As previously mentioned, numbers and data points are absolutely necessary for successful marketing, so if you’re a marketer that feels more comfortable behind a spreadsheet or scouring the internet for the perfect software, that’s understandable. However, if you find it challenging to take a step outside of your data-and-graphs groove, you might want to try to nurture your creative side a bit more.
Getting creative is all about tapping into your storytelling abilities, emotions, and illogical ideas and exploring what’s possible. Here are a few ideas on how to jumpstart your creativity and get your mind to change gears:
- Ask every team member to come up with their wildest campaign idea. People who aren’t directly involved in marketing every day can have fresh ideas that aren’t held back by any hang-ups about data or execution. You can get inspiration from and brainstorm with people that see the business and its customers differently.
- Research competitors, but make it fun. Check out your top competitors’ websites, social media platforms, influencer partnerships, and branding. Ignore the data and just look. Alone or with your marketing team, talk about or write down all of the things that you like and dislike about their different marketing tactics. How would you change things? Would you have chosen different brand colors? Used different phrasing in social media posts? Gone for a different overall persona?
- Reach out to your customers and ask them questions. This doesn’t have to be a thorough survey or case study, but rather a casual Instagram poll or a post asking for answers in the comments. You can ask them anything from their preference between two drink choices to their opinions on a product feature. A collection of direct feedback can help you get some extra insight into your audience as well as what creative direction you should go in.
Wrap Up
Award-winning ideas often aren’t formulated alone. If you have (or are part of) a marketing team, take advantage of the range of personalities and unique perspectives of the individuals on the team. Remember, creativity isn’t a formula, but a process that takes time. You can’t put a rush on incredibly successful marketing campaigns!
