Resurrecting Creativity as a Strategist Trying to Bridge the Gap with Creative

I came across this D&AD article, pondering if 'creativity is alive or dead.' As someone who sees 'uplifting creatives' as a core function to their role and success in being a good strategist, I feel deeply about finding ways to bridge the gap between the two departments. ‘Bridging the gap’ has made it into at least one of my annual SMART goals, year after year. We know we need to nurture the creative relationship, but sometimes it feels like a losing battle. Sometimes the energy feels misbalanced between the two — like strategy is always trying to find ways to improve the relationship, but not vice versa. In reality, it's just difficult to perfect! Often it feels like we're failing at finding the best way to work with creatives, when there's no such thing as a one-sized-fits-all approach. There are many external factors that also weigh on the dynamic: whether it's short timelines, assignments lacking clarity, or simply emotionally exhausted by living during a time of so much turmoil — to say the least.

That being said, this article struck a chord with me — especially when it came to appreciating the artistry and craft around what it means to 'create,' and refusing to let AI steal our skill (or short-cut us to excellent work). 

Three quotes stood out to me:

• "Andy Warhol made ads. Keith Haring made ads. There are these people that we put on our walls that were also making ads." >> Creative work is art !! That’s why we’re always trying to make our ideas ‘flow,’ or why we say strategy is the ‘dance.’ I’m so grateful for the agencies that have provided culture stipends, but I also wish there was more dedicated time to exploring creatively through art — through sub-fandoms, subcultures, emerging mediums. We need to treat creative like the masterpiece it wholly deserves to be. 

• "If you know the exact right prompt, you've already cracked the brief." >> ChatGPT can 'not' replace strong strategy work. we have to continue to sharpen our minds and challenge everything — push for one more "why" before landing your consumer problem. spend 5 more minutes asking yourself the inverse of data points and if you're telling an inspiring story — not just plug-and-playing the 4Cs.

• "We should be ready to create things that may turn out poorly." >> Common feedback we receive is that our briefs can feel limiting when creative is creating for the sake of fulfilling a media asset vs. creating a new idea that feels bold, inspiring, and out-of-the-box. How can we reward the in-between, carve out more time for real cross-team collaboration, and stop belittling provocations as “bad creative ideas?"

  
  

I'm hopeful we'll collectively find the space to feel grounded / at solace so that the best creative work can be created, shared, and dearly appreciated. while i recognize there's sheer privilege to take time off, and the industry can't 100% stop as we're at the helm of capitalism, I do yearn for simpler times where we can spend more time connecting with others — so that our brains can be calmer, where we can actually experience bouts of ‘actual’ boredom. I yearn for a world where no digital stimuli can infiltrate our eye sockets. Where getting lost in time spent with others marked a day well-spent — I yearn for a time when social media didn't fuel the loneliness epidemic.

In the meantime, I'm giving myself a little more grace and personal pep talks to create little wins for what it means to be a good strategist, by my own definition. I challenge myself to dimensionalize audience segments when presented with clients' targets. I challenge myself to rethink the visual format and flow off comms strategies that are trying to overcome the negative perceptions of 'framework city.' I challenge myself to explore form factors as more than media placements — to find the next Steph Curry billboard moment. I don't always succeed, but I'm definitely creating the space for acting with intention, leading with care regardless of who you may be engaging with on the other side.