Unicorns vs dinosaurs
How to be creative when nobody wants you to
Founder and MD of Manyminds
Co-founder of Outrageous Creative
Author of ‘The Future is Freelance’
Runs mentoring programme and
creativity workshops
Haven’t got a clue what I am doing
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Let me start with a fact
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
11 items of clothing
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
39,916,800 ways to get
dressed
Business operate on
quantifiable predictability
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
We reward not making
mistakes and maintaining
status quo
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
People are paid
to not f**k up
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Let me circulate that
with all the key
stakeholders
We have strict brand
guidelines
We have a 12 step sign
off process
Meanwhile
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
We are exposed to 3000
adverts a day
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
1 in 3 of us use
ad blockers
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
“I get thousands of press
releases a day. Literally.
Thousands.”
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
We have to be bold and
incite emotion
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
600+ pickups, including initial
placements with BuzzFeed and
The Huffington Post
Extensive international
coverage, including Business
Insider Australia, CNN Espanol,
six additional versions of The
Huffington Post
More than 3 million views from
the BuzzFeed feature alone
Close to 1 million social shares,
with nearly 20 percent coming
from on-site shares
“Emotions are the key - consider using data
that will tell a human story, resonate
emotionally, or tell us something particular
regarding human behavior.” - Krystin Tynski
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Brands don’t like to have
opinions
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
74% of CMOs said they are
“unlikely” to take a creative
risk with their brand
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
87% of us struggle to get our
best ideas signed off
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
How can we be creative
nobody wants to take
risks?
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
1. Have bold ideas
2. Get them signed off
bold ideas...
...Signed off
Having bold ideas
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Who here believes you
are a creative person?
“Creativity is a skill that can be
learned, developed and
applied”
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Habits
Brainstorms
Validation
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
“All creativity comes
through play.”
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Businesses have to
develop habits to enable
their staff to be creative
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Random wordsUse random words against a defined focused
to stimulate new ideas. The random word
allows us to open up paths we would
otherwise never explore.
Focus: To provide
idea to promote a
storage company
Random word:
Planet and
Photograph
Confidence games
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Be playful, take
ourselves a less
seriously, loosen
inhibitions
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
One word story
You know the drill. One word each. It has to make sense. There’s a timer.
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
An expert talk
Pick a subject from the list on the next slide. Then, can you please educate
the room on how this topic.
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
1. How to feng shui a room
2. What really killed off the dinosaurs
3. Why clowns are evil
4. The history of kitchen utensils that never caught on
5. How to stalk a celebrity
6. Why everything your parents tell you is a lie
7. An experts guide to winter gardening
8. Interior design for £5 or less
9. The reason universal plugs are all so different
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
“I had no idea
how easily I could
make stuff up!”
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
ProvocationsCome up with absurd solutions to a
problem
Emotionally connect
with storage
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Underlying emotional
principle: Loss, change,
sentimental value
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
1. How to feng shui a room
2. What really killed off the dinosaurs
3. Why clowns are evil
4. The history of kitchen utensils that never caught on
5. How to stalk a celebrity
6. Why everything your parents tell you is a lie
7. An experts guide to winter gardening
8. Interior design for £5 or less
9. The reason universal plugs are all so different
Write a blog post
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Use Instagram stories
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Run a test data campaign
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Business case
for creativity
“Creative campaigns
were 7 times more
effective than
non-creative campaigns”
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
“If you let me be creative,
this will be 700% better”
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
“Non creative
campaigns are
becoming less effective
over time”
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
A standard way of
pitching a campaign is a
problem
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
“I give my client loads of
data, but they still don’t
sign it off”
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Data is only good for
rational decision making.
Here we’re dealing with
fear
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Pitch something
insane
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
The centre stage
complex
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
“53% more likely to pick
the middle option”
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Plan for the worst case
scenario
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Business case
for creativity
Round up!
Believe in your
ability to be creative
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Practice and train your
creative mind
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Go to new places. Be
silly. Play games.
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Have tiny feet
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Take time to
understand who you
are trying to convince
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Anticipate objections
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Win the
space race!
@kirsty_hulse #searchlove
Thank you!
bit.ly/SEOunicorn
kirsty@outrageouscreative.com
@kirsty_hulse

SearchLove London 2018 - Kirsty Hulse - Unicorns vs Dinosaurs: How to Be Creative When Nobody Wants You To