The document emphasizes the importance of creativity in communications, defining it as the process of developing unique ideas and combining existing concepts in novel ways. It argues that while creativity can be cultivated, certain organizational cultures may hinder its development, particularly in risk-averse environments. To enhance creativity, it suggests various techniques such as embracing serendipity, using storytelling, and employing structured brainstorming sessions.

1. Get Your Crayons Back! Creativity in communications Rosetta Public Relations Inc.

2. What do we mean by ‘creativity’? My preferred definitions The process of developing new, uncommon or unique ideas Being imaginative or inventive The power to invest with new form The ability to create new associations between existing ideas or concepts

3. But seriously… what is creativity? The how of communications (as opposed to the what ), often reflected in the vehicle for the message Not an idea but how you use ideas and combine them with others in a novel arrangement Duchamp’s ‘readymade’ art

4. Are you born with it? Both an innate talent and a skill We all have the same brain – some have more creativity in theirs than others It can be cultivated, honed and taught… or it can atrophy through disuse The myth of the creative genius – legacy from the explosion of the advertising age

5. Get your crayons back You were creative in kindergarten… what happened? You put your crayons away and studied serious stuff Did you grow up and get boring? Probably You can be creative again Just take your crayons back and make creativity a part of your life and work Superman by Robbie, age 4

6. Where does creativity come from? Many sources GETS – good enough to steal Small is beautiful – take the little ideas and combine them (don’t waste your time chasing after the big idea ) Serendipity – the art of finding something while looking for something else Subverting convention – think different (sp) WS Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch and father of the GETS principle

7. An example

8. Originality Vastly overrated Your idea thefts are likely to go undiscovered unless blatant The key is taking ideas from wherever you find them and combining them into something new of your own making Juxtaposition is good! Originality only applies to your own specific situation – if your context is new then your work is original

9. Argument for creativity Delivers value – like heightened audience interest or a shortcut to intuitive understanding (the aha moment) Surmounts noise in the communications channel by getting you invited into the audiences’ mindspace Conveys desirable brand attributes in addition to the message Can support positioning (or re-positioning)

10. Creativity for large organizations Every organization can be creative Some choose not to be… historically governments, industrial companies Typically risk-averse, approval-seeking organizations have problems with cultivating creativity Often the corporate communications folks are the problem – “ creativity is for the marketing department” “ we outsource that to an agency”

11. Conditions for creativity Capacity – sufficient horsepower (internal or external) to drive project Will – champion(s) who believe in the project Buy-in – appetite among senior management Who would’ve thought BK management would back this?

12. Are there limits to creativity? … yes

13. Disciplined creativity Must support brand Must be on strategy Simply means an orderly process to generate creativity Warning – this is hard work with limited shortcuts for the lazy

14. “ You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London

15. Basic principles Suspend judgement – no nay-saying Resist the usual Don’t stop at one idea, keep going Allow sufficient time… but not too much that ennui sets in Consider repeated creativity generation sessions to prevent burnout Never ignore hallway conversations – doctors do it, why can’t you? Capture everything Focus Don’t turn off creativity – sometimes good ideas come outside of office hours

16. Eating the tangerine Forcing focus Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, teaches this to generate mindfulness Eat a tangerine What does it taste, smell, feel like? Resist the abstract, the urge to categorize Less about thinking than experiencing Now do the same with your ideas – experience them, record them, don’t evaluate them… yet

17. Try three types of thinking Blue-sky Realistic Critical Should be applied separately One should not dominate If you have more time to explore, look at de Bono’s Six Hats model

18. Perspectives Fresh eyes Who is in your organization? What about outside? Imagine – what does this look like from their position? Find the connections Instead of being a professional communications person, look through the lens of: Parent Volunteer hockey coach Community activist Amateur photographer Whatever you might be … or imagine “what would my brother/sister/aunt (circle one) the [insert career here] think?”

19. Generating ideas The What If exercise What if there were no barriers to realizing our objective? Identifies ideal goal Lists obstacles to realizing that goal Obstacles can then be challenged and sorted as Insurmountable Surmountable Imaginary Workaround solutions can be found to realize the goal Imaginary obstacles can be dismissed

20. Generating ideas Story-telling Tell the story/problem differently If this is usually conveyed through text, draw a picture If this is typically told from the government’s viewpoint, tell it from a different perspective Tell/show/act it to a 4th grader Similarity exercise What’s this like? What could you borrow from other sectors?

21. Do we have to brainstorm?

22. Brainstorming Creativity-sparking concept with a bad reputation Useful if structured Phase Thinking type Generate ideas Blue-sky Share them Blue-sky First sort Realistic Short list Realistic/critical Best idea Critical Refine (process)

23. Sample brainstorming structure What is this about? What are the opportunities and obstacles? Who are we talking to? What do we want to say? How do we want to be seen? What channels are available? What opportunities exist/could exist? What other noise is there in the environment? What could derail our efforts (worst-case scenario planning)? What other ideas do we like that could be stolen and applied here?

25. Paul McIvor 416.516.7095 416.906.1276 C [email_address] www.RosettaPR.com Contact