Comms Creatives’ Post

Advice for young creatives: Nothing can grind the creative juices to a halt faster. Meetings are important, but tread lightly and use with moderation. Continued success, G.

I chat to a lot of Creatives at that tricky Midweight level. They know what they're doing, and don't need complete hand-holding.  But they still need direction, support and guidance. Yet, it seems that a lot of this talent is lacking decent mentorship. It got me thinking about the forgotten class of '19. And, how if you were a Junior Creative in 2020, chances are that your mentor was your flatmate.  Who probably had no idea what your job was. Of course, 2020 was pretty dire for everyone.  But, for the new talent entering the industry, it might have just been the hardest. Who was teaching them how to present their ideas? Who was teaching them how to deal with harsh crit? And, who's been teaching them how to become a senior creative? I know there are a bunch of Junior and Midweight Creatives out there right now who would love a mentor, but don't know how to make it happen. And, there are probably a lot of senior people who would love to be a mentor too. So, my question is if you've had a great mentor, or you've perhaps been one, how did that happen? 

"For someone like me, a cultural manager who always cared about creating bridges between the arts and the audience, the personal “discovery” of #audienceDevelopment (in 2005– 2006, when I did a European Diploma in Cultural Project Management) was a blessing and a curse. My first reaction was: great, something I do has a name, so I can get new tools to improve my work and move from intuition based on experience to knowledge and strategies. I have worked with the concept – practising and teaching it ever since. However, I recall the subsequent years (until now) as a constant struggle. I think that I only now, after years of deep learning and thinking about audience engagement, especially during my PhD research, understand why it felt that way. We need to be careful when we talk about audience development and engagement: depending on whom we talk to, they might refer to (and believe in) different things." [This is the intro of my "Beyond definitions, closer to people and the arts" text published in "Beyond Audience Development. Beyond European Capitals of Culture" by Impact Foundation in collaboration with Kaunas 2022 European Capital of Culture. That text is my personalised reflection on audience development and a call for trying new approaches in it.] The audience development concept, which I heard about from Dragan Klaic during my European Diploma in Cultural Project Management, aligned well with my values. It is centered on the audience's experience of art and uses (also) marketing. Not the other way around. “More sophisticated marketing is not the key to bringing […] more spectators. […If arts institutions] care about the audience’s appreciation of the work shown and about the cultural diversity of the audience, they need multiple simultaneous strategies that will reinforce each other. There are no ready-made solutions since contextual circumstances tend to be quite specific.” Dragan Klaić ("Resetting the stage: Public theatre between the market and democracy", 2012, p.122) Perhaps our Central European souls are just less prone to capitalist thinking :). The Warsaw's Impact Foundation's thoughts about #audienceDevelopment and #EuropeanCapitalsOfCulture can be found here https://lnkd.in/dvsFytyY

This morning, I ran face-first into a room of “too cool for school.” And guess what? I learned a lesson myself. 📚 A couple of mornings each week, I have the privilege of teaching high school freshmen. Today, I introduced a concept that was new to most of them. In an attempt to make it stick—and perhaps squeeze a chuckle or two out of them—I ventured into unfamiliar territory with a #drakepost meme. Yes, memes and I usually maintain a respectful distance (just ask my kids), but somehow, "Hotline Bling" seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. As I unveiled the slide featuring Drake in his iconic shrug, laughter began to bubble up until a singular glance from a student at the front sent a wave of silence crashing down. His grimace spoke volumes, and suddenly, I lost my audience, unresponsive to the pearls of wisdom I hoped to impart. Not even Drake's charismatic nod could bridge the gap. ➡️ This experience got me thinking about our roles as creatives. We're trained to scrutinize visuals and messages, to judge their impact ruthlessly. This critical eye is crucial, a key component of our professional growth. Yet, I've witnessed brilliant ideas fall by the wayside, shot down by someone perched on the pinnacle of "too cool" for the concept. Reflecting on this, I can't help but wonder—have I ever been that person? Looking back, it's entirely possible. My takeaway? ➡️Listen actively.  ➡️Consider ideas from all angles.  ➡️Apply Occam's razor only after giving each concept the airtime it deserves. Let's not let our pursuit of coolness stifle the potential for greatness. #creativethinking #professionaldevelopment #professionalgrowth , #visualcommunication #creativedirector #activelistening #designthinking

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I see stories everywhere. Perhaps it's my experience as a speaker that has reprogrammed my brain to view each moment, whether it's the thrill of getting lost in the jungles of Panama or the simplicity of killing time, as a story in waiting. My journey of transforming raw experiences into polished stage stories is meticulous: 1) Live the experience. 2) Mull over it, turning it over in my mind. 3) Write down a draft of the story on paper. 4) Share the story in its infancy with a small audience, gathering initial reactions. 5) Analyze which elements hit home and which missed the mark. 6) Rework the story, fine-tuning it with the feedback in mind. 7) Tell the story on stage, presenting it to a larger audience. 8 ) Post-performance, dissect the feedback, identifying what worked and what didn’t. 9) Step back on stage with the revised story. This cycle of refinement continues until the story feels flawless. The path from living an experience to sharing it on stage is arduous, explaining why less than 0.01% of my life’s moments ever spotlight on stage.

Enjoyed the Association of National Advertisers Global Day of Learning yesterday. Thanks ANA for making this possible. Nice welcome video from American Express CMO Elizabeth Rutledge. Several of the sessions I was lucky to see live at the ANA Masters in October in Orlando, but the vast majority I haven’t. For example, I got to enjoy a webinar via my new buddy David Tiltman of WARC on “The Business Case for Making "Good" Creative Work to Drive Growth.” In it, David re-shares the "Creative Effectiveness Ladder" and talks about how creative can work harder including reaching future demand, definition of “Creative Commitment,” correlation to your impact (Creative Ladder), what we need creativity to do (Attention, Fame, Memory), emotional impact, and more. Explanation: As you go up the ladder, the more significant the impact you’re having on the business. Here’s a link to “Learn From the Ladder” on WARC: https://lnkd.in/eC2Zn4Fc

One of the easiest ways to get students to engage in techniques like TPRS®, Storyasking, or more is by introducing characters from current pop culture. The problem is the word "current…" Don't get me wrong, I (Martina) know the names of celebrities, but they're from – maybe 2018? As I've been updating outdated pop culture references in The Somos Curriculum, I've been wondering: who are your student's favorite celebrities, NOW? Drop the names in comments below (bonus points if you can tell us what they do, ie. singer, football star, etc so we all can really keep up)!