The process of creativity isn’t glamorous. It’s simply about hard work, the management of emotions, and delayed showmanship. And it’s necessarily lonely. To want to be creative—truly creative—is to want to entertain, which is often depressingly opposite of being entertained.
– Eddie Smith, Practically Efficient.
There is no trick to creativity, no secret initiation or gnostic teaching to be revealed by invitation only. Continue reading
We have all seen a campaign launched for a competitor that is just brilliant and out of the box creative. You beat yourself up about why you didn’t think of that first or what you will say to your client or boss when the campaign is mentioned. You start racking your brain trying to think of what you can come up with to top it…and you can’t come up with anything.
With multiple clients all wanting the next greatest PR strategy, it is hard to keep the creative juices flowing. Creativity doesn’t happen on demand and it usually happens in strange places, such as the shower or at the dry cleaners, when your mind is elsewhere. Continue reading
In order to be successful in the modern world of PR, there are certain essential characteristics that one must possess to fight adversity, capitalize on opportunities, maintain a positive image, encourage word of mouth, and build strategy. When initially coming up with the idea for this post, I jotted down 17 must have characteristics. Here are my top 5: Continue reading
I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes we need to get creative in the world of PR—how can I get this person to email me back; how can I get this person to see that my idea is the best; how can I make this company look a little bit less boring. It can be tough, and in some situations creativity is absolutely the key to success. However, PR professionals are often in charge of creating press releases, helping with interviews, and creating campaigns for the eyes and the ears of the public. In other words, PR departments have the entire public analyzing their work. This led me to wonder: Can being too creative be too risky? Continue reading
Creativity need not be intricate design on the inside of a gum wrapper or hurling a bucket of paint against your ex-girlfriend’s family photos. You don’t have to age bread and – I don’t know – build the Brooklyn Bridge out of it.
The ‘C’ word is about improving an existing process or creating a new, more desirable one altogether. It’s wondering, “Isn’t there a quicker, more efficient way of doing this?” Or, “How can I get people that use X to switch to Y?” Most of have these thoughts pretty regularly, but rarely do we sit down and really try to answer them. Creativity, then, is as much about thinking about the “what” of an idea as it is about the “how,” or how you can take it out of the clouds and turn it into something tangible. Continue reading
Public relations pro: Caffeine-fueled typist and story teller.
We spend a lot of time discussing tactics to reach bloggers and other influentials, the latest tools for our arsenal and how to make our campaigns more successful. What we lose sight of sometimes is the art behind what we do. So, I want to spend some time talking about how to make ourselves better. How we can better tell a story. How we can be a better artist. Continue reading
There are many nights when I would love nothing more than to twitch my nose, wave my wand and witness the magical appearance of the Fairy Blogmother. You know, that whimsical creature that brings great post ideas, fluid prose and a wealth of creativity. Yet, I’ve yet to track down this mythical legend. Despite my best attempts to coax her out (i.e. cupcakes), she is a consistent no show. And so, I thought it best to have a little heart-to-heart with the Fairy Blogmother.
Dear Fairy Blogmother, Continue reading