Creativity with Purpose
by Live & Inspire in People+Organizations | 1 Comment | Add your comment

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Have you ever seen a rendition of Shakespeare’s Hamlet performed through interpretive dance?

Don’t. It’s stupid.

Some crazy art nut tried performing it on a busy street corner once, trying to promote his new “play”. It wasn’t elegant, beautiful, or dramatic. It was a massive failure. I guess you could say it was tragic.

But it did prove something. Creativity gets attention. Even if it IS the type of creativity where a grown man dances around in a far-too-revealing tight yellow leotard.

To each his own.

Creativity sells. Maybe even more than sex. But that’s not the type of creativity I am talking about. And it’s certainly not the type of creativity where you wear ridiculously tight outfits and traumatize the world with your loose dance moves and your tight packed balls.

I am talking about a creativity where instead of getting as much attention as you possibly can; it is about getting attention from the right people, for the right reasons, at the right time. I am talking about a creativity with a strategic direction. I am talking about a creativity with purpose.

Now that is only a small example of the horror that is going on everyday. But at a larger scale, businesses/brands are making the very same mistake all over the world; they are spending all their time on the “flash” of aesthetics and forgetting about its direction, forgetting about its strategy. They believe that what has worked for them 10 years ago will still work for them today.

But the consumer has changed.

ALOT.

Creativity with purpose is a better way of thinking. It’s about considering every angle before communication. It’s creativity driven by strong strategic direction – Achieving the balance between aesthetics, function and result.

For Mr. Yellow Leotard, it might mean understanding his target market before showing his package again. For businesses elsewhere, it is about developing well thought out creative material that connects with the consumers they want. And not just the type of connection that you get when strutting your stuff through interpretive dance, but the type of connection that welcomes their attention and interests them enough to WANT to engage.

Consumers are looking for much more in your communication than flashy dance moves or pretty pictures. Too many things are fighting for their attention already. They need the intellectual stimulation as well as the emotional response. They need the creativity as well as the conviction of a strong brand strategy.

They need more than just the aesthetics.

They need substance.

~~~ About the contributor ~~~

Sedick Sasman is a independent creative contractor based in South Africa. His goal is to help other small businesses/ start-ups to get their message out there. He believes that a successful brand combines it’s vision, creative strategy and design into one meaningful and impact-full force. To find out more, visit his site www.substance-creative.co.za

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