“Everyone’s a creative!”
It’s the shoutout du jour.
From every thought leader, HR exec, technologist, strategist, analyst,
account person, buyer, mapper and consultant.
(When faced with this comment, my response is “Sure,
but then everyone’s a technologist, strategist, and analyst, right?”
Their enthusiasm wanes rather quickly.)
But is everyone creative? Let’s find out.
First, draw a circle. Then another next to it that slightly overlaps it.
Good! You’ve just drawn yourself a Venn diagram.
Now, in the left circle, write the word “desire”.
In the right, “efficiency”.
You’re done.
No matter what your title, you’re creating one of them.
You’re creating desire. Or efficiency.
They are the only two jobs in advertising.
Take UX - design, strategy, experience, etc.
You’re taking the “friction” out of the process.
You’re creating efficiency.
Media? The right message at the right moment
in the right medium for the right person?
Jump in the efficiency circle.
Analyst? Efficiency. Journey mapper? Ditto.
If you’re a writer or art director, you’re creating that other thing.
Desire. Getting folks to want that product or service. And keep wanting it.
Keeping it purposeful. Keeping it noticed. Keeping it cool.
And getting people to take those first steps on that customer journey.
(Is that important? When you consider there are tens of thousands of companies out there, each endlessly beckoning customers to set foot on up to ten journeys…well, you do the math.)
Content creation? Native advertising? Social posts? Even new business?
Desire. Desire. Desire. Desire.
The reason it’s a Venn diagram is because of course there’s overlap: for example, an experience can be so frictionless that it can become a desire factor, too.
So is everyone in advertising creative?
Of course you are.
But the real question is, which are you creating?
Desire or efficiency?