Can Creativity Come Out To Play?

The solutions to all your business woes lie right above everyone’s nose

It's not complicated — just let loose the creativi-whee!

Need solutions for ongoing business worries? Need great ideas for uncovering new business opportunities? No problem! The insights needed to conquer all these issues and more are right there, close at hand—locked up inside the heads of the good people you work with every day. All you need to do is find a way to shake the creativity loose. 

Exactly how much elbow grease will it take to liberate the genius that silently surrounds you? That is dictated by institutional culture; some groups just don’t have the history or inclination to suborn themselves to the ethereality of mind-magic.

While others, let’s face it, are just drunk on the stuff. These are the companies that eschew stairs in their office suites in favor of bouncy slides and fireman poles. They’ve got massage chairs in the power-nap room, and foosball tables on the ceiling. They reckon that a workday has to resemble a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, if you’re to have any hope of coaxing out the elusive creative mind.

And to some extent, you have to give them credit for success. This is arguably a proven formula for the creatives of the entertainment industry, Silicon Valley, and, we can assume, the wizardly boffins at ARPA and DARPA.

But what about the rest of us? What if we haven’t the square-footage for an employee Romper Room in our leased storefront office spaces? Are we to be denied the fruits of creative labor just because we lack the budget or penchant for sumo suits for everyone?

A bouncy-slide salesman would never tell you this, but we will: Creativity isn’t that hard to coax out. Creativity is the child gazing out the window, desperately hoping for an invitation from the other kids in the neighborhood to come play. It wants to come out.

Start by fostering an environment where input and creative suggestions are universally understood to be welcome. Ask for advice and opinions, from everyone and on every subject. Ask lots of follow-up questions, to make them deeply examine their own ideas and thought processes.

For your thorniest issues only—don’t want to pull out the big gun too often—convene brainstorming sessions, peopled with as many of your SMEs you can fit in a room. Brainstorm your own way, there are endless ways to structure the sessions, but always follow the two cardinal rules of the storm of brains: No ideas are out of bounds, and no one gets criticized.

Lastly, don’t try too hard to control the creative process. Set it in motion, encourage it to continue…then get out of its way. Creativity will rise to the occasion, so long as it’s not stifled by close-mindedness. Your team wants to perform; they’re pining to put on their thinking caps. Sure, they’ll take a ride on the bouncy slide if one’s being offered—but if not, they’ll still amaze you with their creativity. All you have to do is ask.

The C4:

1. There are three ways to solve any problem and to unlock any door: Muscle your way through, buy your way in, or think your way around it. Can we all agree the third is preferred, if only for the bragging rights?

2. Leaders are accustomed to hogging all the thinking for themselves. That’s a habit we need to break. Intelligent, engaged people who want to lend their brainpower to the common cause surround us. Shame on us if we’ve got resources like that available and we’re not using them.

3. So, foster creativity in your workplace. Create an environment where deep thought and unexpected solutions are not just welcome, but expected.

4. Nothing against bouncy slides. If you’ve got the space and the budget, by all means bounce away. Just don’t think that’s where the creativity comes from. Slide or no slide, the creativity is already there.

Baader Meinhoff?

Baader Meinhoff!

Let’s start with a history lesson.

Once a new element is introduced,
our penchant for patterns makes something new,
seem not so new after all.

The Baader-Meinoff Gang, later re-branded the Red Army Faction, was a Marxist-Leninist urban terrorist group, active in West Germany in the seventies and eighties. They were named for two of their founders, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhoff.

Of course, German communism is as outdated as Marx, Lenin, and West Germany itself, so this little trip down memory lane is probably irrelevant to you. But it might become relevant, maybe in a day or two, if the Baader-Meinoff Phenomenon holds true.

The Baader-Meinhoff Phenom gives appellation to some weirdness we’ve all experienced: You’ve just learned about something, or heard an odd word or term for the first time, then suddenly you find it cropping up again and again. Not surprisingly, the name was coined by someone who reported, in an online discussion forum, that they’d recently heard about the Baader-Meinhoff Gang…and then heard another random reference to the same, the very next day.

That thread took off, they say, because everyone can identify.

So is it as spooky as it seems? Is it some eerily specific type of synchronicity, diabolically designed to shoehorn ephemera like the Baader-Meinhoff Gang into our consciousness?

We kind of wish that were so. The truth is a little more pedestrian, but much more enlightening as to opaque workings of the human mind.

It’s called frequency illusion, and it’s related to the pattern-seeking bias we’re all programmed with. We’re creatures constantly on the lookout for recognizable patterns, even though we hardly realize it, because it’s a pretty reasonable survival strategy. After all, if you’re able to quickly, subconsciously espy a pattern within the willowy savannah grasses, one that suggests the lurking of hungry teeth, you just might buy yourself a valuable head start. These days the urgency isn’t quite as great, but the tendency remains.

Our brains are pretty good at editing, too. Via our senses we’re constantly bombarded with information and stimuli, most of which we instantly deem irrelevant, so we ignore it. But this tendency is at war with the previously mentioned one; within those terrabytes of ignored data patterns exist, or at least they seem to. And we’re watching for them. If some random bit of chatter makes it through the censor, like “Baader Meinhoff” for instance, we’re alert for that chatter to repeat itself—even though the whole process is happening outside our conscious awareness.

The truth is, we’re perceiving the world as persistent, mostly meaningless static. And you know how it is with static: you can either ignore it, or you can listen close. If you do, you can swear you hear within it creepy whispers. 

From a marketing perspective it’s intriguing, but not exactly an easy thing to leverage. Sure, we try to pierce the barrier of psychological editing with repetition and with uniqueness of message—and sure, it often works. But trying to predict which patterns (or more accurately, perceived patterns) folks will find meaningful is challenging indeed.

It’s just too bad the name Baader Meinhoff was already taken, and tainted. Because clearly, that one works like a charm.

The C4:
1. The Baader-Meinhoff Gang were very bad, no-good people. The less said about them the better.

2. But the Baader-Meinhoff Phenomenon is fascinating. It’s not supernatural, it only seems that way. It tells us a lot about the way we think, and the way we see the world.

3. It’s about pattern recognition, and it’s about thinking you’ve found patterns where none actually exist. It’s why you see faces in the clouds, and it’s why you’re certain to see a ’56 Packard the same week you find out your grandpappy drove one.

4. How useful is it? That remains unsure. We’re just kind of glad the Baader-Meinhoff Gang didn’t have a marketing department to harness their eponymous phenomenon. Those bomb-throwing twits might have been famous, rather than historical footnotes.

A Commercial That Totally Nails It (Totes McGotes)

Sometimes it just comes down to the on-air talent.

Imagine the #throwback status updates on these timelines.

And you know, that’s not easy to admit. We’ve produced enough TV spots in our time that we’re accustomed to sharing the accolades with everyone involved. The whole team contributes to success: the writers, the creative directors, the producers and certainly not least, the clients who green-lit the things in the first place.

But every now and then we see an ad, or a series of ads, that turns that formulation on its head. Sometimes the idea is so simple, or so unexpected, that it’s destined to be a great big clinker unless exactly the right people are put in front of the cameras.

Sprint’s recent campaign, created by the Leo Burnett agency, is a prime example. To highlight and honor the everyday importance of everyday communication, roughly 16 TV commercials (not all have aired as of yet) consist of little more than a couple of actors role-playing other peoples’ phone conversations, texts, and email exchanges.

Which could have generated a lot of shrugs, and maybe a few yawns. But they went and casted James Earl Jones and Malcolm McDowell to handle the emoticon-y reenactments.

Sheer genius. And putting them both in tuxes, on a spare and darkened London stage? Almost too awesome to contemplate.

So what we got was two veteran character actors, whose bodies of works are nothing less than legendary, taking on the personae of tween girls (to hash out, once and for all, whether Ryan is a ‘Hottie McHotterson’), and a couple of bros pondering whether to go out that night (“Probably not…but I might!”)

We’re not saying other actors couldn’t have carried it off. But with these two, a smash-hit was almost guaranteed. And it’s not solely because of their individual talent, remarkable as they are. No, there was synergy and interpersonal chemistry at work here, and it’s plainly visible on the screen. Industry buzz has it that both Jones and McDowell signed on only when they learned the other was committed. It’s also telling that these were the first TV commercials Malcolm McDowell has ever done.

The results are amazing (or as McDowell-as-‘Kim’ would have it, “amazeballs”). But truth be told, it probably won’t turn our industry on its head. We’ll go on creating ads much like we’ve always done: as a creative, collaborative effort between a team of professionals, with the input and informed consent of our clients.

We’d like to say this is because it’s a proven method that’s served us extraordinarily well, and there’s more than a kernel of truth to that. But this is also true: There are simply not enough James Earl Joneses and Malcolm McDowells to go around.

The C4:

1. Sprint and Leo Burnett swung for the fences, and delivered. Such a simple concept: have a couple of actors play off each other with the content of other peoples’ electronic communications. Similar ads have been tried before. We forget by whom.
2. What made this a winning campaign is very easily identified: James Earl Jones and Malcolm McDowell. Their vocal and personal gravitas, their commanding presence, their tuxedos, for crying out loud—created a shocking yet delightful incongruity, as they inhabited the vernacular of these 30-second roles.
3. Give credit where it’s due. Just like any marketing endeavor, this one had a lot of champions. Every stakeholder at Sprint and at Leo Burnett shares this success. But let’s not kid ourselves, because they’re surely not; the actors made this work. If anyone else had been in front of the camera, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation.
4. We salute this success, but we can’t really see it changing how we work. We collaborate with our clients, and with each other, to create marketing that delivers exactly the right message to exactly the right audience. But having said that—Messrs. Jones and McDowell, you read our blog, don’t you? (Doesn’t everyone?) If so…CALL US.

Can’t See Your Desk?

“A cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind.”

How did such a filthy studio produce such clean paintings?

Whether you take umbrage at that statement, or whether you find yourself nodding in agreement, is probably a safe indicator of your own desk’s state of tidiness.
  
So we have here, once again, a clash. A dichotomy. Once again we have a way of dividing ourselves against ourselves. As if we didn’t have enough of those.

Those of the uncluttered persuasion will tell you that there’s a place for everything, and everything should darn well be in its place. It’s a matter of productivity, they say. Neatness and organization provide the tools and empowerment to get work done quickly, efficiently, and accurately.

Meanwhile, the denizens of the other end of the spectrum tell you that where you see clutter, they see an unconventional yet workable filing system. Of course they know where everything can be found — every pile and overstuffed desk drawer represents a logical progression of tasks and relationships.

Besides, they say, if you’re spending so much time organizing your workstation, how much work can you actually be getting done?

Sigh. Can’t we all just get along?

Here’s a thought: Maybe both sides are right. Now before you accuse us of being wishy-washy, let us assure you that this isn’t just a theoretical group hug we’re advocating here. We speak from experience.

Within these hallowed halls of Caler&Company (What? They’re hallowed to us…) you can find both cluttered desks, and desks that veritably shimmer with immaculateness. Some members of our team are called to alphabetize their paperclips, and some of us need to dig archaeological trenches to find last month’s expense reports.

And it doesn’t matter a bit. Not as long as we’re creating powerful marketing communications that get results for our clients. (We totally are.)

Because what works for each of us is, unsurprisingly, that which works for each of us. Trying to force our Oscar Madisons into Felix Unger-shaped pigeonholes wouldn’t just be futile, it’d be counterproductive. It would mess with this precious success-formula of ours. We can’t have that.

Maybe this philosophy would work for your business? It just might. Give it a try. Instead of driving wedges between your neatniks and your paper-hoarders, try just letting them be themselves. If they give you their best work, you know you’re on the right track.

And if you still need a dichotomy, then try this one on for size: If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what's an empty desk a sign of?

The C4:

1. The hullabaloo between those who neatly organize their desks, and those who, um, don’t, is getting a little nasty. The two sides have gone beyond questioning each other’s work methods. Seems like they’re now questioning each others' sanity, patriotism, and commitment to the survival of mankind.
2. Which means we’re taking taking this way too seriously. It comes down to this: It’s your desk. Can you find everything you need? Can you get your work done? Can you not just perform, but excel? Then great — organize (or disorganize) anyway you choose.
3. That’s how we run things here. At Caler&Company, we’re judged on our results, not the state of our desktops. Makes sense, doesn’t it? There’s more than enough divisiveness to go around.
4. For example, much as we love our coworkers, would you believe that come Sunday, some of these people are going to be rooting for the wrong team? Now that is truly a sign of some kind of messed-up mind.

The Chief, The ’Skins & The Right Thing To Do

Maybe it's time.

We at Caler&Company tend to look at public-relations controversies in a couple of different ways. We’re interested observers, followers of news and rumors…and at the same time we’re industry insiders, always wargaming how we’d navigate similar challenges. “If they were our clients…” is how many a conversation ’round our watercooler begin.

Full disclosure: the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins are not our clients. We have no say in how they handle the perennial (yet currently very active) controversies surrounding the Native American themes in their team names and mascots.

But if they were our clients, here’s what we’d tell them…

It’s true that political correctness can run rampant, far past the point of ridiculousness. It’s also true that a significant segment of the population, maybe even one that’s concentrated among the sports-loving types, reacts pretty negatively to political correctness. They value history and tradition, like the 66-year-old legacy of Chief Wahoo, and the 81-year-old history of Washington’s team name.

On those criteria alone, a public relations professional might be justified in telling the teams to hang tough. They could probably make the argument that the fans will appreciate their steadfastness all the more.

But the best public relations strategy, we’d tell them, always has to be this: Just do the right thing. And we’d ask them if retiring Chief Wahoo and the name “Redskins” is a matter of political correctness, or is it the right thing to do?

The traditions and memories those teams and their symbols are steeped in are overwhelming positive. Fans of those teams think of great times with family and friends, of thrilling triumph and crushing defeat, when they see the Indians or Redskins names and logos. Racial injustice and humiliation are surely the furthest things from their minds.

But that doesn’t alter the fact that “Redskins” is a slur, and Chief Wahoo is a gross stereotype.

If they were our clients, we’d tell them they could probably hang tough if they wanted to. They could probably thumb their noses at any and all who took offense, and most likely get away with it. For a while at least. Times and attitudes change after all. One day, we’d tell them, they could probably expect a reckoning.

Or they could do the right thing, right now.

Saying goodbye to the Chief, and renaming the ’Skins, isn’t the same as admitting that there was racism inherent in the long history of those franchises. We think even the most vocal critics realize that the teams’ management, players, and fans are motivated only by love of their sport and their hometown traditions.

And resist it though they might, we think even the most diehard fans will come to accept change, maybe even embrace it. New traditions are being born all the time, after all. If they’re born to replace ones best left in the past, then so much the better.

The C4

1. Public relations is a prominent offering on the Caler&Company menu. We love our close engagement with our public-relations clients, and the rollicking challenges that come with real-time PR operations. We can’t turn it off. So we analyze PR cases. The thornier they are, the more we analyze them.
2. We’re well aware, then, that the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians have had slow-burn public-relations trials for decades now, churned up by those who say they’re indiscriminately insulting American Indians. We also know that at present the controversy seems to be heating up a bit.
3. But who knows. Maybe it’ll blow over. Surely the PR pros at work on this know that’s a possibility. The teams very well might not have to change a thing.
4. But they should. The world gets a little better every time we discard a slur or stereotype. Kind of makes you wonder why we don’t discard them all.