Blog #6: Thoughts on Creativity

As a student of advertising I find the subject of teaching creativity quite interesting. In my undergraduate courses, there was never a class dedicated to the creative process. So when I arrived at UT Austin for graduate school I was excited to hear that Creative Strategies would be a required course for our first semester. I found myself curious as to what the projects would entail and how exactly we would be “measured.” The class was interesting, don’t get me wrong, but the only thing it did was reaffirm my belief that creativity cannot be taught. The exercises, some challenging and stimulating, did not foster the creative thinking breakthroughs I was hoping for. I have never considered myself a particularly creative person. I would use the word observant. But there are definitely moments in my life that fostered creativity more than others (that class unfortunately not being one of those times). When I was younger I was a synchronized swimmer. This was, and albeit still is, a rather unconventional sport to be involved in. I’m not sure how familiar you are with the sport, but it is somewhat like performance art. Every aspect of the routine including the theme, music and costumes is developed from scratch by the team, trio, duet or individual. The freedom to design the routine allowed for some rather creative developments over the years some of which included, the “Cell Block Tango” routine (Chicago musical) and the “YMCA” routine (we wore swimsuit costumes of the Village People). This time in my life stands out as particularly creative because of the “creation” aspect. The task of developing these routines down to the smallest details with little guidance encouraged a creative environment. 

One of the things that I think is important in this situation is the lack of direction. Although, I do think it’s important to know the vital elements and limitations that need to be considered. For example, in synchronized swimming you are given the number of people you are required to participate in the routine, the time limit and the specific “elements” that must be displayed in the routine by all the members. Everything else is in your hands. This type of creative process is structured in a less intimidating way than just a clean slate. 

In the jobs I have held over the years, particularly the more creative design positions, I find this same method works the best for me. Without guidelines I feel lost, but with too many restrictions I feel constrained. I definitely gravitate towards working in groups in organizational creativity settings. I believe there are people capable of being creative by themselves, in fact, many people in their blogs my say that is what works best for them. In the group settings, at least in my experience, it is important for the members to have some “common ground.” There needs to be the ability to relate to one another in order to fully understand another individuals idea and furthermore be able to take that idea and add/expand on it with your own ideas. I believe that is where true creativity happens in an organization. For example, in school I had a difficult group project that stifled creativity when it could have thrived. We were tasked with creating a “branding video” for a company of our choice. Each member of the team, myself included, took the idea and ran with it. But, we all ran in different directions. When we came together for a meeting, it was, well a complete mess. This project had no rules, required elements, or common themes. It was just “make a brand video.” Since we had procrastinated as most students do, we were left with only a few options. We attempted to brainstorm other ideas and build off each other’s ideas but since we didn’t understand where those ideas came from, we were left with what I thought was the worst idea. (Creating a “taco porn” video about Torchy’s Tacos.) I am humiliated even typing that sentence. As it turned out, we didn’t do as terribly as I was anticipating, but needless to say it was not a “fun creative exercise” as the instructor had intended. 

This was perhaps one of the only times I felt that working with a group hindered my creativity. But as I said, I think the importance of a “point of reference” is essential to the environment and so is some semblance of “guidelines.” Each person has their own sense of what creative process works for them and I think we inherently know what will prove most effective. But this is where I think the group dynamic can provide an interesting platform for ideas as those creative processes we have developed can be applied to an outsider’s ideas (that effervesced from their own creative process). The “play on ideas” is where I often find the greatest insights. A theme that I think has been common in the Advertising world of creativity is the “think outside the box” type thinking. It’s about strange, out-there, unconventional and borderline crazy ideas. Like this ad for example... I mean c’mon? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG042nkReBA 

And in that regard I think it is about personal experiences. Every individual has a story. Some narrative that makes them unique and shapes their outlook on the world and despite even the most similar sounding situations, everyone has their story. This plays a large influence on what shapes your creative ability. You either can draw from your vast experiences to enhance your creative thinking or you can reside in your own imagination. Imagination is a gateway for creativity. It’s funny though I find that when you are a child everyone has such wild imaginations with outlandish hopes and dreams and as you become more educated, you slowly begin to be brought down to earth along with your ideas. It’s the people that don’t ever fully get out of their childhood mind that become the greatest successes in advertising. Here is a fun video that appeals to the child in all of us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw This is of course just my opinion. Lets face it, what the hell do I know? Some more credible people have commented on creativity, a few of which I recall from that Creative Strategies course. Leo Burnett, a pioneer in the ad business, said creativity is “The art of establishing new and meaningful relationships between previously unrelated things…which somehow present the product in a fresh new light.” 

I recalled one of the books we read called Eureka! It Really Takes Years of Hard Work (a play on the “light blub moment”) made creativity seem more of a habit that requires practice. One particular business that I have found a tremendous amount of creativity in is the music business. The immense competition and pressure within the business I think has both a negative and positive effect on the creativity of the musicians. But the ability to write music that is completely original and for it to be so well received by millions of different people goes to show the immense power of creative thinking. Singer and songwriter Jack White shares some of his thoughts on the creative process and the demands that come with being tasked with producing something truly innovative.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH4NhlxSrOw

Blog #5: Visualizing Insights

During my first internship in Austin, I worked as a creative intern for a ticketing company. To build engagement online, they would have me create infographics about "rivilry" games, cities to visit (and the shows, concerts and games happening during a particular week/month), and of course event's in Austin like Formula 1. This was a fun blog post for me since I haven't created one of these in a long time! The insights about red meat were the most interesting to me because the men in my family have been changing their diets to avoid red meat due to the various health issues associated with this type of protein.

Blog #4: Personalized Topic Report

For the last blog we created our digital ecosystem. It got me wondering, of the content that we consume and the platforms we use to consume it (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, national magazine websites, national TV broadcast websites, or blogs/forums) how much of it is consumed via a mobile device? Looking at some of the other students Close To Me profiles, a few added their smartphone as things that they “couldn’t live without” or were included in the “what I care about” circles. Over the course of this semester I have become increasingly interested in the connection people have with their mobile devices and how that is changing the advertising environment. 

The advertising graduate program encourages the students to choose an emphasis. After my last two internships and the trends of the industry, I have decided to focus on digital media and digital metrics. This semester I am enrolled in a digital metrics class that features guest speakers from the industry each week. Earlier this year, one of the guest speakers who worked as a Digital Strategist at an advertising agency, spoke about consumer purchasing behavior on mobile devices. She expressed that mobile purchasing is still not a typical practice and according to a Mashable article in June of this year, less than 10% of U.S. Internet users are mobile shoppers. Additionally, it is difficult to track consumer behavior to determine what will help encourage these consumers to go beyond price comparisons and coupons to actual purchases on mobile. In such a digitally connected and mobile friendly world, I often find myself wondering why people are hesitant to make purchases using their mobile devices? This trend has grown over the years, and more and more people are taking the step towards purchasing things via mobile, but it has still not become a mainstream habit. The conversion rates are increasing gradually but true adaption of this behavior is yet to be seen. 

 We will check our bank account, share our personal feelings and thoughts on social platforms, spend hours browsing retail mobile sites and Google anything we fancy, but when it comes to the actual purchase we are still hesitant. There is a disconnect with the role that the mobile device plays in our every day life and the trust we have in that very same device (most people would say security is the largest concern with mobile purchasing.) Mobile phones have absolutely been integrated into the shopping experience and have been adapting the way consumers conduct price and product comparisons, utilize coupons and as an overall shopping research tool, driving consumers back to stores or to desktops to complete the transactions. A Google Think study shows the impact mobile is having on the shopping experience both in-store and remotely. But, they reported that of all the shopping activities the consumers participated in, only 19% used their mobile phone to make a purchase. 

How can companies develop a mobile site or mobile app that creates a friendly environment for consumers to purchase on their smartphones? Additionally, there are certain items that people are unlikely to ever purchase via their mobile phone, for example a couch, so other creative methods must be developed. If there is not a way to create conversions on the mobile phone, how are companies bridging the gap by directing the customers to go into the store, or to their personal computers or to call in and order the item? And how can they measure that behavior? In my opinion, I think this could be a great opportunity to apply the theories of this class. Key consumer insights regarding mobile behavior have helped lead companies create their current methods for combating this issue. There are certain companies that have created a pretty solid framework for creating a mobile integrated shopping experience (not necessarily mobile purchasing) with their consumers, some of which include Starbucks and Amazon. 

I am interested in digging deeper into the companies that are having success with converting customers on mobile. And what types of products are consumers willing to purchase on their phone? What types of motivations and incentives are there for mobile purchasing? There are still a lot of unanswered questions for me, but so far I have been able to find many studies and resources about this topic. One of my concerns is that the research on this topic will be grouped with tablet devices. Although I agree that they are similar experiences, I want to focus exclusively on the mobile (smartphone) experience, as I feel that is where an opportunity for true innovation lies. 

Resources: 

http://www.webpagefx.com/blog/internet-sales/ecommerce-purchasing-habits-conversion-rates-smartphones-tablets/

http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2013/11721/five-steps-to-highly-effective-social-mobile-campaigns

http://mashable.com/2013/09/16/mobile-shopping/

http://www.google.com/think/research-studies/mobile-in-store.html

 

Blog #3: Generative Research

CLOSE TO YOU

What I cant live without

Family – Growing up, my mom would drive us the 8 hours from Tucson to San Diego as many times as the year would allow to visit the rest of our extended family. Family was always number one. My cousins and I, all very close in age, spent countless holidays and summers together, shaping us into the closest of friends. The unit of four in just my immediate family has also been my foundation and rock for everything in my life and they are of paramount importance to me.

Music – This may seem like it belongs in the “what I care about” category, but music plays a role in my every day life. If I could have music playing all day during every activity I did, I would. I appreciate all genres of music and use it to lift me up and keep me company. I also love to dance, which kind of goes hand in hand.

Freedom – Since this has always been a right of our generation, I think we take it for granted. But wow freedom is such an exceptional thing to possess. You are in control of your own destiny and you have the right to act as you choose and express yourself freely.  There is no doubt that freedom is something I could not live without. 

What I care about

The Beach – I didn’t grow up near a beach. I’ve never lived anywhere that even had a beach. But I have been fortunate to spend enough summers along the California coast to fall in love with the ocean. I’m a Pisces, so a fish at heart. And I grew up as a swimmer, so I think the beach and I were destine for each other.

My Education – As I pursue my masters degree, I am reminded how much my education means to me. To have the opportunity to better myself and study a subject that fascinates me is something that I deeply care about. Higher education is a privilege that I would never want to take for granted.

The Golden Rule – Not everyone has the same definition for this, but the one I use is “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” This was also something that I learned from my parents, both of who live their lives with this constantly in their minds. Since I was lucky enough to be raised by such honorable role models, this is something I have adopted into my life as a rule of thumb in all of my exposure to others, particularly those that test your patience. 

DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM

Aggregate news websites – My homepage for all of my browsers, both at home and at work is The Daily Beast. This new site pulls all the top news stories from other sources to create daily “Cheat Sheets.” These list feature about 10 pertinent happenings with a one-paragraph synopsis of the story for the readers to quickly skim for the information. This site is my particular favorite because it is an easy way to stay informed quickly and efficiently.

Local and national broadcast radio – I may be one of the only Millennials to still listen to the radio. The primary reason behind this is that my car stereo is broken so it’s my only choice. But it has become a bit of a habit for me to listen to NPR every morning on my way to school, work, or wherever. Like the aggregate new sites, the program also does a nice job of providing the important news quickly and efficiently but not in too much detail for me to lose interest.

Twitter – I may also be one of the only people that found out who won the presidential election via Twitter. Don’t get me wrong, I was watching the news which was broadcasting the election, but I did officially learn the results via Twitter the app. Twitter again appeals to me for the same reasons: quickness and efficiency. On Twitter – in fewer than 140 characters – you can pick and choose which stories you want to read and which you want to skip, making it easy to personalize your news experience. 

TYPICAL WEEKDAY

The “mornfernoon” – This is part of my day has become so routine that the morning has begun to mesh with the afternoon for an 8-hour block of activity. This section of my day is not as full of consuming the content listed above because most of the time I’m either working or attending class. The very beginning of my day is the most concentrated with news, traffic, weather and the web because I am traveling (and obviously listing to the radio – see my digital ecosystem).

“Me” time – After my block of non-stop work and school, I typically take a couple of hours to relax. I will watch TV, waste time on the Internet, catch up with my email and my To-Do list. This is a content heavy time as I am constantly surfing the web, while simultaneously watching television and sometimes even one other activity gets thrown in there.

“Crunch” time – I start feeling a little guilty and lazy after about a few hours of relaxation time and begin to pick my pace back up. I will get some exercise, cook something for dinner, and do my homework and readings for the week. I will take little breaks for TV, but typically stay on task until it is time to hit the hay. I will usually do some light reading before bed. Sometimes a book, sometimes a fashion magazine and sometimes a newspaper I subscribe to, so this third period of my day is also heavy in accessing information.

Blog #2: Journey Map

Let me first start out by saying this is not the first trip of its kind. My family is well versed in trips like this effervescing from my mind and before we know it, we are out in the wilderness wondering how this all started. I am usually the brunt of that joke. This particular venture got started when my nephew emailed me a list of places he wanted to explore. As I glanced through the list, I narrowed it down to the places I had been curious about as well. There were a few requirements, starting with the fact we had to drive. I’m just not a flyer, or as my kids would say “I don’t believe in planes.”

The goal is always adventure, and of course to escape from what I like to call PCD’s or personal communication devices. Additionally, I had somewhat of a personal goal for this trip. I want to climb all of the highest peaks in every county of California. (If you didn’t catch on already, my uncle is a bit of an outdoorsman.) I have already done about 15 of the peaks, and dragged my kids along with me on many occasions. But for these two in particular, there was a full backpacking trip opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. And since my nephew was interested in the same area, the wheels just started turning.

After the idea was rolling along, I decide to poll the troops. I sent an email to my two nephews, my niece and my son and daughter. I laid out two different options for them based on mileage, day length, major challenges, concerns, and my overall pros and cos. My nephew Mike, the one who emailed me originally, gave a resounding, “Let’s do both!” The rest all sort of leaned one way, so I went with the group vote. That meant the starting point would be June Lake, part of the Inyo National Forest. We would follow part of the Pacific Crest Trail overlapping with the John Muir trail into Yosemite National Park, exiting at Tuolumne Meadows. 

The two peaks that we would climb were Mt. Lyell, which is just over 13,000 feet, the highest peak in Tuolumne County and Parsons Peak, just over 12,000 feet, which is the highest peak in Madera County. The absolute only way to get to either of these peaks was to backpack in, they are both too far from any of the trailheads to make it up and back in a day hike. This had me excited. 

Since this was not my first rodeo, and actually all but one of the participant joining us on the trip was a first-timer, I felt it appropriate to assign “pre-trip” duties. We were looking at about 50 miles of ground to cover, which mapped out looked like about 9 days. I put my son in charge of food, my daughter in charge of my niece (the new-bee) and my two nephews in charge of water sterilization. I was left with maps and gear, as this particular trip would require crampons and ice axes. Despite the early August departure date, we would definitely encounter a large glacier near the top of Mt. Lyell. This added a certain amount of difficulty to the trip, which was great for me, but did give me a little anxiety when thinking about being responsible for my kids, niece and nephews. But as young adults, I knew they were resilient. And I knew they were smarter than me, meaning they would know when to stop. 

Before we knew it, it was the night before the trip. We had started this ritual or I guess I should say, “I started this ritual.” My kids have grown to hate it, but I find absolutely necessary since we always seem to forget something. Everyone going on the trip comes over to the house, unpacks and then repacks their backpacks while we go through a list of what should be in there. And of course some friendly competition goes on about whose pack is the heaviest. Never fails to be my daughter’s. Girls and their “things.” I’m a three pair of socks, two pairs of shorts kind of guy. We parted ways that night and reconvened the next morning for a quick McDonald’s breakfast, our last meal before many days of dried fruit and Cliff Bars, and we were on our way. 

 

After the drive and a night of camping at what must have been the most desolate and depressing campsite I’ve ever seen, the trip officially kicked off with a pretty grueling 2,500 ft. climb. We stopped for a swim, to refill on water and for lunch and continued to our first camping site. After 9 miles we were toast. We woke up the next morning and continued our journey. Our destination today was the base of Mt. Lyell and the big climb was planned for the next day. Our campsite was some prime real estate. Next to a crystal clear lake, tons of flat grassy areas, and a killer view of the climb that faced us the next day. One of my favorite things with a trip like this is the spontaneity of the “lodging” part. Everything else requires so much planning and attention to detail but once you are out there, tucked into the mountains of these national forests, you can call wherever you please home. 

The morning of our Mt. Lyell summit day was an early one. The hike itself was only about 3 miles but we were looking at some serious elevation change and rigorous terrain. And I barely even want to say this out loud, because it still haunts me to this very day, but we didn’t make it. We even tried a second time. But we never reached the summit of Mt. Lyell. I bet we were only about 50 to 100 feet shy. 

We did summit Parsons Peak a few days later and the rest of the trip was smooth sailing, relatively speaking. There never fails to be some mishaps along the journey, and I definitely antagonize at times, but I secretly think everyone has the time of their lives. My nephew told me a few years ago that these trips were the reason he has made some of the best decisions of his life. There is a certain amount of clarity you can find when you are 20 miles from nowhere. The last leg of the hike was such a leisurely, flat trail, my son and I even went barefoot. Before we knew it we stepping onto a paved parking lot, with the car in sight. And after about a 45-minute car ride, we found ourselves 4 slices deep at the local pizza joint and in some sort of euphoric state of food coma bliss.

Blog #1: Empathy Map

Many of the readings from last week discussed how consumer insights can, and frequently do, lead to the ultimate success of a business or product. Theses insights are often not found during a scheduled research study, but uncovered through attention to the detail of the company’s consumer activities. The Insights Into Consumer Insights article by Mohanbir Sawhney shared the example of the Apple iPod. Interestingly enough, the Apple iPod was not the first MP3 player on the marketplace, far from it. But through the consumer insight that people were looking for a small, simple player that could hold a lot of songs, the iPod was born. The article also discussed the “not-yet-obvious” discovery, which is often rooted in an observed anomaly and further points out that, “the obvious is true but the truth is not obvious.” As a student studying marketing, I often evaluate advertising and marketing efforts by placing myself as the persona who the marketer is attempting to reach. Putting myself on the shelf and adopting the characteristics of a person in a different target segment will provide an interesting challenge and fresh perspective.

Gary is a 27 year-old, African American male studying performing arts at Texas State University. A true Austinite at heart, Gary grew up just outside Austin, TX near the small town of Sunset Valley. He is a family orientated, charismatic and enjoys drawing, music, and horror movies. Gary is political but belongs to his own party and doesn’t participate in organized religion. To quote one of his many idols, Bob Marley, “Love is my religion.” Gary is active in the community attending many college campus events and concerts or shows in Austin. He is a social being who thrives in large groups but enjoys smaller, intimate conversation with his closest friends.

The things that really count in Gary’s life are his friends, family and finding his place in the world. His major preoccupations are having a fulfilling life that provides meaning to why he was put here. As an actor and performer, Gary is very in touch with his feelings. He is in control of his emotions but freely expresses them to any interested party. He worries that people don’t understand him. He is very in touch with his own emotions. Gary also worries that people are not seeing enough variety in their lives and wants to encourage them to broaden their horizons. He aspires to be successful by defying the typical definition of success. In school, he has navigated around a variety of topics. He dabbled in philosophy, the social sciences and business, but continued to return to theatre and the arts. With this, he aspires to be able to utilize all that knowledge in a practical and impactful way.

When Gary looks out at the world I think it troubles him. He takes on the world’s problems as his own and attempts to find a way to mend them, whether it’s through is art or music, or even just kind daily acts and emotional generosity. Since Gary is largely committed to his arts, he tends to surround himself with people also dedicated to their craft or interested in similar activities. This often finds him surround by a wide variety of people, some awfully dramatic but all fairly interesting a unique. However, as a good listener and conversationalist and his friendly, outgoing nature, Gary typically gets along with a wide variety of people. He is aware of his surrounding and looks at products, services and marketing with a discerning eye. Since he is a part of the creatively community, he expects a certain amount of finesse and originality in the marketing messages he receives. He is a difficult consumer to reach and impress, but with the right messaging he can become very loyal to particular brands.

Gary is very in touch with his surroundings. He intently listens to any feedback from his friends, bosses, teachers and family. As a sensitive male, he is very susceptible to this advice. He seeks out conversation with people to advance his own education but to also experience the perspective of others. He finds other’s input about his work very valuable and takes extra measures to ensure he receives the opinions of others. After each of his theatrical performances, he was sure to get a detailed count from his friends and family in the audience. He is not scared of what other people may say or think, he is very open and encourages discussions.

Fear of not being understood by people is a concern for Gary. He also feels frustration when others are not willing to be as adventurous as him especially because he wants people to have unforgettable life experiences. He finds frustration in his chosen profession. Despite wanting to pursue acting or singing, he has such a wide variety of interest he often feels frustrated in deciding a future path. This also proves to be an obstacle that he must overcome. In order to be successful and have the impact he aspires to have, Gary must overcome these fears and frustrations of being lost to truly reach his goals.

He hopes to gain love, respect and happiness. Gary feels that those basic needs should come before all else. He is so passionate with everything he does, he wants to have someone by his side to share it with, and be surrounded by people whom he respects and who respect him. He measures this success often. Gary is definitely constantly reflecting on his everyday actions and how his decisions affect his goals. In order to surpass the obstacles that he faces, Gary hopes to narrow his goals down to truly find a fit for him in the world that encompasses his many passions in life. 

The above images show a visual representation of the empathy map layout for Gary.