“Creativity is intelligence having fun” - Albert Einstein

Why the quote you may ask? I will explain the logic behind the use of this quote shortly…  I decided to write this post upon reflection of the role creativity plays in business and in PR.

I thoroughly enjoy being given the opportunity to be creative. In fact, one of my primary motivations of pursuing a career in PR/Marketing is to be able to be creative whilst also business minded – the best of both worlds in my opinion. So, it was really exciting for me to be invited on a number of occasions to brainstorm ideas for clients and to contribute my own ideas to a number of client jobs.

For example, the strategy team got together to develop ideas for a rebrand of a not-for-profit. They were requesting ideas for a new name, claim (a slogan) and a call to action to be implemented before their upcoming campaign. So, we split into groups of 2 and devised a number of suggestions for the rebrand. Once coming together again we shared our ideas and agreed upon three to be submitted to the client. The brainstorm, although dependent on our creativity, also required intelligence (hence the use of Einstein’s quote). Why? Because when coming from a PR standpoint we needed to develop a new name that was politically correct, would not offend those it was helping and would make sense to those who were donating to the cause. So, it was a brainstorm that required not only creativity, but business savvy and an awareness of wider social and political issues too.

Therefore, although it is often argued that people can only be one: creative or business-minded, it is evident in the context of communications that it is vital that the two approaches be adopted together. Creative ideas need to be thought through logically to analyse the potential backlash, response or acceptance by publics. An idea for a campaign or rebrand could be tremendously unique and avant-garde, but if it is going to ruffle the feathers of your most important publics, it might just need to be backlogged for a more suitable client or time, or potentially not implemented at all.

Therefore, it has become evident to me that PR practitioners need to have both sides of the brain switched on, especially in this competitive market. Only the most creative AND commercially viable ideas (campaigns, brands, publicity stunts, events) will make it when revealed to an increasingly discerning public. In fact, PR practitioners could also be seen to play a ‘gatekeeper’ role between the creative departments (graphic designers etc.) and the finance department because not all great creative ideas will prove beneficial for the client (profits, reputation, customer sentiment). We need to be able to monitor what is released to the public domain, because as many organisations have learnt from experience, there will always be someone out there who will take your idea the wrong way. 

What do you think? Have you had the opportunity to contribute your own creative ideas during your internship? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Candice