Tag: creativity

Where’s the Wonder?

Cherith AndesBlog, Inspirational, Professional Development, , , ,

I just ran across an Instagram graphic detailing 15 time management skills. This was after reading a blog on five ways to improve your writing, nine tips to produce error-free projects and three ideas to maximize your workflow.

Since when did life become one giant checklist?

The question gave me pause. Real pause. Like … enough that my 15 time management skills checklist wouldn’t have approved.

Originally, I ventured into marketing and public relations because of its open door into a world of creativity. While good PR is founded on thorough research and solid strategy, great PR adds the unexpected, a streak of color or a head-tilting idea. The industry has become steeped in analytics, big data and ROI. And yes, while we exist to achieve results, data is not the only goal.

What happened to sitting around the coffee bar spinning out “what if” scenarios? What happened to diving down a rabbit hole of reading just to indulge your inner nerd? What happened to team brainstorms that use crazy props like Play-Doh or Lucky Charms cereal boxes? (I’ve done both.)

What happened to the whimsy of creativity?

On a recent trip to Carolina Beach, I popped into a nook that housed a hybrid coffee shop, pastry mecca and used bookstore.

It was here that I stumbled on a blind date.

The book shop owner had repurposed a vintage card catalogue (Google that one, millennials and Gen Z) and filled its drawers with novels wrapped in brown paper and string. The paper read “Blind Date with a Book” followed by hand-scrawled reviews of the publication. Without the aid of cover art, I could only rely on the intriguing verbiage to get a sense of the secret gem wrapped in the paper.

It was delightful. No title. No images. Just tight, poignant phrases that thoroughly piqued my interest. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was dive nose-first into whatever book contained this “funny, barbed, delightfully winsome storytelling.”

And that’s what I want us to recapture. Just for a spell here and there, shake off the taskmaster of to-dos and deadlines. Let your curiosity wander. Explore a new corner. Try new words. Heck, take a different route to the grocery store. Creativity isn’t a task that can be defined, prescribed and checked off the list. It’s an attitude of pervading curiosity that leads to new ideas, fresh perspective and often, a fascinating journey.

What makes our work effective isn’t the efficiency; it’s the sense of play.

It’s time to reignite your wonder.

Looking for a place to start?

Check out our team’s sources of inspiration. 

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Ways to Cultivate Your Daily Creativity

Clairemont InternBlog, Marketing, Professional Development, , , ,

One of the hardest things to do is be consistently creative. Great ideas can come from anywhere, but it can be a challenge to always be in that head space to create those ideas. At times, the idea of being creative can seem nebulous. Personally, the beginning of my life-long quest to be creative began with a revelation. Creativity is a skill. We need to treat it as such. Like lifting weights or doing math equations, creativity requires training and commitment to cultivate. Here are some meaningful ways to cultivate creativity in a daily setting. 

Do or Do Not, But You Must Try

This tip is the hardest, and it is by far the least convenient truth. The only way to be creative every day is to try every day. You must write, draw, paint, sing — whatever form your creativity takes — every single day. Behind every great idea are dozens of ideas that never came to fruition. Your imagination and your creativity deserve to be trained and exercised like any other part of your body. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are most great ideas. When I was in high school, I had a theatre teacher who before every rehearsal or performance would tell us to “Go and do.” The best way to work on creativity is to go and do.

When to Change (and When Not to Change)

This tip will mean different things to different people. Each of us works differently. For some, the best way to spark great ideas comes from constant change and variety. For others (me included) creativity comes most naturally in a familiar and consistent environment. The most important thing is to find what works best for you. If you do best in new locations, go find some! (If you need some advice on where to go in Raleigh, check out our blog on places to work remotely in Raleigh.) By learning which environment suits your personal brand of creativity best, you can ensure that your days are as creative as possible.

Food for Thought

One of the easiest ways to get a little more brainpower into your day is by adding some brain-healthy foods to your daily diet. If we are going to train our brain like we would train our bodies, it makes sense to include a regiment of healthy eating on to our plate. Some foods that are easy to add into your day include green tea (full of creativity boosting antioxidants) or pumpkin seeds (contain zinc that has been linked to increasing memory and critical thinking). Foods like these, or those that are high in other nutrients like vitamin K or amino acids, can help set you up for successful “a-ha” moments.

While these ideas are great for cultivating creativity in the long term, sometimes you need an immediate creative boost to get you past your biggest mental blocks. Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered with our blog all about mental blocks. Check it out.

Will Hornbeck is a rising senior at Wake Forest University. Any naming similarity between him and the editor of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”(1946) is just a cool fun fact.

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Breaking Through Mental Blocks

Cherith AndesBlog, Professional Development, Public Relations, , ,

Those who work in a creative field know the feeling — that hopeless frustration of staring at a blank Word document or design canvas … and nothing comes. 

You’ve turned the canvas upside down. Swiveled in your chair. Worn a path to the coffee pot. Secretly played a few minutes of Fortnight. 

And the inspiration is still somewhere in the Bahamas … without you.

In PR, part of our special sauce is the zany ideas that add a head-turning twist, the out-of-the-box solution that catches the attention of reporters and propels customers into action. So we’ve run into our fair share of mental blocks during the creative process.

We’d like to proffer a few favorite tips for sidestepping the brain freeze and jumpstarting your mojo again.

Get a Move on It.

It’s surprising how a brisk stroll (or an impromptu dance-off in the Clairemont Kitchen) can rejuvenate the brain. One of us has been know to run laps up the stairs while another one uses the time to jaunt over to Morning Times for a touch of caffeine/parfait/whatever is in the pastry case. Fresh air and movement can do wonders.

Crack a Book. Or a Stellar Blog.

When words are … just … not … there (see how I did that?), feed your brain with fresh input. Prime the pump with another author’s vocabulary, style and turn of phrases. The meatier, the better. We love to flip open a copy of Garden & Gun (editor CJ Lotz has some incredible pieces) or the Wall Street Journal. (Jason Gay’s sports commentaries provide insightful accounts peppered with hilarity — even for the non-sports fan, such as myself.)

Insert Off-topic Ideas.

In a similar vein, completely abandon the current task at hand to concentrate on an unrelated topic. The brain is programmed to create and follow patterns (And thank goodness. Can you imagine relearning how to drive every time you cranked the key? No. Just no. ), so a break in routine can allow for a new point of view. Pop over to Ted on YouTube, for example, and watch the first video that catches your eye.

Change Your Environment.

Photo courtesy of Vita Vite

Forbes highlights the positive impact that a change of scenery and travel — even domestic travel — can have on the creative psyche. While you may not have the leeway for a long weekend escape, a shift in your immediate environment can interrupt your mental cycle. Pack up and move to a coffee shop. Work from a park. Find a wine bar patio (like our beloved client Vita Vite) that offers fresh vistas and new interactions to spark thoughts.

Crank the Tunes.  

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”

Plato

Forbes backed Plato’s maxim when it unveiled that listening to happy music may boost your creativity. Medical Daily even went so far as to suggest a few classical pieces. Music’s dichotomous blend of structure and expression targets both parts of the brain, often with an almost magical effect. Pop in some earbuds, take a walk, turn it on in the office, get up and dance. (Again, Clairemont loves us some dance parties. Care to join?)

Need a little more “oomph”? Check out Dana’s tips for encouraging creativity.

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Finding Your Head-Tilting Idea

Cherith AndesBlog, Marketing, Public Relations, , , , ,
You have it. You found your something, your showstopper, your Shark-tank-worthy product that you know will revamp your industry! You wouldn’t invest your time, talent and resources in an initiative if you didn’t believe in its revolutionary power.
Why, then, aren’t media inquiries flooding your inbox? Why aren’t eager customers beating down your doors and clearing your shelves? Why is your social media engagement fizzling to nothing?

Sound Familiar?

Alas, thus is the plight of many brands that come to us — a world-changing idea that hasn’t yielded the results they expected. Now notably, many elements of the business require honest evaluation in this situation, from the product production to the business model itself.
But at Clairemont, we’re in the business of transforming a company’s marketing and PR from “blah to Voila,” as we say. And one of our secret ingredients is what one of our friends – Sean Lilly Wilson of Fullsteam Brewery — once called “the head-tilting idea.”

The Head-Tilting Idea

A head-tilting idea is the element that makes you simply stop … and take a second glance — the “wait, what now?” factor. (That’s the technical term in our PR textbooks.) This twist of creativity swivels the spotlight to your company, placing your brand on centerstage. Whether based on humor, a bold CSR move or an unlikely partnership, the contrast where the expected meets the unexpected produces a magical magnetism, one that we’ve seen catch the attention of busy reporters and create a vibrant buzz amidst consumers.

Ideas in Action

Here are just a few we cooked up in the Clairemont creative kitchen:

Hoedown Showdown: A master-planned community threw a barn-raising themed event to celebrate its first anniversary. To transform this internal milestone into a media-worthy moment, Clairemont concocted the ultimate “dancing with the stars” competition. Media were invited to compete in the square-dance competition dubbed “the hoedown showdown” for a chance to win $1,000 to donate to charity of their choice. This unexpected boot-scootin’ bonanza captured the attention of busy media, landing coverage across the Triangle.

LEKKER’s 24 Hour Tour: Fans flocked to see North Carolina’s  newest star — one that made its debut for just 24 hours in Greensboro. The celebrity made appearances at everything from restaurants and boutiques to morning TV shows and even on stage at a live band performance. The guest celebrity? A Dutch fashion bicycle making its debut in the United States. Clairemont positioned the LEKKER bike as a celebrity that spent its first American day doing photo opps, “signing autographs” and meeting its new fans. Clairemont transformed a typical product launch into an anticipated debut, garnering fans, securing bold coverage and topping the season’s holiday shopping list.

Wrangler Dave Launches the Railinc CowParade: When Railinc, IT provider to the rail industry, asked Clairemont to give them some creative ideas to promote its sponsorship of CowParade North Carolina, we said we’ll do you one better and give you something no other sponsors have! We’ll give you a cowboy! Clairemont’s Wrangler Dave became the official cowboy of the Railinc cow. In full cowboy getup Wrangler Dave starred in videos and on the Clairemont-created landing page talking about how supporting mooovelous causes like the CowParade made Railinc an udderly amazing place to work. We collaborated with the 16-year-old artist selected by Railinc to paint their cow to include QR codes in the cow’s design, linked the landing page. Railinc employees were invited by Wrangler Dave to participate in a cow-naming contest, a photo contest and to join Wrangler Dave at CowParade events. During Raleigh’s First Fridays while Railinc’s cow as on parade, Wrangler Dave hosted “Chow Cow,” a promotional game that highlighted career opportunities and helped boost Railinc’s employment!
Are you looking for that new angle, a fresh pizzazz to bring your brand to life? Drop us a line to find your head-tilting idea!
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Finding Inspiration

Cherith AndesBlog, Professional Development, The Clairemont Team, , , , Leave a Comment on Finding Inspiration
I think it’s safe to say we all are in need of a little inspiration from time to time — especially those of us who work in the public relations field. Sometimes the secret sauce needs a little shaking or a  fresh ingredient. Our fabulous Clairemont team is no exception, so we wanted to share with you some of those golden gems that spark our creativity!

Tracy Lathan

I find that my kids are my creative inspiration. At just five and seven years of age, they already know the new technology, games, apps, movies and dances that are all the rage. They keep me on my toes and on top of what is trending. I also find inspiration from various blogs I follow on topics such as food and fashion. And I always make sure to stay up to date on industry trends in PR Strategies & Tactics and other outlets to see how other public relations pros are tackling challenging subjects.

Nathan McDaniel

I find much of my inspiration in the promise of the end result. I want to work hard towards a goal or task so that when it is finished, if done correctly, the satisfaction of doing a good job provides me with motivation. I take pride in my finished products; so when I am putting in the hard work I can push myself, because it will produce a better result. Creativity is a factor that often inhibits progress due to its ability to frustrate and confuse us. If I am stuck, I go completely outside of the box. Sometimes, a brand new style or an off-the-wire idea can generate the best work. Having a brainstorming session over fresh coffee is the best way for me to come up with ideas.

Yasmine Evans

Whenever I’m feeling like I’m in a rut, I switch it up with some music. The type of music just depends on what I’m feeling that day, but music can usually get the creative juices flowing. If I’m feeling like I’ve been stuck for awhile, I’ll try a change of scenery like going for a walk or hanging out at a coffee shop or library. That usually does the trick!

Cherith Andes

Grouch0 Marx amuses me with one of his hallmark quotes: “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” I concur! The power of the written word can not only educate and entertain but also inspire and invigorate. From blogs, news stories and op-ed pieces to the back of a cereal box, creative copy reflects a different point of view that can often spark fresh ideas in my own work.

Dana Phelps

Inspiration is everywhere! Shelves of my grocery store offer innovative packaging and clever copy. Art work — whether displayed in The Prado or quickly sketched on theback of a paper placemat by a child — never fails to get my creative juices flowing. Possibly the best way to kick start my brain into idea generation is to first clear it, and nothing does the trick like nature. My favorite place to be is on a beach at sunset. When I can’t make that happen, simply pushing away from my desk and talking a walk around downtown Raleigh always puts me in the right frame of mind.
Looking for your own dose of inspiration? Check out the fun ideas in our case studies!
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