These are dark and uncertain times. We all feel the pressure of being in the middle of a global pandemic. It’s incredibly tense and stressful.
In spite of this, you can’t give up.
And you can’t just ignore it either because when there are significant changes in our lives, we need support and hope. To give that to your customers, your marketing team needs to stay alert.
Let’s get creative.
What is a creative session?
A creative session is a medium for brainstorming and discussing new ideas. It just sounds cool to say creative session 😊
At its core, a creative session is a chance to let loose, let the ideas fly and remove barriers. Sometimes the day-to-day routine tasks prevent new idea generation, which makes these sessions a staple at Benamix (especially in the Marketing Department).
The Benamix Marketing team recently published an article on the things we like to do at Benamix creative sessions.
Unfortunately, these creative sessions will have to be done remotely for the foreseeable future. But the good news is, thanks to Zoom, Teams, Skype (or whatever you happen to use) you can host a creative marketing session for your team from home. Hint: Try a bring-your-own-booze meetup online. Trust us, you’ll like it 😉
You may be wondering — what’s the point of doing this during Covid-19, isn’t this a crazy time where we have to just sit and wait?
The answer is — any time is a good time to get creative.
How to stay creative in the face of COVID-19
Is it today, yesterday or tomorrow?
Don’t worry, we know how it feels. It’s hard to concentrate and especially hard to stay creative. Looking for motivation is a good idea, however, my opinion is that motivation is like a spark that ignites the creative fuel.
I’m a big fan of ThinkWithGoogle. The content isn’t overloaded, it’s concise and it’s actionable.
Here’s a selection of various ThinkWithGoogle content and other sources like Harvard Business Review that have given me and my colleagues the spark(s) to stay agile and let the creative juices flow. Please feel free to comment, email or message us to add to this list. Your input is highly appreciated.
The Think with Google Marketing Podcast
- Think with Google Podcast is “here to help you and your marketing team stay ahead of the curve. Hear the latest on tools, strategies, and expert opinions. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.”
Articles & research on crisis marketing
ThinkWithGoogle
- Search insights to help you understand consumer needs in uncertain times – 20 April 2020 edition
- Inside Google Marketing: Marketing measurement during a pandemic
- Inside Google Marketing: How the pandemic is making us reckon with the ways we plan media
- Google search data reveals how brands can help during the coronavirus pandemic
- How to lead brands through ‘the steepest learning curve of our professional lives’
Adobe Blog
- Turn Volatility Into Opportunity: How tech companies can thrive in an unpredictable world.
- 10 Brands That Shifted Their Advertising Strategy Amid COVID-19
- The Dos and Don’ts of Advertising During COVID-19
Harvard Business Review
- 5 Questions That (Newly) Virtual Leaders Should Ask Themselves
- Leading Your Team Past the Peak of a Crisis
- Ensure That Your Customer Relationships Outlast Coronavirus
- Identify Your Value Proposition with This Mathematical Concept
PDF Guide from Google
Free courses
How to host a creative session on lockdown
Adapt and overcome. This is the principle we’re following for both our marketing and working from home. Brainstorming online isn’t much different than doing it in the same room with each other. The only difference is the tools you use.
We like using whiteboards or sticky notes, and there are online whiteboards your team can use to keep track of ideas. LucidChart is one of the most popular, but really, you can accomplish your brainstorming goals with something as simple as Google Docs or any other free collaboration tool.
Going off of our own experience, we created a creative session flow you can follow to get the most out of your next brainstorming meeting.
Choose a specific topic
This should go without saying. Don’t just brainstorm for the sake of brainstorming. Set a specific topic or goal. For example, in the session we talked about in the article mentioned above, we wanted to improve our marketing approach for our in-house project, Inprolux.
Example of a specific topic: How do we stay relevant to customer needs while continuing to differentiate ourselves from the competition in the real-estate market?
Get ready for the session
If you’re the facilitator or a team member with a topic, don’t spring it on your team at the last second. Make the topic the focus by sending out a brief ahead of time so everyone can prepare.
Preparation doesn’t have to be time-consuming — look it over and jot some notes down or, if the topic requires it, do some research.
Set a clear agenda
We like to joke around a lot and have fun. That’s the whole point. But, sometimes it can get out of hand, so we recommend sticking to a set agenda.
For example, you can use our agenda as a guide:
- State the topic and set objectives (what do you want to get out of this?)
- Set the ground rules (encourage your team to speak freely, outline the time limits)
- Generate ideas (we use mind-mapping, SWOT, or other techniques depending on the topic and goals)
- Vote on ideas (we prefer to all agree on an idea to prevent any negativity towards assigned tasks)
- Take the best ideas and create tasks (delegate tasks by position and expertise)
Facilitate…
Self-explanatory. We find it best to choose a facilitator (normally, our CMO, Dmitriy has this role).
…but don’t go overboard
Otherwise people will lose interest and won’t participate.
Distill notes down to actionable points
After voting on ideas, we break it down into tasks.
For example, if we have an idea to create videos for Instagram to highlight the customer journey, we will need:
- A copywriter to create the video script and post
- A designer to put the video together visually
- Advice from our SEO expert
- And support from our SMM manager.
Tough people outlast tough times: Reflections on 2020 so far
We don’t want to dwell on the negative side of things, but we felt our explanations were inadequate, so we looked to the toughest man on the planet — David Goggins.
“Teach yourself that it isn’t ok to take the easy way out. Make sure you are bothered by the things you set out to do but did not complete or make time for in the day.”
David Goggins
David is a former Navy SEAL, current ultramarathon runner and motivational speaker. Check him out. He’s truly a rare breed of man.
The point we’re trying to make is — there’s no easy way out of this. So, if you have time on your hands, do something you’ve wanted to do for years but never had time for. Become an Elvis impersonator? Maybe start a blog?
Key takeaways for remixing your marketing
Working from home shouldn’t stop you from staying fresh and creative. Listen to your audience, what are they asking customer support about? Are they concerned about something?
- Most marketing gurus are pushing for companies to communicate. And we totally agree. Let your customers know you’re still in business and provide them with information they want to consume.
- Right now, our feeling is most people want a break from the stress — so stay relevant to their needs, share good news, don’t be afraid of posting funny memes, and come up with new ways of looking at old things.
Stay safe.
Cover Image Credit: Thomas Hawk, Flickr
