Making the Most of Your Team’s Unique Creative Abilities

This is the second installment in a series that explores how applying creative tools and principles in the workplace can help deliver better results and engender positive change. 

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As discussed in the Benefits of Creative Work Cultures, teams and organizations have a great deal to gain from viewing creativity as a form of open-ended problem solving. By broadening the definition in this way, the focus shifts from “how creative a person is” to “how that person is creative” — the particular aptitudes and perspective that he or she brings to a given situation.

There are creative preference tools and research that profile people in different ways. But based on our experience as an agency, collaborating with clients across industries and sectors, we find that most individuals tend to have a distinct, natural strength in one or two areas. Below we’ve identified five types of workplace creativity we’ve observed, each with its own positive and negative tendencies.

The Analyst: 
The Analyst likes to research and gather information about a problem to help clarify it for others. Typically, Analysts are people who thrive on asking the right questions, ensuring the correct problem is being tackled and anticipating potential obstacles before they occur.

Analysts usually prefer to proceed with caution, and may be guilty of over-thinking problems and refusing to move on solutions, even when realistic ones have been presented. To help loosen the grips of reason and logic, people from this group should be paired with people who will help push projects forward.

The Ideator:
The Ideator best fits the romantic ideal of the “creative person” who can generate new ideas seemingly out of thin air. Generally, members of this group excel at looking at the big picture, playing around with abstract concepts and using intuition and non-linear thinking to solve problems.

Ideators can also have a tendency to overlook details, frustrate collaborators with a disregard for process and get carried away with endless possibilities—and possibly lose sight of the end goal. When working with Ideators, the key is to get them to concentrate on the broad strokes of an issue and leave the finishing touches for others.

The Remixer:
The Remixer is someone who draws from existing ideas and concepts, and combines them to create new ones. For people with this strength, the whole is usually greater than the sum of the parts as they make connections between seemingly unrelated elements and bring value by applying them to different contexts.

Because their contribution comes from finding compatibility between almost anything, Remixers can sometimes lower their own standards and allow that to replace original thinking. To get the most from Remixers, it is crucial to partner them with colleagues who will continuously feed them fresh ideas to toy with.

The Developer:
Much like Remixers, Developers build on the work of others to exercise their brand of creativity. They specialize in comparing ideas, fleshing them out and planning out the necessary steps to put them into action. Judgment and critical thinking are important skills that Developers possess, as is the ability to visualize a successful end result.

Developers are prone to getting stuck in the evaluation process, however, focusing on the flaws of a solution until it is “perfect”. To avoid coming across as negative, they must be reminded to constructively build up ideas rather than on pick them apart.

The Executor:
People with Executor-type creative skills usually take an action-oriented approach to problem solving, focusing on making solutions feasible. They have the determination and ingenuity to give ideas the structure they need to become a reality. Executors can be brilliant at making things happen.

On the flip side, Executors may voice their frustration when things are not moving as fast as they would like and can often be perceived as too pushy. They are so determined to implement a solution, that they may pursue an idea that is good, but not great. To ensure that they don’t leap to action too quickly, it is imperative for them work with people with a firm grasp of the big picture, and the energy to push for excellence.

In conclusion, by being aware of these different strengths, the right individual can be assigned to the right type of project or the right stage of a project. Teams can also be put together with the right balance of strengths to ensure an initiative doesn’t get stalled. While we are all truly individuals, these profiles can be helpful in understanding, appreciating and maximizing the unique abilities of your team in order to solve problems and achieve objectives creatively and effectively.

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What do you think?

Do you recognize yourself in some of these creative archetypes? What are some ways that you ensure that the pros of your creative styles outweigh the cons? How can you and your team better utilize the unique creative abilities of every member to deliver better results?

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The Creative Spark Series is a joint initiative by the MARCOM Professional Development Annual Forum and marketing communications agency Banfield-Seguin, a proud official supplier of theme creative for MARCOM 2013. The series promotes the benefits of creativity in the workplace and presents ways to successfully apply creative tools and techniques to inspire, influence and act.

The Benefits of Creative Work Cultures

In today's fast-changing environment, creativity and innovation are critical to business success, and companies like Apple are leading the way with a commitment to being creative in all aspects of their operations. 

This article is the first in a series that explores how applying creative tools and principles in the workplace can help deliver better results and engender positive change. 

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Why is a creative work culture important? How can it contribute to the high performance of teams and organizations? What are the benefits for employees?

Organizational creativity – a key differentiator

One common misconception about creativity is that it is a “magical” process strictly reserved for “creative people” such as artists, musicians, entrepreneurs and the like. But that couldn’t be more inaccurate.

The truth is creativity can be learned by anyone, in any business or profession, to tackle situations of any size or complexity. In fact, it is much more practical to think of creativity as a form of open-ended problem solving.

From an organizational perspective, seeing creativity in these broader terms turns it into a powerful, game-changing tool. It’s the difference between repeating the same mistakes versus learning from them. It’s the key to producing innovative new offerings and processes. And it can be an organization’s biggest opportunity to differentiate itself in a crowded market as well as retain its most valuable employees.

Empowering employees to make a difference 

Many organizations get bogged down in the daily demands of their fast-moving world and implement systems and process that leave staff members feeling powerless and uninspired. However this need not inhibit a creative work environment as long as employees are also offered opportunities to introduce new ideas that can lead to improvements and innovations.

More often than not, employees respond well to being encouraged to experiment and pursue directions that diverge from the conventional. It engenders a level of trust that can not only provide a stronger sense of purpose at work, but also motivate them to be more engaged and invested in their job.

Overall, injecting more creativity in your organization is a true win-win situation, for both employees and organizations interested in fostering positive change. The only question that remains is how to get there. But for that you will have to stay tuned for the next chapter of the Creative Spark Series.

What do you think? 

What kind of impact do you imagine an increased focus on creativity would have on your work? How do you see it improving your process and results? What are some ways you can start making these changes happen today?

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The Creative Spark Series is a joint initiative by the MARCOM Professional Development Annual Forum and marketing communications agency Banfield-Seguin, a proud supplier of theme creative for MARCOM 2013. The series promotes the benefits of creativity in the workplace and presents ways to successfully apply creative tools and techniques to inspire, influence and act.

Banfield-Seguin takes home 7 International AVA Digital Awards — including 4 platinum awards!

Banfield-Seguin is very pleased to announce a total of 7 wins for its clients’ websites and videos at the 2013 International AVA Digital Awards. 

Banfield-Seguin once again demonstrated its versatility by winning awards with clients operating regionally, nationally and internationally, in both the private and the public sectors, and across various industries. 

Above all, Banfield-Seguin is proud to help clients like Aireon, Alcatel-Lucent, Canada Post and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative take their rightful place in a winner’s circle with some marketing heavyweights — other notable AVA Digital Award winners included Coca Cola, Microsoft, NASA, Nintendo, Intel, Dell, HP, Lockheed Martin, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. 

From the approximately 2,000 entries from across the US, Canada and around the world, the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals has recognized the following work:

PLATINUM AWARDS	GOLD AWARDS
Aireon – Corporate Vision video Category: Web Video/Motion Graphics	Alcatel-Lucent – High Leverage Network website Category: Website/B2C
Alcatel-Lucent – Wireless All Around video Category: Motion Graphics Design	Banfield-Seguin – Company Profile video Category: Web Video/Company Overview
Canada Post – Parcel Web Services video Category: Motion Graphics Design	Bon Appetit Ottawa – Flambé of Hope video Category: Pro Bono
Global e-Sustainability Initiative – GeSI website Category: Website/Association

These AVA Digital awards are the latest accolades received by Banfield-Seguin for work produced in 2012. Both the Aireon Corporate Vision video and the Bon Appetit Ottawa Flambé of Hope video were also recognized as part of our 14 wins at the 8th annual Davey Awards. 

Banfield-Seguin is very grateful for these distinctions, and would like to thank its clients and everyone involved in making these digital projects a success.

About the AVA Awards:
Administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, the AVA Awards is an international competition that recognizes outstanding work by creative professionals involved in the concept, direction, design and production of media that is part of the evolution of digital communication. Work ranges from audio and video production – to developing websites that present interactive components such as video, animation, blogs, and podcasts – to interactive social media sites- to other forms of user-generated communication.

Sunshine and Social Media: Banfield-Seguin at the IABC Leadership Institute in Scottsdale, AZ

When I was asked to present on a topic I love (social media) in Arizona in February, I definitely jumped at the opportunity. The event was the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Leadership Institute—an annual gathering of IABC board members from chapters around the world to share ideas and knowledge while developing leadership skills.

More specifically, the topic of my session was Optimizing Social Media: Tips for Integrating with your Chapter’s Communications Strategy and I had the pleasure of co-presenting with Preston Lewis, President of IABC/San Francisco. While the content was tailored to IABC Chapters, the advice and insight generated is transferable to many organizations using social media.

The format was interactive—we started by asking attendees what they hoped to gain from the session, which Preston recorded on flip charts. Next we presented examples of well-executed social media tactics from various chapters around the world.

We finished with an in-depth case study about IABC/Ottawa and IABC/San Francisco to dive deep into the strategy and planning behind two chapters successfully using social media. Participants chimed in with questions, suggestions and comments throughout the presentation making for an interesting and engaging discussion.

To summarize the outcome of the session (including information we presented and some great tips that came from the audience), here are five social media takeaways for organizations:

Five organizational social media takeaways

Have a plan – and if you don’t have a plan yet, it’s certainly not too late to start one. For various reasons, many organizations leap into social media before fully fleshing out a strategy. Fortunately it is fairly easy to take a step back and assess where you are and where you want to be and develop a plan to get you on track. The added bonus of this approach is if you’ve already established channels and have been using them you can easily create customized benchmarks to measure future success.

Tie success back to organizational objectives – The objectives of your social media plan should tie directly back to your organizational objectives. In the excitement of social media we get caught up on points like “let’s get more followers” or “we need more engagement.” Obviously these are important components of social media use but they are not what you are ultimately working towards. If your organizational objective is to increase membership than your social media objective might be to have X new members who learned about our organization through social media channels. (You can measure this by placing a “how did you hear about us” in your membership application form.) With this objective, getting more followers is still very important but it shifts the focus to quality and not quantity , It guides your efforts towards followers who are more likely to be potential members.

Be provocative – Social media love controversy. You likely don’t want to be controversial as an organization, but if it aligns with your brand you can introduce a bit of provocation. Take a stance on an industry issue, (respectfully) disagree with someone... Conversation is not always warm and fuzzy and you likely may benefit from being an authentic social media presence. Disclaimer: I think this is a GREAT tip to present to a room full of communicators who understand the distinction between being provocative and controversial, but if you want to recommend this within your organization make sure that distinction is clear and you’ve thought through the consequences of provocation gone wrong.

Social media to support a specific need or audience – Your social media plan need not support every single business objective you have. There may be a small area or focus within an audience that could be greatly enhanced by the use of social media. Sometimes starting small or looking at a pilot project is a great way to dip your toes in social media without committing a lot of resources. For example, Aa representative from IABC/Toronto had a great tip for using social media specifically to engage its student population since it finds that many of the Facebook fans are students and students are keen to interact on Facebook. Review your communications strategy and see if there’s an underserved audience or need that social media may be ideal to support and use that as a starting point.

Introduce local flavour – If your organization is regionally based, consider incorporating a local flavour into your social media branding. The visual cue will help local audiences immediately identify with you, while also demonstrating outwardly a sense of pride in your location. It’s easy to forget that social media is accessible on a global scale but often you are trying to reach people closer to home. Take pride in your locale and use social media to show it off.

A sample of the tactics ideas recorded by Preston. 

I am so grateful for the opportunity to attend this event and bring back valuable insight. Thank you to my colleagues at Banfield-Seguin for always supporting and encouraging of my involvement with IABC.

Thanks to the IABC, I actually enjoyed networking

Generally, when I hear the term “networking”, I feel like running in the opposite direction. Even though I am an extrovert, I still find the concept uncomfortable. But this past Wednesday evening, I experienced IABC Ottawa's 4th Annual Networking in the New Year event and was happily surprised by the experience. 

IABC Ottawa had invited me to participate as one of the event’s “experts”. I discovered that the format of the evening allowed for making many new connections very easily and comfortably. Seven or eight participants sat at each table and the experts visited each table for about 10 minutes. Moving from table to table, discussing the topic of “Creative Marketing Strategy” with all the participants, I had numerous interesting and insightful conversations with a variety of seasoned communicators, from political communications advisors to social media consultants to entrepreneurs. The event also included several students from Carleton and Algonquin College, and as always, I really enjoyed the enthusiasm and energy bright young people can bring to a discussion. 

 So I wanted to extend my thanks to the IABC Ottawa team for the invitation and congratulate them on a well-run, productive and fun networking event.

Photographer: John Finnigan Lin

Banfield-Seguin on the road at CES 2013

Banfield-Seguin is with high-profile clients Alcatel-Lucent and QNX Software Systems at one of the world’s largest Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada at this very moment.  With over 150,000 visitors champing at the bit to find out about the latest and greatest technological innovations – it is the place to be this week.

ALU and the ng Connect program are at CES 2013 to help show how network connectivity can turn gadgets into something that can change people’s lives. Visit ALU at booth #31412 to find out what the future is going to look like. Banfield-Seguin is on hand to produce ALU’s “Live at CES” videos that take viewers behind the scenes to provide a dynamic insider’s view of the show.



We also shot this video that offers a “behind-the-scenes” look at the QNX technology concept team in action as they take their most recent demo from white board to red carpet.  Their reveal of the QNX Technology Bentley Continental GT convertible at CES 2013 is creating quite a buzz.  The software company put one of its powerful, feature-rich real-time operating systems to work in an innovative partnership with Bentley and Texas Instruments.



This is what great marketing is all about, capturing the action while it is happening and helping our clients tell their stories in a dynamic way. Check back next week – when we post the finished “Live at CES" videos here.

Ryan Grevatt filming the Bentley demo and editing on the go.

Latest Issue of Brainstorm in the "Mail"

It's our final enewsletter for 2012! This issue celebrates some truly successful collaborations with our clients, awards won, new staff and offers some insights on measuring ROI. Read all about it in the latest issue of Brainstorm.

Not receiving Brainstorm (our quarterly company newsletter)? Sign up here.

Grandmothers Advocacy Network and Banfield-Seguin Celebrate GRAN's New Brand

Every now and then, in the marketing communications world, we get the chance to work with an organization that is truly making a difference. Working with the Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN) was one of these times.

Over the past six months, Banfield-Seguin had the opportunity to work on a re-branding effort with GRAN. GRAN is a network of grandmothers and grand-“others” who advocate in Canada and around the world on behalf of children in Africa who have been orphaned by AIDS, and the grandmothers who raise them.

On November 20th, our clients dropped in on Banfield-Seguin, giving us the chance to celebrate the success of the rebranding together. GRAN representatives from across Canada were present, and it was an occasion for tremendous gratitude, and even a few tears — on both sides.


GRANS front row, left to right: Marilyn Coolen, Andrea Beal, Gillian Sandeman, Pat Evans, Peggy Edwards, Hilary Elliott, Val Swinton, Linda Watson, Bonnie Johnson. GRANS back row, left to right: Kathleen Wallace-Deering, Marjorie Kort, Janet Wilkinson. BSL TEAM left to right: Christina Flavell, Peter Mulder, James Laing, Christine Hume, Bianca Manga, Nancy Webb.

 We want to thank Banfield-Seguin, your president Nancy Webb and the team that worked on this project,” said Peggy Edwards, proudly wearing her GRAN t-shirt adorned with the new logo.   “The new brand is working so well for us — it has unified the Grandmothers Advocacy Network and made us an even stronger force to be reckoned with.”


Peggy Edwards & Nancy Webb sharing the new GRAN umbrella!

“I was hesitant about working with an outside company to do our branding,” said Hilary Elliott, GRAN representative from Calgary. “I wasn’t sure of the process and if they would ‘get it’. How could they possibly come up with the right look & feel to represent all that we do and represent? When the logo options were presented, we were amazed by the designs and the fact that you understood us so well.”

When asked to say a few words about the experience working with GRAN, Director of Strategy Christina Flavell reminisced about that initial creative presentation. “We finished taking you through all the logo and tagline options and there was a brief pause, and then you all burst into applause. It was the most amazing and gratifying experience I think I’ve ever had in this business.” Associate Creative Director Peter Mulder agreed, saying, “We can’t thank you enough for your enthusiasm and passion throughout the project. It was such a pleasure for all of us to work with your organization.”

Marilyn Coolen tells us about GRAN going to Washington, DC!

Another GRAN representative, Marilyn Coolen from Halifax, shared her experience with the new brand. “We boldly applied to present at the World AIDS conference in Washington this year — never thinking that we would be accepted, being first-time applicants. Imagine our surprise when we heard we got accepted! We were so proud to have a banner with the new logo and tagline at our booth. And it worked! The new brand got people’s attention and they were drawn to our booth to find out more. As a result GRAN has established a new network of contacts farther afield.”

Overall, it was an evening that left us all glowing. It was an encouraging reminder that regardless of what we do day-to-day, there are always opportunities to give back and try to make the world a better place. It may sound sentimental, but it’s true. GRAN is out there doing it every day.  Take a moment to learn more about GRAN and their amazing accomplishments as a “a voice for grandmothers and children orphaned by AIDS in Africa” at www.grandmothersadvocacy.org.

It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s our Campaign for the NAV CENTRE

It’s one of those places you really have to see to believe. A hidden gem along the banks of the St. Lawrence, the NAV CENTRE is Eastern Ontario’s largest conference and meeting facility. It’s fully equipped for productive business meetings and events, including excellent services to help you focus on business success. NAV CENTRE also has resort-like features (including a full-service spa and gym facilities) that will impress bosses and colleagues alike.

This comprehensive offering formed the basis of our campaign: “Be a Meeting Hero”. With budget cuts and an unstable economy, the role of event planner in many companies now falls to whoever is willing to do it. And it’s not easy!

NAV CENTRE has accepted the challenge of making “accidental planners” look like the Meeting Hero of their organizations. The secret is in its competitive pricing and excellent service offering.

 The campaign hinged on a website landing page (navcentre.ca/hero) and included print and online display ads, electronic direct mail pieces as well as Google Adwords and LinkedIn ads.

Perhaps you’re responsible for planning a company meeting or retreat? What are you waiting for? You could become the next meeting hero…

NAV CENTRE Campaign landing page

NAV CENTRE Campaign lead gen form

Vlogging In: Place d'Orléans Contest Connects with Ottawa Fashion Elite

Nothing gets the attention of fashionistas quite like a shop-off.

To continue evolving the Place d’Orléans brand into a premier fashion destination, Banfield-Seguin proposed the Vlogger Search Contest, designed to reach fashionistas in a real and relevant way.
 
The contest began with a call for video entries, which were then narrowed down to 10 finalists. It all culminated in a spectacular event in which finalists were given a gift card and 90 minutes to shop, before filming a vlog describing their shopping spree strategy and its outcome. An experienced judging panel selected the winner, Amanda L. Conquer, who received $300 per month for six months in Place d’Orléans gift cards to keep shopping, shooting, and sharing her exciting finds online.

This dynamic, multi-faceted back-to-school promotion was designed to engage key audiences, tap into the “haul video” phenomenon (a recent Ottawa Citizen article on the subject can be found here), and potentially discover an online personality who could act as brand ambassador for the shopping centre.

To promote the event, we blended social media and local fashion community outreach with traditional marketing, including in-mall signage, radio and online advertising.

Fashion vlogger Search Facebook Contest Page

 

Banner ad on Loulou

A key objective of the campaign was to engage with top fashion bloggers and build their relationship with Place d’Orleans. So, at the outset, we invited the top 10 Ottawa fashion bloggers to be ambassadors for the Vlogger Search in order to connect with these women of influence and to attract high quality contest participants. We invited them to an exclusive VIP event, complete with swag bags and gourmet treats, during which they created their own vlog.

© Remi Theriault with LJ / Twenty York Street, Emily / Tinfoil Tiaras, Zara and Michelle / Ottawa Vélo Vogue, Emmett / Hippie Lace, Julie Lan / Pop Champagne, Grace / 613 Style, Marcia B Creative, Justyna Baraniecki / Chameleonic and Nini / The Fine Balance.

 The strategy worked beautifully.

We received incredibly positive feedback from the ambassadors who described the contest as “the best event ever” and generated 21 blog posts as well as numerous mentions of @placedorleans and the #vloggersearch contest. Ultimately, the initiative reached 485,000 people on Twitter and 30,000 people on Facebook.


Winner of the Vlogger Search Contest - Amanda L. Conquer (Photo: Brent Gervais)

Contest winner Amanda has since submitted four videos that can be seen on Place d'Orleans YouTube channel.

To make it all happen, Banfield-Seguin partnered with Made in Blog to reach out to the blogger community, and with Parade! to bring together the branded multimedia experience. The secret to success, though, was the tremendous support and enthusiasm of our clients at Place d’Orleans.