Creative Spaghetti
Exploring AI, pressing record on video and other baby steps towards new ideas
Two of the greatest gifts my mother gave me early in life were learning to cook dinner and ensuring my after-school babysitters were students at the local teachers' college where she worked. (Working mom had help with dinner prep, caring mom knew the importance of developing one’s creativity.) I learned how to test if spaghetti was ready by throwing it at the wall to see if it stuck, and my babysitters used me as a guinea pig for their classroom creative projects. Through these experiences, I learned how to dive right into creativity and learning new skills.
When I began leading teams, I encouraged the concept of “Creative Spaghetti.” I urged everyone to allow for the space and courage to explore untested ideas, riff on them, and put them out into the world to see what we could learn. If an idea stuck, we’d scale it. If it didn’t, we’d move on. Regardless of the outcome, the process was always valuable. Sometimes, ideas are ahead of their time and can be recycled when the technology or timing finally aligns.
1. Try Out New Technology
Around 2009, I worked at a travel publishing company right when the Flip Video camera became popular and YouTube was gaining traction. I bought a Flip Video, handed it to my team, and sent them to San Francisco’s Union Square to interview tourists. From that experiment, we learned how to tell stories on video—a skill that has since become essential for marketers. As I prepped for an offsite the summer of 2023, I was looking for inspiration for an irreverent Muppet meets AI theme (Fun Fact - Jim Henson born in Mississippi, the location of the offsite), the LLM inspired ideas were as hokey as the theme itself, but after some prompting it was spot on in it’s editorial assessment of how Jim Henson might deliver a marketing key note. Recently, I challenged myself with generative AI tools for blog editing and image creation to serve as a virtual editorial and creative department. It wasn’t seamless; light years better than last summer. I learned that ChatGPT can now help with images, yet it has its quirks, sometimes it even spells worse then I do when it is making images. I compared Canva’s skills at generating the images, had less challenges, yet I may still be on the goldilocks journey of the best service for images and editorial that is top notch vs. good enough. I also learned that a “cold start” generates poor quality and there are ways to help the AI machine understand you giving it a “warm start” to get to know your brand and point of view. Through it all, I practiced how to refine my prompts to better achieve my goals and I confirmed my hypothesis that humans will still play an active role in infusing our creativity and vision into how to leverage AI in constructive ways. Trying new technology helps us stay relevant, opens up creative avenues we have not initially imagined and arms us with practical experience how to pace with this new functionality, that is moving at breakneck speed.
Fun Facts: Video is projected to account for 82.5% of all internet traffic in 2024, For B2B marketers specifically, 70% say video has helped them generate leads, and about 82% of consumers have been convinced to make a purchase after watching a video. (Sources: HubSpot, Wistia)
A recent Salesforce study indicates that 60% of marketers believe generative AI will significantly reshape their roles, with an emphasis on improving personalization and engagement strategies. However, they also express concerns regarding AI accuracy and the potential for errors in automated outputs. This reflects the larger trend of integrating AI to enhance customer experiences and streamline workflows while grappling with challenges related to trust and transparency in AI applications.
2. Seize the Moment
In a past role, I worked for a bank that sponsored a college sports team headed to the championship. The team’s journey captivated the nation, and we saw an opportunity to align with their contagious spirit. We had been grappling with three business challenges: growing our female client base, proving sponsorship ROI, and scaling our digital acquisition efforts. The Friday night of the semi-finals texts were flying between our team, someone tossed out the idea to rapidly deploy a social media digital acquisition campaign for our cobranded debit card. Saturday, between juggling kids’ soccer, house chores and birthday parties, a small cross functional team started piecing together what we needed to make it happen. By the time of the championship game, we had our creative, media buy, product offer and legal and compliance approvals ready to deploy if the team won. They did, and the results were impressive, delivering the equivalent of six weeks’ worth of production from one financial center in less time and for less money, with new-to-bank customers from across our footprint. The success inspired us to create templates for future “seize the moment” opportunities.
Fun Fact: "Brands that are culturally relevant outperform the stock market by 206%." – Havas Group, 2019 Meaningful Brands Report
3. Urban Safaris
As a market researcher in the consumer-packaged goods sector, I discovered a valuable tool for inspiring innovative packaging: “Urban Safaris.” During a client’s planning sessions, our team would take a break and explore local malls looking for inspiration for our next series of product launches and repositioning. We’d visit candy shops, toy stores, pharmacies, and more, snapping pictures of clever packaging designs. Back at the office, we’d brainstorm ways to repackage our products, ranking ideas based on feasibility. This process injected fresh ideas into our planning cycle, often leading to breakthrough packaging that stood out on crowded shelves.
Fun Fact: "72% of Americans say their purchasing decisions are influenced by the packaging design." – IPSOS Survey
Conclusion
The idea of "Creative Spaghetti" encourages flexibility, curiosity, and experimentation, key ingredients for successful innovation. Whether it’s trying out new technology, seizing an unexpected opportunity, or drawing inspiration from the everyday world, embracing this mindset helps teams generate unique solutions that can propel their business forward. The process of throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks might seem risky, but it allows for genuine growth and discovery. In a rapidly changing world, where consumer expectations and technology evolve constantly, creative spaghetti empowers teams to adapt and thrive. So, embrace the creative mess—sometimes, those sticky ideas turn into the most meaningful successes.
