Quotes On Creativity

Assignment Creativity: Urban Photo Adventure

Creativity happens when you let it, not when you try to force it. That’s why you get your best ideas when running or showering. Your mind is typically in neutral in those situations and ideas seem to occur spontaneously. So, what can you do to put your mind in neutral and spark some creativity?

Color Your Brand

When you think of your favorite brands, what comes to mind first? I often think of a color, and apparently I’m not alone. Saw this article over at Social Media Today talking about the role of color in marketing. The article says that,

Recycling Is Good For Your Content

Since it’s Earth Day, we thought we’d discuss recycling – recycling your content, that is. Have you successfully recycled your content. Let’s review a few ways that I have given old content new life.

Top Creatives To Follow On Twitter

We’re assembling a list of the top creatives and creativity experts to follow on Twitter. Somewhat immodestly, we added ourselves to the list. Got anyone else to add? Please do.

How To Be Creative – The List

Top 9 Creativity Finds Of The Month

We’ve found a lot of good creativity-related articles this month and wanted to share them with the class. So, below is our list of Top 9 Creativity Finds Of The Month.

5 More Things To Do Today

In the past, we have offered up simple ideas for marketing yourself or your business. Here is our list of 5 more things you can do today to boost yourself.

1. Get to bed earlier this evening and every evening.  According to Dr. Michael Bengston,

Where Are The Humans?

We have talked about this before, and I thought by 2013 we would have moved on. But no! Marketers in the B-2-B space are still writing as if they are communicating with droids and not humans. It’s the use of business jargon to which I am referring.

SCAMMPERR – The Series On Creativity

Here’s a simple index to access our series about the creativity technique known as SCAMMPERR. Give it a try and let us know how it works for you.

Reverse It For Creativity

This is the final installment in our series about the SCAMMPERR creativity technique. We’ll be looking at things in reverse for creativity.

LinkedIn Company Page Update

LinkedIn has added quite a few features since we wrote a post on launching your company’s LinkedIn page. So, we thought we’d update it to let you know about the new features available to you.  As we told you in our initial post, your company needs a LinkedIn company page because,

Rearrange It For Creativity

When it comes down to it, creativity is really about rearranging what we know to form something we didn’t know. You can rearrange letters or words to spark a new thought. For instance instead of saying how can we sell more bottles, you might ask how can we bottle more sales. Does this make you look at the problem a little differently?

Eliminate It For Creativity

Originally, the doughnut had no hole. As legend would have it, a small boy noticed that the center of his mother’s donuts weren’t completely done so he poked it out with a fork. Sometimes, as the doughnut illustrates, eliminating something makes for a more successful product.

Put It To Other Uses For Creativity

Humans have been doing it for years: taking one thing and putting it to another use. George Washington Carver, for instance, took the lowly peanut and re-purposed it into 300 other products. Consider 3M, which was trying to develop an adhesive that was not very sticky for use on bulletin boards. That never caught on, but a 3M chemist had the insight to use it on note paper and Post-Its were born.

Modify It For Creativity

NASCAR was born when someone decided to modify an automobile right off the dealer’s lot to get more speed from it. A lot of creative ideas are the result of modification.

27 Ways To Be More Creative

Who doesn’t want to be more creative? Well, today we’re going to give you a list of 27 ways to be more creative in all aspects of your life. Let’s get going.

   1. Walk for 20 minutes daily.

Magnify It For Creativity

In the minds of many, bigger is better. So, we move today to using the element of magnification for our creativity boost.

Adapt It For Creativity

This is the third post in a series on a creativity exercise called SCAMMPERR, an acronym that stands for substitute, combine, adapt, magnify, modify, put it to other uses, eliminate, rearrange, reverse. We’ve covered substitute and combine, now let’s move on to adapt.

Combine It For Creativity

This is the second in a series on a creativity exercise called SCAMMPERR, an acronym that stands for substitute, combine, adapt, magnify, modify, put it to other uses, eliminate, rearrange, reverse. We covered substitute in our initial post, now let’s get on to combine.

SCAMMPERR For Creativity

Everything new is a modification of something existing, according to Michael Michalko, developer of a brainstorming tool called Thinkpak. I can’t disagree with his assessment. Thinkpak uses the mnemonic device – SCAMMPERR to help you look at things in a different way. So, when creating a new product, service, idea or process, you can use this device to help.  SCAMMPERR stands for:

Imagination Is The Beginning Of Creation

What Are You Going To Do With It?

How To Have A Creative 2013

Weird Marketing Tips

Is it just me, or have marketers everywhere all gotten on the “Weird Tips” train?

Firing Your Agency? Give Us A Call

Corporate clients are doing their best Donald Trump imitation, telling their ad agencies that they are fired. A majority of marketers expect to make changes to their agency rosters in the next year, with the need for enhanced digital capabilities and innovation among the key drivers of this trend, a study has shown.

Creativity 2012 – Week #49

Creativity Toolbox – Learn how to facilitate group creativity.

Creative Thinking Skills -There is clearly tremendous value in having diverse, positive creative thinking skills on your creative team.

Mediate Your Way To Creativity - Cognitive psychologist Lorenza Colzato used creativity tasks that measure convergent and divergent thinking to assess which meditation techniques most influence creative activities.

You’re Not A Ninja, You’re A Dumbass

Ran across an article about some of the strangest titles found on LinkedIn. People are calling themselves everything from Digital Overlord to Accounting Ninja.

Just Say No

Not every client is right for your business. My Creative Team’s best customer is a Fortune 1000 firm, as I was forced to remember this week when we had to fire a new client.

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Arnold Glasgow Quote on Creativity

Edwin Land Quote on Creativity

Albert Einstein Quote on Creativity

Pablo Picasso Quote on Creativity

Oscar Wilde Quote on Creativity

Creativity 2012 – Week #43

4 Silly Sketching Exercises To Spark Your Creativity – Often, we are most creative when we let down our guard and relinquish some control. And it’s in this space that silliness comes into play.

Going Mobile

No, this is not a piece about The Who’s 1971 song, it is a compilation of recent information we’ve been reading about the evolution of the mobile market.

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Arnold Glasgow Quote on Creativity

Edwin Land Quote on Creativity

Albert Einstein Quote on Creativity

Pablo Picasso Quote on Creativity

Oscar Wilde Quote on Creativity

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Arnold Glasgow Quote on Creativity

Edwin Land Quote on Creativity

Albert Einstein Quote on Creativity

Pablo Picasso Quote on Creativity

Oscar Wilde Quote on Creativity

Creativity 2012 – Week #42

How To Mind Map In Three Small Steps –  Is your head full of ideas or thoughts? Do you have any confusion around an idea, project or problem? Do you simply wish to get them out of your head quickly and in an organized manner? The solution is to create a radial mind map to visually organize your ideas.

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Arnold Glasgow Quote on Creativity

Edwin Land Quote on Creativity

Albert Einstein Quote on Creativity

Pablo Picasso Quote on Creativity

Oscar Wilde Quote on Creativity

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Arnold Glasgow Quote on Creativity

Batting 1000

QR Codes Gaining Ground

You’ve heard all the QR code naysayers, but we’re still seeing signs of life. Here are a few recent stories about how QR codes are being put to use.

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Arnold Glasgow Quote on Creativity

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Creativity 2012 – Week #40

Fresh Ways To Fish For Better Ideas-  Bryan Mattimore has done ideation consulting for Ben & Jerry’s, DKNY, Unilever, and other notables. Here, he reveals some of his secrets to dislodging big ideas.

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Albert Einstein Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Creativity 2012 – Week #39

Using Your Head: The State Of Mind Control Creativity -Cool as brains are, historically, they’ve tended to be pretty worthless without a body. Not so anymore thanks to a new generation of mind-control applications.

Quotes On Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Albert Einstein Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Arnold Glasgow Quote on Creativity

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Albert Einstein Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Arnold Glasgow Quote on Creativity

Creativity 2012 – Week #38

Photo credit: wintersixfour from morguefile.com

How To Trick Your Brain Into Succeeding – Use positive messages to fool your brain into appropriate actions.

Ideas: Steal With Style – Grab an idea from one place and put it to use in another for your next product or service innovation.

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Arnold Glasgow Quote on Creativity

Quotes On Creativity

Jack London Quote on Creativity

Leo Burnett Quote on Creativity

Lauren Bacall Quote on Creativity

Creativity 2012 – Week #37

50 Modern Logos For Your Inspiration - Get a creative kickstart by reviewing these logos.

Creativity 2012 – Week #36

Photo credit: macio2 from morguefile.com

Ten Innovation Lessons From Mount Everest -Reaching the highest point of the Earth is one of the greatest expeditions of mankind. It made Edmund Hillary famous. After reading Hillary’s ‘View from the Summit’ Gijs van Wulfen shares ten innovation lessons on being 1st.

Creativity 2012 – Week #35

Top 10 Tips For Developing Blog Article Ideas

I often get stuck for a blog post idea. Do you? The 10 tips below may help you – as they do me – come up with solid ideas to break your writer’s block.

QR Codes Aren’t Dead Yet

QR codes, in theory, are a good idea. In practice, marketers seem to be struggling to find smart ways to use them. Some say QR codes are dead. Brands, it seems, want to deliver information with QR codes. Customers, on the other hand seem to want free stuff, deals and discounts.

Prescription For Creativity

THINKing writes a lot on the topic of creativity. So, I thought I’d pull together a piece on some of the best, most actionable posts we’ve done on the subject. Yes, this is just what the doctor ordered for your creative malaise.

New Business: Fortune 500 Web Design

We are excited to have been chosen by Personna Blades, a Energizer Holdings brand, to develop this Fortune 500 website. Bob Senesac, VP of Marketing at Personna Industrial, says,

Top 50 Creativity Posts

My Creative Team has a weekly feature highlighting the latest information on creativity. This post selects – in no particular order – the 50 best creativity posts we have featured this year. Let’s get going:

By Design: Tips & Tools For Web Designers

We’re always looking for good creative resources, and we have found a number of them for designers. So, we thought we’d share them in one easy-to-digest post. Enjoy.

Color Theory – This is an infographic, providing an overview of color theory for designers.

Free Stuff From My Creative Team

Free. That’s everyone’s favorite word. So, we here at My Creative Team are offering a number of our resources to you for nothing.

2011 Big List Of Creativity Links – A compilation of My Creative Team’s creativity links from 2011.

Go Analog – Write A Thank You Note

I just heard a new song from Joe Walsh this week: I’m An Analog Man, and it reminded me that everything has gotten so digital that we have forgotten how to employ the the tried-and-true methods of marketing and PR. The most neglected, in my opinion, is the thank you note.

Writer’s Writing, Writers’ Writing, Writers Writing

Photo credit: jppi from morguefile.com

Each of the phrases in the headline above mean something different. A real writer knows this, and a want-to-be writer should figure it out. Here are some writing-related items to help the writer in all of us.

Creativity 2012 – Week #24

How A Good Mood Ramps Up Creativity - Contrary to being a time waster, taking time to do something that boosts your mood could make you more creative and efficient.

You Must Remember This - Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy give us a prescription for brain health in her latest newsletter.

Tools & Resources For Creatives

We come across lots of resources that we like to share with our peers but sometimes I like to post an overview of some of the ones for which we have received the most response. So, with that in mind, here are the top resources we have found recently for creatives.

A Silver Lining In This Cloud

Are your tweets falling on deaf ears? Maybe you are not using the right words. I’ve been using some free tools to delve into what my followers tweet about most often. You’ll see some of the major themes in the word cloud above.

Get Your Company LinkedIn

Editor’s Note: this piece was written originally for and appeared on SocialFresh

LinkedIn’s Company Pages seem to be an afterthought among the other high profile social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. But there are some good reasons that your company should set up – and keep current – your own free Company Page.

Does Your Personal Brand Need Brand Aid?

Photo credit: alvimann from morguefile.com

We’ve written extensively about personal branding over the years we have been publishing THINKing. So, we thought it was about time to pull together a personal branding compendium of those previous posts.

The New Brand You

“Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called ‘You,’” said business guru Tom Peters in a 1997 essay that kick-started the personal branding movement.

Seven Steps To Building Your Personal Brand

Photo credit: ardelfin from morguefile.com

You can’t build a personal brand until you do a little soul searching and research. Let’s take a look at some things to think about when developing your brand.

The Brand Called You

The best brands always try to do the right thing, so that their reputations will remain unsullied. But beyond that they grow, evolve and get better with time, while maintaining their special qualities from the past.

Driving Blog Traffic With Pinterest

Are you using Pinterest to drive traffic back to your blog? I am experimenting with it. Why? Well, a recent study indicates that Pinterest drives more sales than Facebook. Is this true? Don’t know. But a little experimentation doesn’t cost me anything. So, why not?

You Might Be A Writer If…

There are some writing errors that can make you appear stupid, particularly if you call yourself a professional writer. You would not believe – or perhaps you would – how many times I have received content from “writers” containing some of these errors. So, I have compiled my list of things you need to know if writing is your vocation or avocation.

Top 5 Posts Of 2012

Photo credit: alvimann from morguefile.com
We’re five months in to 2012, so I thought I’d review what you have been reading here at THINKing. Let’s get going:

Creativity Boost #3 – Dictionary Excursion – Far and away this is our most popular post ever. It’s a writing exercise guaranteed to stimulate your little gray cells.

Crisis Management Series

Photo credit: click from morguefile.com

Our digital colleague and social media public relations counselor, Rodger Johnson, has written a series for THINKing about issues management. This post provides you a brief overview of each installment plus a link to get to them easily.

How To Repair Your Company’s Image And Regain Brand Equity

Photo credit: macshack from morguefile.com

My plan to publish the last in a series of six crisis management posts was delayed by a mountain of work from my clients. But these things happen for a reason, and for this post, I have a great story of a moving company whose owner hasn’t the first clue about damage control.

Another QR Code Update

We like to pop into the world of QR Codes once and a while to see what’s happening. Many folks think the QR Code will go the route of the dinosaur. Others believe it is the end-all, be-all. I’ll let you decide. Below are a few recent articles we have found on QR Codes.

What To Expect in A Crisis

Photo credit: wallyir from morguefile.com

Fred Baggs and Bob Dittmer, two seasoned public relations colleagues of mine, have managed many issues and crises over their careers. So the information I share with you isn’t mine exclusively; however, I learned much from these guys. And you will too.

How To Plan For Issue Management And Successfully Engage The Marketplace

Photo credit: maxstraeten from morguefile.com

Earlier in this series we talked about the life cycle of and issue, which moves through four distinct stages.  Additionally, in our previous post, we defined an issue as a trend with the capacity to alter how your company operates as the trend  evolves. Here’s a prime example:

Employees: Your Most Ill-Informed Audience

It’s not that Fortune 500 employees aren’t paying attention. It’s the company’s fault for not communicating. I’d be willing to bet that most Fortune 500s spend more on advertising than on communicating with employees.

Ways To Ensure That Everyone In Your Company Is Bought In

Photo credit: deegolden from morguefile.com

Getting everyone on board for a project or campaign is essential in order to be successful.  But how can you inspire people to buy into a project when you can’t control how they think or feel?  The two most important factors are leading by example, and demonstrating excellent communication habits.

What’s The Difference Between An Issue, A Crisis And An Emergency

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In the grand scheme of things knowing the difference between an issue, a crisis and an emergency can help you craft appropriate communication strategies to weather the storms.

What’s Up With QR Codes?

We’ve written several times about QR codes and the marketing possibilities for them. Recently, there has been a flurry of articles about QR codes, so I thought I’d bring you up to date on what is being said. Let’s get started.

What Is The Life Cycle Of An Issue?

Photo credit: duboix from morguefile.com

About The Author: This is the second in a series of articles on issues management from our digital colleague, Rodger D. Johnson, who is a social media public relations counselor. He helps global companies, small businesses, and non-profits use public relations and social media strategies to strengthen brand equity. You can learn more about him at Get Social PR. 

Creativity 2012- Week #11

7 Habits Of Highly Creative People - Make a habit of these seven practices, and you will be highly creative in your field.

Make Yourself More Creative - Focus can be the enemy of creativity, and experiments back this up. Students whose attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder impairs their ability to focus perform better on creativity tests.

How To Manage Issues Before They Become A Crisis

Photo credit: chelle from morguefile.com

About The Author: This is the first in a series of articles on issues management from our digital colleague, Rodger D. Johnson, who is a social media public relations counselor. He helps global companies, small businesses, and non-profits use public relations and social media strategies to strengthen brand equity. You can learn more about him at Get Social PR. 

Are You Content With Your Content?

Photo credit: bekkli from morguefile.com

Are you content with your content? Today’s post is a compilation of some good articles we have found in recent days on the subject of content development. Also, we have sprinkled a few of our top posts on content development in for good measure. Let’s get started.

Calling All Guest Bloggers

Photo credit: EmmiP from morguefile.com

Here’s a shout out to all guest bloggers. This is a new year and I want new voices here on THINKing.

Is Everything Old New Again?

Photo credit: blondieb38 from morguefile.com

OK, it’s 2012 and like a caterpillar, it seems, marketing is completing its metamorphosis. But really, it’s only the tactics that have changed. At least in my view. We’ve talked a lot about this. Back in 2009, we addressed this subject,

Top 10 2011 Posts

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We’ve posted on a wide variety of topics in THINKing this year, and based on what you have been reading, you must like the variety. Let’s take a look at the Top 10 posts from 2011. You might find something on the list that you missed.

Word

It is true that I am sometimes a grumpy curmudgeon, however, I also know a little about word usage. So, please let me help you so that you won’t look like an ignoramus when you attempt to create an act of literature.

Creativity 2011 – Week #52

Photo credit: mensatic from morguefile.com

It’s the last week of 2011 and we have had some good creativity links this year. I’ll be compiling home into pdf form shortly.  Happy New Year and enjoy this last installment in 2011.

Thinking About Thinking

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about thinking. Done some research on the topic as well. As a creative thinker, you are trying to generate new ideas. These ideas typically come when you put together two ideas which have not been paired previously. Sounds easy enough, right?

Creativity Boost

We’ve been providing a series of creativity boosting exercises. I’m putting them all together here to make it easier for you to navigate to them.

Creativity Boost #3 – Dictionary Excursion

Photo Courtesy of Morguefile

Today, we’re heading to the dictionary for a creativity boost. Here’s what I want you to do:

You’re going to select six words and use them to write a story of less than 250 words. You will select your six words from:

Top 10 Posts To Improve Your Writing

Photo credit: alvimann from morguefile.com

Top 10 Story Starter Tips For Blocked Bloggers - Are you blogged out? Got writer’s block big time? Never fear, your doctor of creativity is here. I have some big time block busters.

Creativity Boost #1 – Mindtrip

Creativity is one of the key topics we discuss here at THINKing. So, we decided to develop a series of posts that focuses on ways to boost your creativity. Today’s boost: the mindtrip.

Bad Marketer, Naughty Marketer

I’ve been in marketing communications since shortly after the earth cooled and I have seen a lot of poorly conceived advertising and marketing programs. But in today’s unstable market, I’m seeing some unstable marketing, too.

All Branding, All The Time

We write a lot here about brands and branding, so I thought I’d pull together a compendium of some of our better pieces on the subject to make it easier for you to find.

Brands Still Matter

I just ran across this piece, Why Brands Don’t Matter Anymore, by John Jantsch, who knows his marketing. But I have to disagree with his headline, which was probably written to create a hint of controversy. (If you read the piece, you’ll see that he and I don’t truly disagree on this topic.)

Generate Your Own Infographics

Above is an infographic generated using Visual.ly, a service that allows users to create their own infographics. These visual representations of data are a great marketing and public relations tool. Are you using them in your marketing and PR?

Here are a few infographic resources you may want to investigate.

QR Codes Revisited

QR codes, we believe, have a place in marketing. However, they are not just for directing traffic back to your website. The future of QR codes is in making the user’s life easier. We plan to explore this in a future post.

Crowdsourcing Your Social Media Strategy

By Harry Hoover

I joined an interesting Tweetchat July 11, moderated by Socialfresh. Each week a company will be selected and anyone who wants to can wade in to help develop a crowdsourced social media strategy using the hastag #socialfresh.  It was fun and there were some good ideas generated, but a lot of the ideas were way off-target. Here’s why:

Scan Me

By Harry Hoover

The QR code above is provided by ScanMe, where you can develop your own QR code that provides access to all of your contact information to anyone with a smart phone. Go ahead and scan mine to find out how to connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Below is what you see if you scan the QR code.

Fortune 500 Friday – 7/8/2011

Since My Creative Team works with Fortune 500 firms, we often like to share the marketing techniques of these big boys with you. Many of these techniques can be replicated by marketers in any size business. So, let’s see what the big boys have been doing.

Five Ways To Not Be A Weiner

I’m sure you have heard about Democrat Rep. Anthony Weiner’s PR problems stemming from his inappropriate online relationships with at least six women. This cretin provides an example – albeit a bad one – from which we all can learn.

7 Strategies For Employee Communication Through Social Media – Part 1

LinkedIn For B2B – The Series

We have recently concluded our series of posts on how to use LinkedIn for business-to-business purposes. Below, you’ll find an easy-to-navigate overview that takes you to the complete posts.

A Silent Message From Your Customer

Your customers are telling you something, but aren’t saying a word. Most businesses will never get the message because they are too focused on what they want, not what the customer is asking for.

How Is Social Media Like A Mullet?

Photo: Copyright 2001 Columbia Pictures

When you live in the South you sometimes still see the male hairstyle known as the mullet. As Joe Dirt said in the movie by the same name, a mullet is “business in the front, party in the back.” And that is how social media is like a mullet: it’s both business and personal.

QR Code Update

You might remember our piece recently about the Top 15 Uses For QR Codes. We have been seeing a lot of content recently on this topic, so we thought it was time for a curated update.

LinkedIn – Branding

We’ve been talking recently about LinkedIn and the numerous ways you can utilize the platform for yourself and your organization. We see at least six business functions (see list below) in which LinkedIn can assist your company. We have already addressed #1. Today, we take a look at branding.

A Holiday Gas

You have to love clients who clearly understand their brand, their audiences and have the courage to communicate with them in their vernacular. That’s why I love the folks at Newell Rubbermaid. They get it.

Quotes On Creativity