Creativity as the most powerful tool in business.
Isabel Van den Broeck, Managing Director of Creative Belgium, highlights the crucial role of creativity and courage for brands and marketers, even in challenging market conditions.
Creativity demands bravery from everyone involved, not just creators but also brands and marketeers. It’s about challenging norms and taking risks, despite the tough approval processes. Successful campaigns showcase the power of bold ideas. Despite market challenges, embracing creativity and courage remains crucial.
We often discuss bravery and courage in the context of creativity. Bravery has always been key in crafting some of the most exceptional brand concepts. (This also shows in the countless LinkedIn posts we see.)
However, do we all truly grasp what this means?
The essence is how to bring creative bravery into our everyday mindset—not just for creatives and strategists, but also for
brands and marketeers. It takes a combination of amazing people, incredible clients, and the common pursuit of thinking
differently and committing to a single principle: creativity as the most powerful tool in business.
This can be challenging, though, as unconventional or bold ideas often face tougher approval processes. Making a good
team also means understanding the most difficult task isn’t necessarily for those generating the ideas, but for those who approve them. Marketeers risk their careers to make a difference. While reusing existing ideas might guarantee a steady profit, creativity should be recognized as a serious tool to boost a business.
How can we make it easier for agencies and clients to overcome the perceived risk that comes with a great idea? It takes
courage to fundamentally challenge the assumptions or market of today, but it marks the most well-known and most effective brand ideas. Doing things differently is the essence of creativity. Even in the consistency of a decades-long brand positioning, you can surprise with refreshing executions.
At Creative Belgium, we love to recognize and celebrate short and long-term campaigns that prove to be successful and
whose fundament of their achieved success is creative excellence. Brands standing up for what they believe in. Valuing principles over products. Jupiler’s “The Crashed Glass” dares to break the mood and put road safety in the spotlight. Not only is passenger safety Volvo’s hallmark, but now its brand name invokes the environment as well. Vanden Borre asks questions about our throw-away society and promotes repair culture. Our work can make a difference. We should continue on this path.
Even if the market has seemed to be in crisis for some years now, there are brave brands out there, as well as powerful
makers. We still see stunning work and a great deal of resilience. And that shouldn’t stop.
Therefore: Let’s be brave little Belgium.
Join us at Creativity Decoded, where you can find us on stage. Click here to get your tickets!
Love,
Isabel Van den Broeck, Managing Director Creative Belgium