Hone Your Creativity, Reduce the Noise Around You, and See Your Sales Grow

Takeaways from the Detroit Digital Summit 2022 on how creative marketing can increase your sales.

Mobile devices have increased the noise around us to a level unmatched in our history. All of this noise and distraction can make it difficult to be creative and expand on new ideas. Jenny Haggard, Spotify’s Lead in Creative Strategy in North America, gave an actionable keynote presentation at the 2022 Detroit Digital Summit that tackles this issue. 

She talked about how reducing the noise around her has made her more creative, and how to use the AABCs (Anima, Audience, Brand, and Culture) of marketing to increase the impact of messaging.

1. Anima

This is the unconscious part of your mind that works automatically. Everyone’s anima works differently; however, all anima is affected by noise. An environment that is noisier will decrease the performance of the unconscious brain. Coming up with new and creative ideas is supported by isolating yourself in silence.

The importance of silence in being creative is put on display in brainstorming exercises. It’s often most helpful to have groups break out individually and come up with their own ideas to bring back for review. This alone time in silence lets you brainstorm ideas that might not come to you at first or be affected by group thinking.

2. Audience

Who is your current audience? A lot of marketing ends up being ineffective because it is targeted toward an aspirational audience. Take a moment to really think about your end consumer. It even helps to build a buyer persona that can be used as a reference point for all marketing decisions.

Don’t be afraid to implement audio into your marketing; audio can evoke emotion and often tell a story better than words can. This is the reason podcasts are still on the rise and they provide an exceptional opportunity to advertise to your target audience.

3. Brand

You can think of brand as anima and audience combined. In other words, your brand should have a strong identity that’s apparent at first glance. If you’re struggling to define what this is, you can use a strategy called figure-storming. 

In figure storming, your group picks a well-known figure—like a celebrity or public figure—and discusses how that person would approach a problem. This can help put a box around your brand and assist in discovering what your brand has that your competitors don’t.

Need help defining your brand? Reach out to our team of experts at RED66 for help!

4. Culture

It’s important to stay up-to-date on culture and what is happening around the world; believe it or not, it can drastically affect your company’s messaging and the projects you’re working on. Here’s what’s most essential to consider when making decisions based on culture:

• What is going on in culture right now?
• What does our company care about?
• Where do we have a right to play?

News moves fast. Furthermore, it can be incredibly beneficial to be a first mover on information that aligns with your business.

How Can Creative Marketing Increase Your Sales? First, Implement Silence Into Your Daily Routine

One of the most interesting things that Haggard shared at the Digital Summit is that she goes on an 8-day-long silence retreat once a year. This means, no phone, no talking, and all by herself—and she loves it! 

During this time, she finds herself writing a lot; she’s even made some of the biggest decisions in her life during this retreat. She even claims that she writes down so many ideas for work that it lasts her until her retreat the following year (aka: a marketer's content planning dream). 

Not sure you want to spend 8 days by yourself without talking? Same. But, there's good news! You can get the same benefits of this silent retreat by implementing silence into your everyday life. 

Start small by spending a minute of your day in silence and work up to 30 minutes once or twice a day. This will give you the time to charge your creative battery and be more innovative for your company. 

Not convinced it’ll work for you? Check out the science behind silence.

3 Key Messaging Components That Win More Work

Now that you’re feeling more creative from some well-needed silence, we can make your ideas actionable with takeaways from Kate DiLeo’s Digital Summit presentation. Kate found her success in sales and discovered the 3 key messaging components that won her more work.

• 1). Tagline
• 2). Value Proposition Statement
• 3). Differential Statements

Using your messaging in this order will guide your customers to the all-important question—how much? The reason this works is that you’re articulating what you do, how you solve your customer's deepest pains, and why you’re better than the rest.

As long as your messaging is implemented and uniform across all your channels, you’ll be set up for success. One last helpful tip Kate shared; great brands don’t shout like a megaphone. Make your sales pitch about the customer, and keep it short and practical.

Need help being more creative, refining your target audience, making your message work for your customers, or just need marketing assistance in general? 

We’re always available for a conversation about how RED66 can help you reach your goals!