Title: Create Marketing Magic Word Count: 524 Summary: When you think about marketing, chances are pretty good that cartoons and talking animals aren’t the first thing to pop into your mind. You’re probably processing numbers, identifying markets, and looking for ways to cut costs. Keywords: Marketing, Creativity Article Body: When you think about marketing, chances are pretty good that cartoons and talking animals aren’t the first thing to pop into your mind. You’re probably processing numbers, identifying markets, and looking for ways to cut costs. Maybe it’s time to get your nose off the grindstone and have a little fun. Why? Creativity plays an important role in marketing, and sometimes we need to take the time to get our creative juices flowing. Don’t believe it? Take a close look at Disney. Now that’s a perfect sample of creativity and marketing going hand-in-hand! Walt Disney… a dreamer who put magic into his marketing. Creativity can take on several different “personas”… 1. The Explorer The explorer seeks out bits of interesting and new information like a sponge. Curiosity keeps him hunting for the unknown and ready to plunge into brand new experiences. 2. The Dreamer A wild imagination is the best friend of a true dreamer. Nothing is impossible in the world of imagination. 3. The Artist An artist is able to take a variety of bits and pieces, mix them all together and come up with a collage that entrances the mind. Before you set this article aside and get back into the daily grind, let’s think of what all of this could mean to your marketing campaign. Creativity may… 1. Add pizzas to your flyers 2. Spark a brand new idea for a product/service to market 3. Bring to light a brand new way to market your current product/service 4. Give color to your ads 5. Expose a new way to beat out the competition Hey, any one of those are great boosters for a marketing campaign. The trouble is that sometimes we feel that everyone is creative, but we’re just an unimaginative lump of clay destined to plod through life. Not so! Everyone has an imagination. Sometimes it just needs to be oiled up a little bit to get it loosened up. How long has it been since you put your imagination to work? You can give your creativity a leg up by… 1. Watching a sunrise or sunset 2. Organizing a party 3. Smelling a flower Hah! You thought I’d have some extravagant exercises all laid out for you, didn’t you? Relax, there’s no secret key to being successfully creative. Creativity comes in all sizes, shapes and colors. There’s no right or wrong way to be creative. The biggest hurdle most people face is the “I’m just not creative” cop out. Sure they’re creative. In fact, if I asked, they could create quite a long list of the reasons they aren’t creative. Research has shown that this biggest difference between “creative” and “non-creative” people is that “creative” people believe they are creative and “noncreative” people don’t believe they are creative. It’s as simple as that. Every marketer gets stale after a while, if they don’t find refreshing and new ideas to incorporate into their work. If your marketing has lost its pizzazz or seem to be in the dumps, simply take a little time to stimulate your creativity and just see what happens.