Who is responsible for creativity?

In an industry that prides and differentiates itself on producing a creatively driven product, isn't it a shame that there are so few "creative" people?

The South African advertising industry comprises roughly 2133 people (according to the 2005 ACA survey of its member agencies). Of those, 707 are account management, 113 are strategists, 211 work in production, 108 are traffickers, 448 are art directors, 246 are writers and 300 are designers/DTPers.

Too much pressure

Which means that only 46% of the industry is made up of "creatives" conceptually and creatively responsible for the agencies output. Surely we are putting a little too much pressure on half the staff to perform? Sure they are the most creatively equipped to conceptualise and produce ads in terms of writing and art directing, but is that all our business is about?

Creativity is the art of thinking differently, approaching the ordinary in an extraordinary way. It's about the unexpected. Since when did that become the sole domain of a writer and an art director?

Regardless of our particular role within the agency, we all get into this business because we are a little crazy. It takes a certain type of person to be able to cope and thrive in such a frenetic, competitive and unusual environment.

Only if...

Let's face it, in the modern economy, businesses succeed or fail according to the value of their human capital. And the most valuable human capital is rooted in creativity and innovation. In today's economy, creativity is pervasive and ongoing. We can revise every product, process and activity imaginable and fit them together in new ways. Nowhere in that paragraph does it say - but only if you work in a creative department.

It feels a little archaic that we still segment and perpetuate a rift between the "creatives" and the "the rest of us" in our industry. Is it not a little "last season" to be defining a person's level of creativity by the department they work in?

I feel offended to fall into the non-creative category and I am sure others do, too.

It doesn't have to be like that, of course. We can blur those lines if we want to, but we will all have to make a change - creativity is about how you do things, not about what you do.

Expect from everyone

Don't get me wrong. I am all for segmenting a business into departments based on deliverables and skill sets, but creativity should be an underlying driver of the business, regardless of what department you fall into. Surely we as an industry should be expecting a level of creativity or ingenuity from every person who earns a salary from advertising?

Imagine the benefit to our own agency, and then to the industry at large, if we could increase our QQ creativity quotient (yes, I did make that up) by a meager ten or 15%. Of course, our output and evaluation as advertisers are still going to be measured on the final product - the stuff the consumer eventually gets to see, but there is so much that happens outside of the studio between taking a brief and supplying material.

This is where we "non creatives" need to step up to the plate. I doubt that anyone reading this would battle to think of at least one way to make the process a more inspired or efficient one.

Add creative sparkle

If every person who came into contact with a brief added a little creative sparkle, in their own way and within the parameters of their role, I am willing to bet the increased creativity would impact exponentially on the inspiration levels, which would in turn make the whole process a more passionate one. The work would have an extra layer of shine and brilliance, brands would fly off the shelves faster than we could put them there and our clients would make and exceed targets like never before.

All this just from a simple attitude change to one of our daily outputs.

Fast company published an article titled the six myths of creativity. The very first myth it dispels is that, and I quote, "creativity comes from creative types." There it is, from a more than reputable source - so let's get on with it and start changing the way we operate. Both global and local businesses are changing faster than we can imagine and we no longer have the luxury of not being pushed, in fact measured and evaluated, on our creative output.

Richard Florida, in his book "Rise of the Creative Class", refers to the fact that long ago the Protestant ethic provided the underlying spirit of thrift. It was hard work and efficiency that motivated the rise of early capitalism.

In similar fashion, the shared commitment to the creative spirit in its many varied manifestations underpins the new creative ethos that powers our age. Thus creativity has come to be the most highly prized commodity in our economy, and yet it's not a commodity. It's people powered.

All creative, all responsible

We can't rely solely on that 46% anymore. We need to all start believing and celebrating the fact that we are ALL "creatives", that we are ALL responsible for the creative output (and input for that matter) of this industry. I strongly believe that creativity in advertising goes far beyond writing, designing and art direction, and that certain titles and segmentation perpetuate a problem that we as an industry can no longer afford to live with.

Here's to the crazy ones.