Later in my life, as a standard six pupil at a boarding school where initiation verged on torture, my artistic skills even saved my life. The matric thugs identified my ability to relay ideas into pictures as a mysterious thing: this kid could not possibly be treated like everyone else. Even these big kids understood that a creative soul was different to others, and was hence handled with a measure of respect and awe.
But once in the “real world” this drawing thing became something that was admired as a hobby, but found to be highly suspicious in the business world. I suspect that people are just jealous, but it became clear that artists have no place in the business community.
So what do we do? We downplay our creative part in favour of a strategic, results-orientated, business-minded part. As an industry just see how many of us emphasise things like “forming partnerships”, “sound business objectives”, “industry leaders”, “distilling information”, “marketing communications”, “storytelling” and so on. We are all hinting at “creativity” contained in a controlled environment. (We've got the creatives in a backroom.)
Our embarrassment about our artistic roots threatens to make us obsolete in the business world. The more we all start to talk like business consultants, the more we start to look like them, too. And the more we sell ourselves as strategists, consultants and business people first, the more we distance ourselves from the one thing that sets us apart: the ability to express ideas. If we look like them, and sound like them, and use the same tools as they do, you've got to imagine that soon they won't even need us.
We're so busy making ourselves attractive, understood and acceptable to business – in a sense smoothing over the edge that separates us from them – that soon we'll become boring and uninteresting to clients.
Of course there is a need for strategy and collaboration – without these we would really only be pure fine artists.
But for heaven's sake, be proud of your artistic talents – wear them on your sleeve, put the madness in the front room for all to see. Seek to create the most thrilling environment for clients to come into. Give them a good scare. We need to nurture a scene of mystery and magic about ourselves: we need to celebrate our creativity.
Clients need to feel that they are buying something that they themselves can't imagine, or express. They need to know that the value of a stiff measure of pure creative genius is often the very thing that sets their brand apart from competitors, and that an interface and a language specifically designed to make perfect sense to business people is a thing to be questioned. In a world where conformity is at the forefront, brands need to be braver than ever before in order to have unforgettable conversations with consumers.
Ultimately, this is not about whether you draw or write or imagine, but about how you choose to reveal yourself to the market. Express yourself uniquely.
Come on. Bring thrilling back.
