Stealing as a Marketing Plan, Turning Setbacks Into Wins and Why Bland Ideas Won’t Cut It
A sneaker store told customers to rob them and it actually worked.
Creative Sparks with Kevin
Quick, no pressure insights and inspiration to help you push past perfectionism, stay true to your vision and market your work authentically. Delivered weekly on Fridays.
Always Have a Plan B
As much as we would love everything to go right all the time, that’s just not how the world works. PR expert and overall amazing person Lucy Werner thought of a fun, unique, and showstopping way to promote her Substack. She create a dress made out of cards with PR tips and included a sticker that gives 30% off her newsletter.
But the day of the event she was going to wear her dress came, she was too sick to go. While many people would give up on the idea and complain about missing their opportunity, Lucy decided to do a Substack live reading off PR tips for people who attended. A great example of making the best of a bad situation!
Why Is Everything So Bland?
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Nicky makes a really good point. Not too long ago, things used to have a little personality. Everything from wood panel flooring to animated movies has lost the creative look that made it interesting.
"It's as if something being 'modern' has become synonymous with being grey and boring and utterly lifeless."
Let’s take a stand against boring and bring creativity and life to our work to fight against this modern look!
Creative Ideas Are The Best Form of Advertising
Running store Distance was sick of people buying shoes just to take an Instagramable photo with it. That’s why they worked with agency BETC Paris and created the Rob It to Get It campaign. For one day they made their most expensive items free, and all people had to do was rob it.
But the catch was, they had to outrun professional sprinter, and security guard for the day, Mickael Zeze. Out of the 100 people who attempted it, only 2 people got away. So only true sprinters earned their new kicks.
The campaign drew the attention of the world with over 40 million organic views and 5 weeks of media coverage and all it cost was two pairs of shoes.
That’s why we must bring creativity to our marketing and advertising. The best marketing campaigns are ones that are so unique they are shared for free.
In Case You Missed It
This Week’s Creativity Card
One of the best ways to spark creativity is think of things that are beyond your wildest dreams. This opens your mind up to endless possibility, which you can scale back afterwards.
My response: I would create a country where the sole purpose is to use and foster creativity. Instead of paying for things with currency, you would pay with your creative or artistic projects.
Remember, there will be a new set of sparks and a Creativity Card each week, so subscribe and follow along or tag another Substacker who might need some inspiration.
💡Fun Fact: I have a digital deck with over 600 creative card prompts ranging everything from curiosity to burnout recovery to play. Subscribe to check out a new card every week or comment and let me know if you want to help test more!
If you have any ideas for creative sparks leave them in the comments. I’d love to hear what’s sparking your creativity right now.
Until next time, stay motivated and stay creative.
— Kevin
The past year has been super hectic for me work-wise but I finally have some free time now and intend to revive that creative spark by working on more personal projects. There’s something magical about building something of your own that brings real fulfillment ✨ thanks for the inspiration ☺️