Creativity

is easier in

theory than

practice

Everyone likes the idea of creative marketing. But there are still plenty of practical obstacles which mean it’s easier said than done.

Question 01

Having a creative idea is easier than executing it (answers for net)

Question 02

B2B tech companies are reticent to try new approaches in their marketing (answers for net)

Question 03

Creative campaigns are more difficult to get signed off (answers for net)

Question 04

How has remote working effected your business' ability to be creative, if at all? (answers for net improved)

Expert Perspective:

Has remote working boosted creativity?

Dmitry Shamis

Global Head of Creative, HubSpot

Remote working has obviously changed the world. And from a creative standpoint, I think it has enabled better flexibility and better creative by extension.

You’re not relying on people showing up for a meeting at 9AM Eastern, when it’s 6AM on the west coast and afternoon for colleagues in the UK. Those shackles are gone. You’re enabling people to work when they’re ready to work. If someone’s most productive in their sweatpants at midnight, and that’s when they want to work? Cool.

And it forces me to be more flexible in how I place expectations on people’s shoulders. Everyone has different needs, and it’s on us as leaders and colleagues to figure out how to help our team the most. Yes, it’s business and we need assets and deliverables by a certain deadline, but the best work ultimately comes from people who feel empowered and trusted.

“The shackles are gone; you’re enabling people to work when they’re most productive. If someone wants to work in their sweatpants at midnight? Cool.”

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Chapter 06: Key Findings

Look out – there could be a creative squeeze coming. Because while B2B organisations are putting more emphasis on creativity, practical and process challenges mean those ideas can still be just as hard to deliver.

72% of our respondents agree that having a creative idea is easier than executing it; that rises to 82% among American marketers. And no wonder, when 71% say B2B tech companies are reticent about new marketing approaches, and almost half (49%) report finding creative ideas harder to get signed off.

Other obstacles depend on where you work. Marketers in the US cite strategic creative thinking as their most common barrier to creativity (joint with working environment) – but it doesn’t figure in the top ten challenges for the UK, where business structure and process issues are the most common.

One surprise for those of us who thought ideas are best shared in person: more than eight out of ten respondents (82%) say the shift to remote working has actually improved their company’s ability to be creative. And while about a quarter of marketers cite their working environment as a creativity barrier, home working is not the issue: just 5% say it has made matters worse.

What remote working has taken away in face-to-face interaction, it may have made up for in the ability to work asynchronously, and collaborate with colleagues and specialists in a wider variety of geographical locations. Customers, too, are working differently – forcing B2B marketers to think again and come up with fresh approaches.

However, larger companies have handled the change much more effectively. Marketers in smaller businesses with a turnover under £10 million are 17 times more likely to say remote working has hindered creativity.

72% say having a creative idea is easier than executing it.

82% believe remote working has improved their company’s ability to be creative.

1/4 US marketers say strategic creative thinking is an issue.