The Power of 360 Creativity

From the very start in 1909, Selfridges founder Harry Gordon saw his store as a civic centre—a social place where friends can meet and browse, where people can delight in the new, and where purchasing was only a secondary consideration. He embraced spectacle, entertainment and showmanship and was ahead of his time in understanding experience-led culture. His customers enjoyed interactive displays and new experiences they couldn’t have anywhere else. The foundational idea behind all of this was that there is no greater luxury than a great memory shared. In the 21st century, Selfridges is still a place of experience, of art and ideas, experimentation and collaboration, and particularly in the last 25 years the leadership have been excellent custodians of the original spirit of the brand—both protecting that spirit and translating it into the language of the times. Harry Gordon was right when he said “People will sit up and take notice of you if you will sit up and take notice of what makes them sit up and take notice.”

These principles are more meaningful today than they ever have been, as many retailers struggle to survive or maintain their relevance in an increasingly complex market. The knee-jerk response to change or uncertainty is often a cost-cutting exercise, and often the first budgets to be cut are those allocated to various forms of creative endeavour, with creative teams shrinking in size and capability and key roles being lost or consolidated. This knee-jerk response fails to account for the fact that maintaining a creative edge, and protecting imaginative thinking, is the only answer to staying relevant to your customer.

It is not hard to understand this knee-jerk reaction. After all, on the face of it, creativity does not seem directly proportional to profit. There is, however, a significant relationship that is too often overlooked. Deeper creative thinking combined with higher creative standards leads to a higher rate of innovation, it impacts footfall, customer relationships, the customer experience, and adaptability in an increasingly competitive market—in fact it impacts almost every aspect of a business not least the culture of the organisation. A brand, any brand, is an expression of the creative thinking of the business — its spirit or essence. Creativity is the driving force of the organisation, and not just the gloss on top that can simply be shaved off without anyone, ultimately customers, noticing the impact.

A powerful brand is an emotional tool that captures the attention of its audience to signal a clear message. Now more than ever, brands should be courageous in creating multi-dimensional projects, content and campaigns that reflect the future that we all want to see—interconnected and collaborative, just as Harry Gordon Selfridge once did.

But how do you take what some might think is a risk, and centre creativity right at the heart of an organisation? How do you quell the knee-jerk reactions and resist relying on rational, systemic, left brain thinking that inhibits creative thinking? Quite simply, trusting in instinct and intuition is the key to generating new and diverse ideas and concepts that can reveal opportunities in a business, and capture the attention of audiences and customers. Enabling individuals and teams to take risks, to draw from multiple wells of inspiration, and giving them the space to combine experience and imagination is all necessary to create the conditions for creative thinking.

Here are eight ways to place creativity at the beating heart of your organisation. Each one could be its own field report, but hopefully this offers some fairly simple starting considerations for opening up your business or brand to the power of imagination.

1.    FUEL FOR THE SOUL

Recognise that customers are more than consumers of goods. They are people, citizens, members of a community, each with a heart and a soul. Consider your destinations as public spaces and aim to answer the basic human need for culture and creativity by designing your campaigns around what people are thinking about and what is meaningful to them. How can you turn issues and conversations into events and activations?

2.    ESTABLISH A CREATIVE NETWORK

Employ or gather a community of creative and rational thinkers to gather, distil and challenge ideas about today in order to develop new possibilities for the future. Try and protect this network from the day-to-day running of the business and give them space to think, experience, and explore.

3.    DEVELOP A CREATIVE CULTURE

Place people and creativity at the heart of every level and function of the organisation. Start with a shared and clear purpose and belief, and establish the values of openness, curiosity and generosity to uncover untapped potential within your business.  

4.    CREATIVE ENGINEERING

The creative process is a highly tuned and rigorous facility that will improve over time in businesses that invest in it as a priority. It is a transformational tool that filters, distils, develops, tests, and refines. The result is pure and concentrated creativity that is unique to your organisation’s needs, and ready to respond to its opportunities.

5.    PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CURATION

Identify a skilled individual or small team to project manage the creative process and be the curatorial conduit between the original idea and delivery. They are the ones who gather the key people, push the conversation, and make the crucial decisions along the way to ensure the original idea does not get diluted in delivery, but improves and expands as ideas and methods are tested.

6.    THE GOLDEN THREAD

The golden thread weaves a narrative tale through all customer experiences. It is what you are about. What vehicles can you choose to draw on to talk about your brand? These could be anything from art, culture, or thought leadership. Be open-minded about what feels true to your business. These narratives should be rooted in authenticity, and if done well, will connect people with your brand long after they have left the destination.

7.    LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLS

Language forms the basis of a creative culture. The way we talk about ourselves and each other establishes a mindset and defines how we talk to the world. A brand book is more than a perfunctory tool, it reflects your creative culture in the form of key words, phrases, and images that clearly communicate your brand. This is the language that will set you apart from your competitors.

8.    INTUITION AND MAGIC

If you trust in intuition, and give it the space and conditions to flourish, the magic will happen. And remember all you really need to do is “sit up and take notice of what makes people sit up and take notice” – Harry Gordon Selfridge.