<div class="gn-article"><div class="gn-hero gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-hero__image"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/68fa123e354636408588e635_651d3d5a31649e8388fb877f_64db9cd51230008a949929e9_Putting%252520the%252520Creativity%252520back%252520into%252520Creative%252520(3)%252520(1).png" alt=""></div> <div class="gn-hero__head"> <span class="gn-kicker"><span class="dot"></span>Growth</span> <h1 class="gn-title">Round-up: How to Get More from your Creative Strategy</h1> <div class="gn-meta"> <strong>The GO Network</strong> <span class="pip"></span> <span>8 September 2023</span> <span class="pip"></span> <span>4 min read</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="gn-body"> <p class="gn-lede gn-reveal">In today's digital age, consumers are frequently <strong>bombarded with brand messaging</strong> across various platforms, yet research suggests that <a href="https://www.bbh-labs.com/most-marketing-is-bad-because-it-ignores-the-most-basic-data/" target="_blank"><strong>only 16% of advertising</strong></a> is both recalled and correctly attributed to a brand.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">However, creative campaigns done right are proven to deliver <strong>stronger results for your brand</strong>, with an increase in awareness and brand loyalty.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">In our latest workshop, 'Putting the Creativity back into your Creative – Investing in your Brand Strategy', our experts discuss the self-imposed limits on <strong>when and where to invest in creative outputs</strong> across different elements of your brand strategy, along with practical guidance for putting creativity <strong>front and centre of your marketing activation</strong>.</p> <p class="gn-reveal"><strong>Our experts:</strong></p> <p class="gn-reveal"> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-bilney/" target="_blank"><strong>Grace Bilney</strong></a>, Creative Strategist, <a href="https://redhousebrand.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Redhouse Brand</strong></a><br> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/immyewbank/" target="_blank"><strong>Immy Ewbank</strong></a>, Digital Strategist, <a href="https://www.visualsoft.co.uk/" target="_blank"><strong>Visualsoft</strong></a><br> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-weldon-80a04624/" target="_blank"><strong>Laura Weldon</strong></a>, Founder and Creative Director, <a href="https://studiolwd.co.uk/" target="_blank"><strong>StudioLWD</strong></a><br> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickemmel/" target="_blank"><strong>Nick Emmel</strong></a>, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder, <a href="https://www.mrpresident.co/" target="_blank"><strong>Mr.President</strong></a><br> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-long-546028a/" target="_blank"><strong>Simon Long</strong></a>, Global Executive Creative Director, <a href="https://imahome.global/" target="_blank"><strong>IMA-HOME</strong></a> </p> <p class="gn-reveal"><a href="https://www.thegonetwork.com/events" target="_blank"><strong><em>View our upcoming events calendar</em></strong></a></p> <p class="gn-reveal"><strong>In this Article:</strong></p> <p class="gn-reveal"> <strong>Framing where creativity sits within your brand strategy</strong><br> <strong>The evolving nature of creativity within marketing</strong><br> <strong>How to get more from your creative strategy</strong><br> <strong>Demonstrating ROI with your creative activation</strong> </p> <p class="gn-reveal"><strong>READ OUR KEY LEARNINGS FROM THE SESSION BELOW, OR WATCH THE FULL WORKSHOP <a href="https://www.thegonetwork.com/resources/playback-putting-the-creativity-back-into-your-creative-investing-in-your-brand-strategy" target="_blank">HERE</a></strong></p> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">Framing where creativity sits within your brand strategy</h2> <blockquote class="gn-blockquote gn-reveal">"Your creative and brand strategy should <strong>work in harmony</strong>, there is a tendency to view creative campaigns in silos, whether that be a quarterly or yearly focus – but you must think about <strong>how they feed into the wider picture</strong>."<cite>Laura Weldon · Founder and Creative Director, StudioLWD</cite></blockquote> <blockquote class="gn-blockquote gn-reveal">"<strong>A business should have a strategy – full stop</strong>. We've all got one fundamental aim, which we're working towards as a business, therefore having a creative strategy as a separate thing to that is nonsensical. We should be looking at creative ways to <strong>solve those problems</strong> that block you from achieving your business objectives or goals."<cite>Nick Emmel · Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder, Mr.President</cite></blockquote> <p class="gn-reveal">View our Round-up: <a href="https://www.thegonetwork.com/news/round-up-4-things-to-know-before-investing-in-a-creative-campaign" target="_blank"><strong><em>4 Things to Know Before Investing in a Creative Campaign</em></strong></a></p> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">The evolving nature of creativity within marketing</h2> <aside class="gn-quote gn-reveal"><q>Modern creativity requires you to think longer, not bigger – meaning ideas that can travel further across channels, commerce, and culture.</q><cite>Simon Long · Global Executive Creative Director, IMA-HOME</cite></aside> <p class="gn-reveal"><strong>Simon</strong> says, "in today's marketing space, big ideas come and go, therefore <strong>modern creativity requires you to think longer, not bigger</strong> – meaning ideas that can travel further across channels, commerce, and culture.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Furthermore, <strong>we're now talking with consumers not at them anymore</strong>, so these longer lasting ideas can start to transcend that customer journey, whether it's physical or digital.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Ultimately from brands to agencies, it's more of a <strong>mindset shift</strong> – if you start to think longer, not bigger, you can further improve the effectiveness and efficiency of these ideas.</p> <figure class="gn-fig gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-fig__media"><img alt="Simon Long, Global Executive Creative Director, IMA-HOME on Modern Creativity" src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6877701b88030d58f11ac053/6a16dcbf03917c42a9a4a42a_simon.webp" width="auto" height="auto" loading="auto"></div> <figcaption>Simon Long, Global Executive Creative Director, IMA-HOME on Modern Creativity.</figcaption> </figure> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">How to get more from your creative strategy</h2> <h3 class="gn-reveal">Resonate with your Audience</h3> <blockquote class="gn-blockquote gn-reveal">"Be efficient with the time that you have by <strong>preparing a plan</strong> to make sure everything is setup correctly and assets are ready. But also, part of that plan, is having those first-party insights to ensure <strong>your strategy resonates with your audience</strong>. For example, putting a poll out to your target audience on when they would like to be hearing about Christmas, you can then <strong>use these insights to get buy-in and craft your strategy</strong>."<cite>Immy Ewbank · Digital Strategist, Visualsoft</cite></blockquote> <p class="gn-reveal">View our Round-up: <a href="https://www.thegonetwork.com/news/round-up-5-ways-to-get-more-from-your-marketing-data" target="_blank"><strong><em>5 Ways to Get More from your Marketing Data</em></strong></a></p> <h3 class="gn-reveal">Create a Behavioural Change</h3> <blockquote class="gn-blockquote gn-reveal">"If you are coming up against issues or problems with your creative, <strong>it's important to create a behavioural change internally</strong>. Make sure everyone's voices are considered – if they feel like they're part of the process, you tend to get easier <strong>buy-in</strong> and things run a lot smoother. A simple way of doing this is <strong>undertaking a company-wide questionnaire</strong> to get people's thoughts and opinions so they feel more involved."<cite>Laura Weldon · Founder and Creative Director, StudioLWD</cite></blockquote> <p class="gn-reveal">Read: <a href="https://www.thegonetwork.com/news/building-an-integrated-digital-marketing-campaign-across-your-digital-performance-channels" target="_blank"><strong><em>Building an Integrated Digital Marketing Campaign Across your Performance Channels</em></strong></a></p> <h3 class="gn-reveal">Have a Creative Brief</h3> <blockquote class="gn-blockquote gn-reveal">"Get a creative brief written to have a clear focus for your creative output. <strong>What is the problem you are trying to solve?</strong> Set that up as succinctly and clearly as you possibly can, and then apply your creativity to coming up with answers to it, this way everyone's working towards a goal that they have pre-agreed with."<cite>Nick Emmel · Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder, Mr.President</cite></blockquote> <p class="gn-reveal"><a href="https://www.thegonetwork.com/news/creative-vs-digital-briefs-where-to-start-with-your-agency-search" target="_blank"><strong><em>Creative vs. Digital Briefs – Where to Start with your Agency Search</em></strong></a></p> <div class="gn-divider gn-reveal" aria-hidden="true"></div> <h2 class="gn-reveal">Demonstrating ROI with your creative activation</h2> <blockquote class="gn-blockquote gn-reveal">"If you find a small area within your marketing or communications that feels less risky, or less noticeable to C-suite, you can start small there, take creative risks, build it up, <strong>and use that as a lighthouse to prove that creativity works</strong>. Then once you've proven that those things develop an internal impact – it's creative, it's fun and it's working – <strong>you're more likely to be allowed from C-suite to take it across other channels</strong> and other strategies. Developing a system on returning on investment is almost part of the problem, as it takes away a lot of the creativity."<cite>Grace Bilney · Creative Strategist, Redhouse Brand</cite></blockquote> <p class="gn-reveal"><a href="https://www.thegonetwork.com/resources/playback-putting-the-creativity-back-into-your-creative-investing-in-your-brand-strategy" target="_blank"><strong>WATCH THE FULL WORKSHOP PLAYBACK</strong></a></p> <p class="gn-reveal"><em>If you're investing in a creative strategy this year, make sure you're getting the most from your time. The GO Network offer cost-free agency recommendations, pitch management, and more.</em> <a href="https://www.thegonetwork.com/get-in-touch" target="_blank"><strong><em>Get in touch</em></strong></a> <em>to get started.</em></p> </div></div> <aside class="gn-related gn-reveal" data-auto="related-reading"> <div class="gn-related__label">Related reading</div> <ul class="gn-related__list"> <li class="gn-related__item"> <a href="/articles/round-up-getting-the-most-from-a-new-era-of-social-media" class="gn-related__link"> <span class="gn-related__category">Expression</span> <span class="gn-related__title">Round-up: Getting the Most from a New Era of Social Media</span> <span class="gn-related__excerpt">Experts from Ponderosa, Genie Goals, and Leith share how to set objectives, prove organic ROI, and prioritise paid social for next year&#39;s ac</span> </a> </li> <li class="gn-related__item"> <a href="/articles/investing-in-pr-finding-a-measurable-strategy-for-your-business" class="gn-related__link"> <span class="gn-related__category">Expression</span> <span class="gn-related__title">Investing in PR - Finding a Measurable Strategy for your Business</span> <span class="gn-related__excerpt">Experts from Whiteoaks, PR Agency One, and Impression break down how to measure PR ROI, fix common misconceptions, and make the case for sma</span> </a> </li> <li class="gn-related__item"> <a href="/articles/round-up-5-ways-to-get-more-from-your-marketing-data" class="gn-related__link"> <span class="gn-related__category">Expression</span> <span class="gn-related__title">Round-up: 5 Ways to Get More from your Marketing Data</span> <span class="gn-related__excerpt">Stop drowning in vanity metrics. Agency experts share 5 proven ways to unify siloed data, extract real insights, and prove ROI to your C-sui</span> </a> </li> <li class="gn-related__item"> <a href="/articles/putting-the-creativity-back-into-creative-investing-in-your-brand-strategy" class="gn-related__link"> <span class="gn-related__category">Expression</span> <span class="gn-related__title">Putting the Creativity Back into Creative - Investing in your Brand Strategy</span> <span class="gn-related__excerpt">Creative campaigns deliver 11x ROI, yet most agency teams hit self-imposed limits. Discover where creativity fits in brand strategy and how </span> </a> </li> </ul> </aside>