See all blog posts

Event Recap: Harness Your Creativity

September 12, 2016

AMA Minnesota had the pleasure of hosting Tim Brunelle, VP Creative Director at BBDO Minneapolis, on September 6 at Rojo Mexican Grill. Take a quick glance at Tim's bio and you'll see that his lengthy creative marketing expertise and well earned creative awards are just a few reasons why a full room gathered to listen to him present helpful tips to "Harness your creativity."

Tim started out his presentation by reminding everyone that there are ways to be creative even when you think you're not. We should always keep in mind that:

  • Everyone faces the blank page, but it's up to you to fill the page because you signed up for the job.
  • Running out of ideas happens to everyone. The right ideas will come when you have ideas, but in order for this to happen you also need to be rested.
  • Nobody really cares how you come up with the idea - they care about the results of your idea.

Brunelle had three more key creativity takeaways to share with the creativity seekers.

1. Creative Briefs

  • The first step to harnessing creativity. A creative brief is a transaction point from a business challenge to an actionable creative opportunity
  • Really great briefs require quality and thoughtful consideration in order to generate the fuel and inspiration for great ideas
  • Tim's take home tip: Read 'Truth, Lies and Advertising' by Jon Steel for insights on writing a smart and well-thought-out creative brief

2. "Can-if"

  • We can't change the rules, but we can change the nature of the conversation
  • Forces everyone to look at ideas in a different light and also teaches people to solve problems and find answers versus identify barriers
  • Reminds us that we are people who look for solutions not people who hide behind obstacles
  • Recommended read to learn how to transform challenges into opportunity 'A Beautiful Constraint' by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden

3. Remove Constraints

  • Think outside the box to connect your creative dots
  • Develop ideas by using various methods of arranging ideas - such as a timeline, pyramid and clustering

With all the inspirational tips Tim shared at the event, creativity sparks should be popping up everywhere across Minneapolis/St. Paul.