Quack Quack

Just when I was about to write about who I consider creative, I remembered this video...

I guess as a business student, I find creativity in marketing plans or ads. I always wonder how they come up with such campaigns and if I can make something that creative some day. When I first saw this video, I was truly amazed with the concept or the thoughts put into this campaign, I was like... "How much more creative can you get???" 

I believe an effective marketing agent or consultant is an embodiment of what a creative person is, which is, as how Sir Ken Robinson would put it, someone who has original ideas that have value. The value of marketing campaigns can be reflected on profit or awareness or basically the reaction of the customers and it is not always easy to please them. With the conceptual age at hand, the market is more dynamic more than ever. The power lies not anymore on the business, but on the customer. What a customer wants now may not be what they want tomorrow and so businessmen are challenged to come up with marketing strategies that would create value for what they have to offer. Basically, marketing plans should be able to "sell" their product... of course the only way they will be able to do this is if they have the ability to be creative.

AFLAC Duck Campaign

As I've mentioned earlier, I find creativity in marketing campaigns and I think the AFLAC Duck Campaign shows how it is so. The case study basically presents how the mere use of senses can create a big idea. The company was struggling because not a lot of people knew about what the company had to offer or even the company itself.
Because of the poor brand recognition, the company decided to hire Kaplan Thaler Group (KTG), an ad agency. While some of the agents had some trouble memorizing the name AFLAC, they decided to practice saying it over and over again which made them notice how the name actually sounds like a duck quacking... and this is what arguably saved the company. Sir Ken Robinson said something like creativity occurs when there is an "interaction of different disciplinary ways of seeing things..." I believe this is what happened with the agency. The case does not specifically indicate who the came about the idea to make a duck the spokesperson for AFLAC, but I do believe and consider that person as a creative thinker. That person was able to see the name in a different way, and he was able to see an opportunity not everyone would be able to notice. His/ her idea was originally thought of, totally random and unexpected if i may add, and it resulted into a very high recognition for the company. This person was also able to engage into intersectional thinking which I understand basically as focusing on the quality of information not quantity. The Medici Effect of Frans Johansson expresses ideas on intersectional thinking and how it can be used in marketing and product development. He says in an interview that: "Increasingly I think that marketing and product development should be much more taking advantage of the diversity of cultures that exist in our society - leveraging the diversity we have globally. It’s not happening even remotely to the degree it should." Also, his book indicates how interdisciplinary approach can set a group apart which can lead to the discovery of more valuable things. KTG's agents were able to merge a simple idea, well it could be a pre-school idea of a quack, and a brand name. This opened a lot of possibilities for the company. They were able to draw a lot of gimmicks with just the premise that AFLAC sounds like a quack. I believe they were also able to carry out divergent thinking as they have produced many different ways to solve the problem and also different ways to look at it.

Sources:

http://marketing-case-studies.blogspot.com/2008/01/aflac-duck-2000-campaign.html

http://creativegeneralist.blogspot.com/2006/09/creative-generalist-qa-frans-johansson.html

School, Schmool

In grade school, I was very competitive. Education was about the grades and nothing else. I would always prioritize Math, Science and English over Music and Arts for the basic reason that the last two were only .6 units. That’s how the educational system made us operate, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either. Although Sir Ken Robinson’s “The Arts and Education Changing Track” was referring to US education system, it was very much like how it was in my school.

The crisis in the text lies in what I learned in my Leadership and Entrepreneurship class abroad. Creativity was given very much importance because of the ideas on leadership and innovation. In the past, Intelligence Quotient (IQ) tests have been administered to predict someone’s capabilities to act as a leader. The only criterion for a good leader was the academic intelligence. Luckily, the multiple intelligences determined by Howard Gardner were given consideration. These multiple intelligences included the following: linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, musical intelligence, bodily- kinaesthetic intelligence, spatial intelligence, naturalistic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and intrapersonal intelligence (Smith, 2008). These intelligences that are associated with the arts and what are called 'personal intelligences’ tell us that leadership encompasses various disciplines, these make up a transformational leader (Mandell & Pherwani, 2003). With this said, no leader can be transformative just by being academically excellent. And as the text states: “the current system doesn’t need to be improved; it has to be transformed”, we are in need of transformational leaders, those who give value to imagination, creativity and innovation. Basically, it is true that although the current education system pursues creating people who will be economically competitive, it does not produce such. 

As a Communications Technology Management student, I believe that creativity is what stimulates my academic learning. I've learned to look beyond my grades because I have engaged in other fields. I have learned to actually listen and appreciate lessons because of the different approaches taken by educators. 

Sources:

Mandell, B., & Pherwani, S. (2003). RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE: A GENDER COMPARISON. Journal of Business and Psychology , 17 (3).

Smith, M. (2008). Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligences and Education . Retrieved January 27, 2011, from Infed: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm

What's Yours?

Date: November 12, 2010            Place: NSW, Australia

My childhood friend, Janelle, invited me to go a birthday party in the city (Sydney). Of course, the very sociable person that I am said yes to that offer. The train ride to get to Janelle’s was about three hours, I had to switch trains twice. From the university station in Newcastle called Warabrook, I had to transfer to Hamilton and then transfer again when I was in Strathfield. It was almost the end of JTA semester for me and finals week was coming up. I was deciding between spending my last few weeks focusing on studies OR making the most out of my JTA experience... I guess you’ve figured out what I decided to do. I’ve got my priorities straight! [Yes, that is sarcasm:)]

Sing-along. Back to the train ride, as I boarded the train from Hamilton, I noticed a group of young Samoans [can I just say, Samoans have nice bodies!haha. Disclaimer: they were wearing sandos]. I had around 170 minutes left to spare so I decided to sit near these youngsters, just in case they decide to be friendly. My train rides to Sydney were always with old people so you have to understand my enthusiasm for seeing people my age. After some time, they started playing songs like “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz and “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy. I was trying to sing along with them without letting them notice. I would like to think I’m a very musical person: I can TRY to sing...if I’m any good at it, that’s another story. After several songs, they started playing something I wasn’t quite familiar with. The song goes “There’s a pretty girl on the train... (something something) can’t stop looking at her...” Did I mention already how very modest I am? [Hahaha] I didn’t even bother to look around, I assumed they were singing about me [feeling, I know!]. I tried to hold it in but I couldn’t so I smiled without looking at any of them. I guess one of them saw me smiling because after that, one of them just stands up and says, “Hi! My name’s Chris, what’s yours?”

Ego-boost. I couldn’t help but giggle. It was a bit flattering [oh who am I kidding, it was very flattering] that someone would be interested in me. I felt very pretty that day [haha!]. I told him my name and he started asking questions. He noticed how my name was Christian-y. He was right: my name was actually derived from Our Lady of Lourdes. I told him about my family: I’ve got two sisters and two brothers; I’m the fourth child; I was the youngest until my brother was born seven years ago. He asked me about my age, he couldn’t believe I was only nineteen. He says I looked very mature; he wasn’t the first to say that. I guess it’s from hanging out with older people most of the time. I could be childish too though, especially when I’m hurt. Anyway, I was very friendly, as I’ve mentioned earlier, I’m quite sociable plus I don’t really mind talking to strangers when I was in Australia. I noticed that he had a rosary around his neck and a wooden bracelet with the pictures of Mary on them; he also had a tattoo. I try to notice everything. I like putting meaning into the smallest things which is probably why I tend to over think. We talked about religion for a bit because of the said bracelet and rosary, I told him how I’m part of Catholic youth organizations and how I serve at church. I couldn’t help but ask about his tattoo. I’m known to be the girl who has no filter (this translates to me being too frank, too honest and too talkative). I found out his tat was the name of his grandmother. I found it adorable, even if he thought I was judging him. I’m very open-minded even if I grew up with conservative parents. I don’t really like being judged so I don’t judge other people. I like thinking I can do whatever I want and that carpe diem is the way to live but sadly, there’s more to life that just me, myself and I. So I guess I should stop talking about myself now. :)