Why marketing innovators should act like artists

marketing innovators

I recently attended (virtually) the Drucker Global Forum and was inspired by a talk from Margaret Heffernan, a professor at the University of Bath. She said that marketing innovators should act like artists.

I loved this idea and wanted to share it with you. Here is what she said:

“What does an artist do? They notice, they investigate, they seek to understand what’s really going on in the world. Then they ask themselves this question constantly – ‘what can we make of it?’

“How can we make something that’s really positive, that’s relevant that speaks to people, that is meaningful and has value? They have a fearless imagination and endless capacity to experiment. They change before they have to. They keep moving. And they recognize that they often fail.”

That resonated with me!

She also said that leaders today also need to see themselves as doctors. Businesses can’t survive when the country isn’t healthy (referring to a Peter Drucker quote). This is why corporate social responsibility is integrated into business and marketing so tightly. If we don’t contribute to the health of society, our businesses won’t be successful in the long-term.

If you love these ideas, you’ll love our new Marketing Companion podcast episode. Brooke Sellas and I discuss this concept of the marketer as artist, why Mark is suffering from lawn porn (no joke!), why L’Oreal’s online make-up filters are about to change meetings forever (what an idea!), why marketing needs some marketing, and the reason Ryan Reynolds might be marketing’s keenest mind right now.

So much goodness in one 30-minute podcast episode. You can’t miss this. Just click here to listen!

Click on this link to listen to Episode 207

Other ways to enjoy our podcast

Please support our extraordinary sponsors. Our content is free because of their generosity.

Many thanks to our friend Scott Monty for the awesome show intro. Be sure to check out his amazing newsletter Timeless and Timely.

Tim Washer is contributing creative direction to the show and he’s has worked for Conan O’Brien, John Oliver, among others. He helps corporations build more creative cultures.

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