Inspiring Creativity

I was in DC this week for the DTC Perspectives National Conference ... an annual event where consumer marketers of health and wellness prescription products gather to network, learn, and share.

The week started out with an induction into the Hall of Fame, which was an amazing experience.  A cocktail party and dinner with colleagues closed out Tuesday.  Then on Wednesday I hosted a panel discussion with the primary goal of inspiring creativity.  To pull it off I had to call in the professionals!

I called in the Brandcenter at VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University), where I am also on the Board.

The Brandcenter is the #1 graduate program in the country for branding/creativity/marketing.  So who better to help inspire creativity in the conference attendees.  So naturally I was thrilled when the Director (Helayne), a Professor (Kelly), and a local alum (Jamin) agreed to join me!

Yes our goal was to inspire creativity by taking the attendees out of the pharma box ... by showing examples of great creativity in other industries.

We started out with the Honey Maid campaign, which I have written feverishly about.  Love the brand's bravery in the line of fire, sticking up for its consumers.

We then took a look at a really interesting campaign from Dick's Sporting Goods.  "Sports Matters" indeed:




We also spoke about storytelling, and the subtle use of emotion with this spot from Apple:





But the favorite of the panel was this little ditty from Coca-Cola, showing how being "human" can make a real connection:




It was a lot of fun ... wish you were there!

What's your experience?  JIM.