Mary Beth Kemp

I’ve just finished reading “A Whole New Mind – Why right-brainers will rule the future”.  In it, Daniel Pink explores the growing importance of storytelling, meaning, empathy, and concept.  Leaders will need to see the big picture and connect the ‘relationships between relationships’.  So, inventors and creative types are the future. 

Great news for the art student that I was and for those many hoping for a Lion at the Cannes Festival this week. 

Isn’t the nature of creative changing?

First, consumer participation is altering the way we tell the story. In fact, brands and agencies don’t even get to tell the whole story anymore (maybe they never did, but it was less visible before).  Good storytelling has become like my memories of childhood campfires, where one person starts a tale and you go around the circle, each person adding a section. 

Sometimes the result is great and sometimes the narrative takes an unexpected turn. That first idea structures what happens, as does the relationship between the players. 

The second shift is about those relationships or connecting the dots.  Brands will need to become that adept person at a cocktail party who gets others to chatter. Would Dove’s Evolution campaign have won the Grand Prix last year if it hadn’t built such a resonance with the audience?

Dove’s sucess demonstrates Daniel Pink has got it right about empathy being a critical trait. Agencies will need to listen to pick up important themes from key consumer communities… then work their creative magic to shape a brand story that interests them… and then facilitate the discussion.

This evolution to conversation is the most important creative change I see.