A light touch, communicativeness and openness, a willingness for continuous development, initiative and commitment – these are requirements that regularly appear in all kinds of job postings for PR specialist positions. Very often, there is one more: creativity. Thanks to it, creating clients’ image is not just copying patterns, and building communication strategies is not merely writing a dry document. The so-called open mind is an indispensable trait of a good PR professional. However, creativity can be learned, and if we work in an industry that is not called creative without reason, it must be exercised. How to do it and where to find sources of inspiration?Write down ideas, sing in the shower, gather feedback, break the rules, take breaks, try new things, stay curious, surround yourself with resourceful people, laugh often, make task lists, watch movies, have conversations. The Internet offers a wealth of tips on what to do to keep your creativity at a high level. Although some seem absurd, there is a lot of truth in them. After all, the best inspiration for a PR professional is all aspects of life and the entire surrounding world.Watch the world and observe othersThe truth about working in a creative industry is that it’s hard to put it into rigid frameworks. It’s not a usual eight hours from 9 to 5. Here, you work also on vacation, at parties, at the cinema, or even while sleeping. Don’t expect anyone to treat this as overtime, but don’t be alarmed either. The point is that inspiration for a PR professional is everywhere, and good ideas don’t come only during official working hours. That’s why being observant and having an open mind is so important. The perfect solution for a client’s image can also be found during a summer holiday, and a media topic while watching a movie or reading a book.
It’s good to daydream a bit, but you also have to keep your feet on the ground. It’s important to constantly keep your finger on the industry’s pulse – follow marketing portals, social media fan pages, read PR guides or advertising case studies. Observing what others do is not only a source of knowledge about trends in the industry but also a mine of ideas. For the same reason, it’s worth monitoring the activities of our clients’ competitors. However, it’s not about copying ideas, but about understanding what works well and what doesn’t. Sometimes you can also try to creatively develop an observed idea. Equally important is staying up to date with what’s happening in the media industry, knowing their market, and understanding which topics are attractive to them. A valuable professional habit is to watch lists of patrons on all kinds of posters or citylights.Step into the client’s shoes and don’t be afraid to have funIt may not be easy, especially when we talk about a millionaire who goes on vacation on his own yacht and flies to work by private helicopter, but to come up with an idea valuable to the client, you have to put yourself in their shoes. What’s the use of finding a solution that seems great to us if it doesn’t align with the marketing strategy? For our ideas to be not only creative but also effective, we need to thoroughly understand the client’s needs and the industry they operate in. This sometimes means learning about fields and areas of life we know nothing about, but even that can be very inspiring. The clash of existing experience with knowledge of completely new topics can yield surprisingly interesting results.
When working on creative solutions for a client, you must know their needs, industry, and product. However, an open mind requires maintaining some distance and lightness and simply enjoying working on the topic. This is not difficult if your client’s product has magic in its very name. To fully understand how the interactive floor Magic Carpet produced by Funtronic works, you literally have to feel like a child for a moment. It is even easier when your client is the Ice Dream ice cream shop, where everyone composes their own dessert by layering favorite Italian ice cream flavors and fancifully decorating them with shiny and colorful toppings. Interesting threads can be found even in strongly specialized or industry-specific topics.
To sum up the topic of inspiration in a PR professional’s work – it’s good to know your industry, the client’s needs, and sector, but above all, keep your eyes and ears fully open at all times. In other words – don’t be like that figurine of three monkeys, one of which doesn’t look, the second doesn’t listen, and the third doesn’t want to say anything.
Author of the text: Michał
