I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

When I started working in social, literally no one had it in their job title. Today? Almost a million people do globally. (It’s part of why we’re hosting Social Fresh 2026 in March, but more on that in a minute.)

And nearly every marketer (title or not) touches social every single day.

It’s wild how fast that happened.

The scale is almost absurd

Over 5.6 billion people use social.

That’s 62% of the world’s population. It’s how we connect, get information, and shape culture. Social drives news cycles, elections, fandoms, and entire industries from sports to fashion to finance.

Try to think of an industry social hasn’t rewritten. I’ll wait. (Maybe basket weaving?)

Social started taking over the moment feeds landed in our pockets. It became — and still is — our default shortcut to connection and culture (for better or worse). We scroll to learn, escape, aspire… and sometimes stress ourselves out.

Here’s where it gets interesting for marketers

Social now touches every piece of the marketing stack. Your PR, content, brand, performance, sales… all of it runs on social to some degree. Many teams almost exclusively.

Even AI is getting most of its fresh training data from Reddit, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

But here’s the thing that matters most:

Social works best when it feels small.

Your friend’s voice. Your favorite creator. A niche community. A CEO showing up authentically.

That contradiction (massive scale that only works when it feels intimate) is what keeps me thinking about this industry. And why gathering offline still matters.

The most important conversations? They still happen in rooms, not comment sections.

Social Fresh 2026

If social is the operating system for marketing, we need spaces where the people running it can compare notes, share experiments, and stay human.

That’s why on March 19–20, 2026, we’re gathering in New York City with a few hundred of our closest friends.

I started working on the first Social Fresh Conference in 2008 and today, it’s evolved into a social-native marketing conference for practitioners who want to know what’s working now and what’s coming next.

Our first speaker lineup just went live: Marriott, Vanguard, Ramp, Meta, IBM, Microsoft, Red Cross, and more.

Get more info here or hit reply with questions. This is our 31st conference, and I’m still excited about it. I hope we get to see you in New York.

Ok, yes, I’m talking about myself here. Introverted is my default. But, I AM learning to get better at challenging my “please don’t talk to me” instincts.

I don’t know how many people share my introverted state in the world, but it turns out there is an equal and opposite force of people who would love to have more talkative grocery cashiers.

A few years back, Jumbo, the Dutch grocer with 700+ stores, introduced the Kletskassa lanes (literally “chat checkout”). It’s an intentionally slow lane where customers can linger, gossip, and reminisce.

One Jumbo customer on Reddit described it as especially used by older customers and retirees.

“Mainly older people use it, I think not just to have a chat but also not to feel rushed.”

Is this polarizing or just smart customization for customer preferences? It’s a great feature to some, perhaps a nightmare to others.

You get connection and a slower pace if that’s what you’re looking for, without taking away from speedy shoppers who prefer speedy lanes.

Another Jumbo customer said when they see people use the slow lane, they can visibly see a lift in their experience.

“Buying our groceries at a Jumbo, I’ve experienced this customer centric initiative ‘live’. I can confirm it visibly makes a big difference to the people using this dedicated lane.”

Jumbo’s chatty lanes have been successful enough that they’re investing in them today, now available in a couple hundred of its stores.

In an economy where service, experiences, and customization are becoming even more important each day, we will see these intentionally fractured touchpoints more and more. Where customers can choose their speed and level of service.

• Want your Lyft driver not to talk to you? Select silent ride.

• Would you rather skip the hotel check-in line? Opt for the digital key.

• Prefer not to use a restaurant menu that 100 other people have touched? Use the QR code.

(Side note, can we please keep paper menus? I guess that’s my version of preferring the chatty lane?)

Jumbo installs its slow lanes mainly in larger stores that also have self-checkout stations. They’re not claiming to cure loneliness, but they think it’s an important option. That choice alone sets them apart, designing for a smaller group, not the masses. In the U.S., that kind of move feels rare. And kind of radical.

It’s something to reflect on. In a world obsessed with faster and frictionless, where can you slow down? Where would “taking our time” be disruptive?

Art/Social/Ad

New ideas are born from brushing up against life, a process I call happy collisions. Here are a few pieces of inspiration to keep the ideas flowing: one piece of ART, one SOCIAL post, and one AD (or a bit of clever marketing).

ART

Helix is a Swedish Elkhound (real dog breed, I promise), and he loves to play the piano and sing along. Follow the link for his artist origin story.

SOCIAL

NYC, still undefeated.

AD

Mapquest finds that rare banger of political post, but mental health relatable. It’s kind of their brand voice now.

That’s not a joke. It’s an actual emergency response metric used by FEMA during hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, and other natural disasters.

To repeat that for those in the back… the United States Government partners with Waffle House (a delicious diner chain) to help it decide how to allocate money and resources after weather disasters. It doesn’t sound real, but it’s true.

They call it the Waffle House Index, and it’s exactly what it sounds like.

BTW, if you’ve never experienced the culinary joy of a Waffle House menu, you have to do it at least once. I recommend getting your hashbrowns scattered and covered (crispy with cheese).

A key part of the Waffle House brand is they’re always open — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — and they take that as a serious commitment.

If you manage to find a FedEx Office that’s open 24/7 these days, consider yourself lucky. But if you’re looking for a 24/7 diner, Waffle House is a sure thing.

Each dot on the above map is a Waffle House location. Green means open and fully operational. Yellow mean it’s running on limited-to-no power or water and serving a reduced menu. Red means it’s closed altogether, which almost never happens.

Waffle House has three limited menus that go into effect when there’s no power, no water, or (and this sounds especially terrible) no power AND no water.

Because of Waffle House’s mandate to always stay open, its data is useful if you’re a federal agency looking for neighborhoods most affected by an emergency.

Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator 2009-2015, famously said:

“If Waffle House is closed, that’s not a good sign.”

Fugate first referenced what would become known as the “Waffle House Index” in 2011 after an F5 tornado hit Joplin, Missouri, highlighting it as an indicator of infrastructure and community recovery.

Imagine you're the head of FEMA, and one of your team members suggests Waffle House is a good reference point for how hard an area was impacted by a storm.

It doesn’t come across as a great idea at first. It sounds like the story behind how someone got fired.

The idea for the Waffle House Index came from FEMA’s field specialists noticing that Waffle House was only ever closed when a local emergency was especially bad. It’s a real resource still in use today.

When I spoke with Fugate about this for my book, he described the Waffle House Index as part of a shift inside FEMA at the time to “think beyond traditional disaster models” and not rely only on government data sources. He said this change in mindset of constantly asking “what if?” fostered “creativity, preparedness, and resilience.”

Waffle House’s system of tracking each store’s status is a proxy built from how bad things really are at a very local level.

This is the part that matters: one of the most effective metrics FEMA uses wasn’t designed as a metric. It was noticed. Named. Then adopted because it reflected something no model could show, how people behave when existing systems fall short.

It’s informal and scrappy.

So much of creativity is built on polishing an idea until it stops offending us. But many great ideas start with a strange hunch. An odd signal. Something that must be noticed through open exploration, not spreadsheets.

So what’s your Waffle House Index?

What unseen “this can’t possibly scale” signal is already telling you something your data missed? Not all useful research or data comes from a structured process. Look for new signals. Be curious.

Art/Social/Ad

New ideas are born from brushing up against life, a process I call happy collisions. Here are a few pieces of inspiration to keep the ideas flowing: one piece of ART, one SOCIAL post, and one AD (or a bit of clever marketing).

ART

Kathleen Ryan’s art is both gross and beautiful. Her giant rotting fruit sculptures scream mold and decay from afar, but close up, you can see beautiful, detailed work made from gemstones, beads, crystals, and sometimes old car parts.

SOCIAL

The most playful and inventive milk packaging design you’ve ever seen, designed by Vera Zvereva (for Russian brand Milgrad).

AD

Beyond Meat has clearly taken on the mantle of snarkiest “meat” product from Steak-umm.

We could all learn something from Martha Stewart about how not to play it safe.

She built her empire on the aesthetic of ironed table linens and carefully manicured gardens. Precision. Properness. Predictability.

Then she went to jail.

“I’m not a billionaire anymore,” she would quip later on a podcast. “Jail took care of that.”

(Weird aside: you can blame the ambitious James Comey for sending Martha to jail.)

When she got out of jail, she started the hard work of rebuilding her media empire. And one of the pivotal yet unlikely steps in that journey involved Martha saying yes to appearing on Comedy Central’s Justin Bieber roast.

She didn’t exactly fit the lineup. The stage was filled with athletes, comics, and professional shade-throwers like Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart, Shaq, and Pete Davidson.

Her team told her it was a bad idea and tried to talk her out of it. Even her daughter, Alexis, weighed in with concern.

“Why are you wasting your time going to California to roast Justin Bieber?”she asked.

Exactly.

It was a sharp left turn from the cookie-cutter brand she’d built in the first half of her career on TV. Martha knew it was a departure, but she’d decided to take more chances and be herself after prison.

She’d never seen a Comedy Central roast before, and that probably made it easier to say yes. “I had no idea they would say such awful things about me on TV,” she later said. “I was able to laugh it off, as I can.”

And that’s the twist. She didn’t fold under the pressure. Her appearance stole the show as she delivered jokes from a cool, calm, and merciless demeanor.

“Let’s get to the reason I’m here tonight,” she told Bieber and a room full of surprised celebrities, “which is to give Justin Bieber some tips to use when he inevitably ends up in prison. The first thing you’ll need is a shank. I made mine out of a pin tail comb and a pack of gum. It’s so simple.”

Martha’s edge?

She’d spent more time on camera than anyone else on that stage, and it showed.

She was comfortable owning a room and owning the screen. Having recently acquired an IDGAF attitude may have also helped.

The roast wasn’t just an unexpected appearance. It was the perfect exclamation point for a reset to her career and public image. One that nobody foresaw, but that Martha’s “yes, and” attitude enabled.

As TIME put it…

“Call it an unexpected, welcomed turn from a star whose perceived image of chilly perfection has too long been ripe for mockery by others. That night, she took control of her image again and gave herself permission to be a realer version of herself.”

And it worked.

Another outcome from that night? The birth of Martha’s gloriously weird friendship with Snoop Dogg. The two would go on to co-host a cooking show, make dozens of appearances together, and build a friendship that redefined both of their brands.

Martha executed a sort of cultural jujitsu that no one could have predicted: evolving past her lowest moment (prison time, business decline) and reframing it as only a blip in her journey to a much richer cultural presence and impact.

The roast did what most down-on-their-luck celebrity brands find impossible… it made her cool again.

Not because she pretended to be someone else, but because she embraced who she was and volunteered as tribute for a public flogging that 99% of us would avoid like the plague.

We won’t all face prison time or fall out of the billionaire class like Martha, but everyone has down moments when the record skips a beat.

When that happens, trust your instincts, be the wildcard, and use your voice to be the honest version of yourself on stage. Taking a few hits doesn’t mean you’re out of the fight.

Art/Social/Ad

New ideas are born from brushing up against life, a process I call happy collisions. Here are a few pieces of inspiration to keep the ideas flowing: one piece of ART, one SOCIAL post, and one AD (or a bit of clever marketing).

ART

Every year, a Melbourne, Australia teacher makes stuffed toys for each of her 20-some students based on their “dream creatures” drawings. Put these in an NYC gallery and they’d sell for tens of thousands. Follow the link for more creatures.

SOCIAL

A great Sanderson quote and a good reminder to own your art.

AD

“Pope yes” by @Popeyes, maybe the most perfect brand social post of all time.

The song Paper Planes went triple platinum in 2008 (over 3 million sold) and hit #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100. What most people don’t know is M.I.A.’s label nearly left it off the album.

They couldn’t get past the gunshots. Four of them blasted dead-center in the chorus. Followed by the sound of a gun cocking and a cash register chime. The hook is clearly about armed robbery, sung by kids, and half of it uses sounds instead of words:

“All I wanna do is …
[bang bang bang bang]
And a …
[gun cocking sound] [cash register]
And take your money.”

Violent. A little strange. Drugs and guns and skulls and bones. “Too much” was the initial label response.

It didn’t matter that the track had a hypnotic beat or that it was built around a genius sample of The Clash’s Straight to Hell, merged into what would become a haunting and globally popular summer jam. The label didn’t hear that. They heard trouble.

And they weren’t wrong. The gunshots did get the song banned from certain radio stations. MTV censored it. Even after the album dropped, it sat mostly ignored.

Then something strange happened.

Paper Planes started spreading from the bottom up, through true music fans that put it into movie trailers, curated playlists, music blogs, “mixtape” CDs. A big tipping point for the show was showing up in the Pineapple Express movie. Millions started listening, looping it, and sharing it. It was a long, unorthodox journey, but nearly a year after release, the song cracked the Billboard Hot 100.

By 2009, the track the label dismissed was nominated for Record of the Year.

There’s an untold and improbable truth about the track, though: Paper Planes was never even finished.

Diplo, who co-produced the track with M.I.A., has said they never completed the second verse. They just repeated the same eight lines twice. There was no bridge. No story arc. No polish. It was the kind of thing most artists would call a rough draft.

But, they trusted the mood. It felt raw, but it felt right to both of them.

They believed the half-finished structure and the off-kilter but infectious energy was doing something that overproduction couldn’t. And ultimately, they were right.

Paper Planes works because it’s not trying to work for everyone. It doesn’t resolve. It doesn’t reassure. It makes you feel something specific, and it doesn’t explain itself. The very things that made it a risk (the violence, minimalism, and repetition) are the same things that made it memorable.

In creative work, there’s a belief in refinement as the path to greatness. That if you just keep shaping, polishing, and editing… the brilliance will emerge. Editing and iteration are A PATH, but not the only path.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do is stop before you’re done. Not all your edges need smoothing. Sometimes the edges are the thing.

Art/Social/Ad

New ideas are born from brushing up against life, a process I call happy collisions. Here are a few pieces of inspiration to keep the ideas flowing: one piece of ART, one SOCIAL post, and one AD (or a bit of clever marketing).

ART

“The weight of love” by Crisco

SOCIAL

Threads post by NYC Ferry

AD

DryWater’s “walking product” video is captivating because it’s so simple. A giant product prop walking into Walmart. PS. I had to look it up, but DryWater is an electrolyte powder supplement. Great name.

As someone who “doesn’t get excited about things enough,” I have to tell you, turning all that work into a real, hold-in-your-hands physical book feels pretty great.

It’s called The Case for More Bad Ideas, and it’s a counterintuitive guide to creativity that will change how you think about ideas.

Fresh ideas and original stories about creativity, all in one practical guide.

Here’s an awesome quote from New York Times best-selling author Jay Baer about the book:

“A quintessentially modern guide to unlocking your latent creativity. The Case for More Bad Ideas is a rarity: equal parts inspirational, motivational, and actionable. Highly recommended!”

And some amazing endorsements from my generous beta readers:

• “Enormously encouraging, has made me a hero at work.”

• “I didn't know how badly I needed to read this book until I started it, and then I couldn't put it down.”

• “Finally, something that is relatable as a creative.”

It’s been a labor of love, and I can’t wait for you to read it.

Buy your copy now (while you’re at it, maybe write a review on Amazon, tell your boss, tell your neighbor, and tell your cousin who just started that new business).

The Case for More Bad Ideas

Here’s the inside scoop…

Bad ideas are the shortcut to creativity.

Don’t make creativity mysterious or untouchable. Instead of focusing on speed, build momentum. Make creativity an active task, and it becomes a renewable resource.

In this quick, actionable read you’ll learn:

• Why most people feel like creative failures & how to fix it

• How to turn bad ideas into great ones

• Why constraints are your best creative tool

• How to start with momentum using the “fast & ugly” method

• When to walk away from your work to unlock breakthroughs

• 3 ways to add more play to your process

• How to collaborate better (and when to work alone)

• How to build a system for creative output and iteration

• How to think divergently and cultivate a beginner's mind

WHY You Should Read This Book

This book offers simple interventions to generate more ideas, challenge assumptions, and improve your creative output. You’ll learn how to create more often, more confidently, and enjoy the process.

WHO Should Read This Book

• Entrepreneurs and leaders seeking better ideas

• Marketers and freelancers stuck in a rinse-repeat thinking mode

• Creators and artists who need to break creative blocks

• Anyone building new things and craving more creativity

I’m so excited to share this book with the world. Grab your copy today. I can’t wait to hear what you think.

Or a bath mat. Or maybe both.

Either way, not the inspirational leaping-off point we usually think of for iconic fashion pieces.

In the early ‘80s, Patagonia was on the hunt for a miracle material. Something lighter than wool, warm when wet (a little gross but ok), and tough enough to survive mountain sports.

The odd solution? A synthetic pile fabric used for toilet seat covers (I promise this is a true story). The first version they found “looked bad and smelled bad but was water-phobic and therefore had promise.” This quote also somehow perfectly describes my childhood dog, Bruce.

The final fabric was cheap, insulating, and machine-washable. But no one in their right mind was wearing it outdoors. There weren’t influencers back then who could trick us into thinking it was cool to wear toilet seat covers. So they had to make it look cool, or at least wearable. The material ticked every other box, so Patagonia said yes to the mess (sorry, had to).

They dyed it blazing blue, trimmed the fluff down, and cut it into a simple zip-up. People at the time recall it still “looked wrong,” like a worn out plush toy.

Most retailers passed. One called it the ugliest thing they'd ever seen (another unexpected parallel to my dog Bruce).

But Patagonia’s bet wasn’t on aesthetics. It was all about function.

They’d field-tested it. It wicked moisture. It kept warm. It weighed almost nothing. And climbers and skiers (who cared more about survival and comfort than style) started to fall for it.

Slowly, the fleece caught on. Then took off.

That fuzzy fabric that nobody wanted became the prototype for a whole new category: technical fleece. The global fleece jacket and vest market grew to $6 billion in 2024. Today, there’s one in almost every closet.

Don’t dismiss an idea just because it looks like a mess. Ugly can often be unproven in disguise.

Art/Social/Ad

New ideas are born from brushing up against life, a process I call happy collisions. Here are a few pieces of inspiration to keep the ideas flowing: one piece of ART, one SOCIAL post, and one AD (or a bit of clever marketing).

ART

Hand Study “Selenelion” by Kathrin Marchenko — Ukrainian textile artist who stitches colorful yarn into transparent tulle canvases, creating intricate 3D-effect artworks that appear to float midair, sometimes giving the illusion of designs embroidered directly onto walls.

SOCIAL

Threads post by Joe Dator — One of those profound thoughts you think is dumb at first, but is actually genius. No notes

AD

CaraVe Creator Ad by Audrey Trullinger — CeraVe’s Michael Cera campaign gives creators a lot to play with by making the brand the punchline and the hype. Audrey runs with it with this deadpan ode while dropping real product info and defending her Michael Cera t-shirt.

Your niece. In 1914.

When the U.S. Postal Service introduced parcel post in 1913, it was meant for packages that weighed 50 lbs or less. But “package” wasn’t strictly defined. And so for a short window in US history, American families started mailing children like they were sacks of flour with good manners.

This wasn’t a joke. This was logistics arbitrage.

Meet Charlotte May Pierstorff.

In February 1914, she was mailed from Grangeville to Lewiston, Idaho (73 miles). Her parents paid 53 cents in stamps and pinned them to her coat. A mail clerk escorted her, safely, for the full trip.

And it wasn’t just Charlotte. Dozens of children were “shipped” via mail routes. Some traveled for miles. Others just a few towns over. They weren’t stuffed in boxes. They were entrusted to the U.S. government’s most reliable system: the mail carrier.

Why?

Because it was cheap. Because it was safe. Because technically, it wasn’t against the rules. This wasn’t lazy parenting. It was creative adaptation.

For families that couldn’t afford passenger train tickets for their kids, parcel post was a brand new, fast system with not-so-well-defined rules.

Kids were packages for a few oddball years, and the mailman became a babysitter.

The weird thing in all this…

Nobody got hurt.
Nobody went missing.
And the system worked — until the USPS shut it down.

The wildest part of the story isn’t that children got mailed. It’s that it made perfect sense, for a moment.

When systems are new, the loopholes abound. Use them.

Art/Social/Ad

New ideas are born from brushing up against life, a process I call happy collisions. Here are a few pieces of inspiration to keep the ideas flowing: one piece of ART, one SOCIAL post, and one AD (or a bit of clever marketing).

ART

Defiant Jazz by Rudy Willingham — Record designed and animated to celebrate the season 2 finale of Severence, featuring the “Defiant Jazz” dance scene from earlier in the season. Brilliant.

SOCIAL

The gravity/no gravity icons are genius. They also turn out to be specific to the Alien cinematic universe, designed in 1978 by Rob Cobb for the original Alien movie as a semiotic standard “for all commercial trans-stellar and heavy element transport craft.” Original Bluesky post here.

AD

From RGA on Threads: “We originally made this for our people to celebrate our new era of independence. And to show how our future as an innovation company is intimately connected to our past. But we thought others might enjoy it as well.

And now a word from our founder...”

The book is out now. Pick up your copy anywhere creativity books are sold.

One of the big frameworks I lay out in the book is how creativity is never a solo act. There is always a feedback loop, even for the most introverted creators (it’s me, I’m the problem, it’s me).

The best ideas don’t happen in a vacuum — they evolve through some version of feedback or at least observation. But not all feedback is created equal.

There are three essential sources or “voices” of feedback in any creative process.

1. Experts – People with relevant experience or expertise

2. Users – The intended audience or consumers

3. Data – Measurable results or impact

I call this the creative feedback triangle.

When you have all three, you create confidence, clarity, and momentum within a project.

One common mistake is leaning too heavily on one source while neglecting the others. It’s a good list to check yourself against when you get stuck.

As an example, for writing my book, here is how I use each feedback voice:

• Expert: Recommendations from other writers, editors, and publishers

• Users: Multiple rounds of edits and suggestions from beta readers

• Data: Measuring where beta readers stop reading

The beta reading software I use is great for this. It allows for simple feedback options for readers to quickly express positive or negative sentiment, and optionally comment with additional context.

The main goal of a book is to help a reader. If they do not finish reading your book, then you have failed. Quick, anonymous reactions make it easier to pinpoint where readers get confused or bored.

DocSend is another great example of software that provides valuable data feedback. It lets you send your startup pitch deck via a tracking link and records viewer activity, showing metrics like time spent on each slide and where they stopped.

This is incredibly useful for understanding how a presentation is engaging (or not engaging) end users.

Next time a project is going slow or you feel creatively stuck, consider if you’re missing one of the three feedback voices. Your best work happens when you’re getting feedback from experts, users, and data.

Thanks for the great response to the first report last month — which led to a 25% increase in subscribers. With that kind of organic response, I’m keeping this series free for now as a test.  

Subscribe now

Let’s jump in to the CREATIVE EDGE REPORT for October 2024

This edition includes examples from TSA, LinkedIn, Liquid Death, Asics, Pluto TV, Toast, Lidl, Zillow, R/GA, The White Sox, Vandy Crisps, IKEA, Diet Coke, and more. There's also a B2B ad report, a joyful consumer branding take, and — as always — some inspiring art.

1. Ememem’s Mosaic Potholes

Instagram / Street Artist

Ememem (not the rapper, not a typo) is a mosaic artist in Lyon, France who transforms potholes, broken stairs, and damaged buildings into beautiful and functional art through his unique "flacking" technique. The anonymous artist fills cracks in the city with tile mosaics and the result is truly wonderful.

WHY IT WORKS

Fixes something ugly that actively slows or harms the city and turns it into a beautiful art that adds culture and identity to the city.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

What disadvantage do you have that you can turn into a positive? What artificial constraint can you put on your work to help it stand out?

SOURCE: https://www.instagram.com/ememem.flacking/

ps. Emenem has also started installing art in the US (Chicago, Bloomington)

2. Simu Liu: An Epic LinkedIn Description

LinkedIn / Actor Creator

Simu, the actor from Marvel's Shang-Chi and Barbi among others, posted to his IG recently that he relaunched his LinkedIn profile. People quickly found this hidden gem in his work experience as an accountant at Deloitte. The “Was aggressively mediocre at job” line is especially good.

WHY IT WORKS

No one expects a celebrity to care about their LinkedIn account, much less find it genuinely funny.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Honest transparency. Bring people along on your journey. Lean into the Pratfall Effect. Look for opportunities to use channels in new ways that will surprise people.

SOURCE: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simu-liu-47946a2b1/

3. TSA BFFs: Pesto and Moo Deng

Instagram / Organic

This carousel of viral friends — penguin Pesto and hippo Moo Deng — is a delicious, lofi meme buffet. And special shoutout to the incredible IG caption:
“Too big babies…
… that have waddled into our hearts and memes. So before they slip away let’s go over a few things.”

WHY IT WORKS

The lofi memes tell a story relevant to the brand. Part of successful lofi content today is putting in a lot of effort while making it look like you created it in a few seconds.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

I tried my best to limit the Moo Deng of it all in this month’s report, but I do love that TSA turned Moo Deng into their own character in an ownable format. One of the better tactics I’ve seen.

SOURCE: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAjiMDlz-pT

4. A B2B Ad Sea of Sameness

LinkedIn / Report

Ads from 6 different B2B brands are shown in the below image. But if I told you these were all from the same brand, you might not object.

Hat tip to Ty Heath who shared multiple slides from this LinkedIn B2B Branding Report. Lots of data and science here. Worth checking the full report if you’re in this space.

WHY IT WORKS

Gives visible and easily identifiable proof of a problem many people already suspect, that many B2B brands look too much alike.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

As would say, look for visible examples with your storytelling that show instead of tell. It works with your writing and visual content like this LinkedIn slide.

SOURCE: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7246489031662780416/

5. Liquid Death’s Casket Cooler

YouTube / PR

Liquid Death has become a billion-dollar business and has seen triple-digit growth for 3 years straight.

They’ve taken brand marketing in the beverage space to a new height and this most recent collab with Yeti is just one more example of the norms they’re willing to break. The Liquid Death campaign auctioned off a one-of-a-kind casket/cooler starting at $1,500 that ultimately sold for $70k.

WHY IT WORKS

This clearly sounds like a bad idea and terrible campaign concept, but Liquid Death’s fans understand the brand’s unconventional and shock-based style of marketing. They’ve come to expect and celebrate it. And Liquid Death has learned how to craft a PR story that the media love.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Find strategic partners, make weird things, and do it with an attention to quality/detail.

SOURCE: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2ItxY2_wihY

6. Asics’ The Desk Break  

TV / Ad

It always helps capture attention when you have established an enemy. Asics’s enemy? Sitting, or more specifically sitting at a desk.

“Look at you, trading your own mental health for free fruit and a wellness Wednesday.”

WHY IT WORKS

Minimal set, great copy, and letting the talented Brian Cox shine.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Identify a common enemy that taps into your customer’s emotions (and if you have the budget hire Brian Cox).

SOURCE: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3XFXcBdXqKE

7. Pluto TV’s Crime Never Pays

TV / Ad

Great contrast here between the initial thriller-style close-up and cutting to an undeniably silly yet brandable potato costume.

WHY IT WORKS

Putting both a celebrity spokesperson with an iconic voice and “regular people” into the same silly couch potato costume makes everything they say more memorable and ties the ad together in a memorable way. Great branding for a FAST TV streamer that needs to drive awareness more than anything.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Using a simple but memorable costume or character enhances storytelling and brand retention.

SOURCE: https://youtube.com/watch?v=-5hE09uXmT0

8. Toast Buys $5k In Gift Cards For Struggling Restaurant

TikTok / Engagement

Toast, the point-of-sale provider, spent $5k supporting one struggling restaurant that was posting about their challenges on TikTok. The campaign has driven over half a million views on related video content and grew their social TikTok followers 55X (admittedly from a very low starting number, but still great!).

WHY IT WORKS

It’s always nice when doing the right thing also aligns with goals. Helping a struggling restaurant is built into how Toast the brand wants you to think of them. Doing so in this public and targeted way to help one store, gives the story more impact.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Look for opportunities to support your customers, stakeholders, or community in a way that represents what you want to be known for. Look for a small way you can help and go as big as possible to create a memorable story.

SOURCE: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7246912047748186113/

9. Lidl’s Air Fryer Fall

Threads / Organic Social

The German grocer’s UK team has their Thread’s content dialed in. Outside of air fryer content, 88% of their posts are about croissants.

WHY IT WORKS

Brat summer was a moment, air fryers are having a moment, and seasonal transitions are always something we all connect with on an emotional level.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Embrace humor, trends, brevity, and cultural references.

SOURCE: https://www.threads.net/@lidlgb/post/C_vNmxMtUDG

10. Inflatable T-Rexes = Home Sales?

Threads / Organic Social

Yes, I had to Google what the plural of “T-rex” is.

It’s a tough housing market these days in the US, so I understand the need to think outside the box. And dressing up 3 people in tyrannosaurus rex costumes to do a photo tour of your house deserves some kind of an award. The copy on the listing also doesn’t disappoint: “Wooded gem with a Dino-mite two-car garage and finished basement! This roar-worthy post and beam home offers 3beds, 3baths, and sits on 1.91 jawesome acres…”

It’s worth clicking through to the original Zillow post below to scroll through all the shots. The home is in Londonberry, NH and is still for sale as of this publication date.

WHY IT WORKS

It’s so out there it feels like a mistake. Why are there T-rexes here? Wait, are they cooking? It goes beyond attention-grabbing.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Lean into absurdity, one of the cornerstones of bad ideas. Plus, it’s October. What costume can you get away with to bring a little more attention to what you’re working on?

SOURCE: https://www.threads.net/@zillowgonewild/post/DA_0HucPdL2

11. R/GA Terrible Idea

Twitter / Organic Social

I talk about bad ideas a lot and this visual by Chapin Clark at R/GA cuts to one of the biggest problems with brainstorm meetings. We like to say “There’s no such thing as bad ideas” but we all know a bad idea when we hear one.

WHY IT WORKS

One of the ways memes work is to exaggerate a relatable moment or emotion. We’ve all thrown out an idea that we immediately regretted as not being good enough. We’ve all done that right? Right?

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Try keeping track of emotional and relatable moments or anecdotes relevant to the types of stories you want to tell online. Pay special attention to vulnerable moments, those relatable mistakes or missteps.

SOURCE: https://x.com/rga/status/1836805030147465515

12. White Sox Loses

Twitter / Organic Social

The Chicago White Sox did not have a great season. It was bad and it has broken their social media team. Late in the season, they stopped posting their losing scores and instead started vaguely alluding to their technically being a score, but it probably wasn’t a good thing for fans to focus on. Mental health and all. White Sox fans and generally all sports fans loved this creative series.

WHY IT WORKS

It’s tough to be a fan when things aren’t going well. Even tougher for the social media team who has to create “engaging” content around a no good, very bad season. Teams usually choose to spotlight the good moments. The White Sox instead chose to troll their own team.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

What are the raw emotional responses you don’t normally share? Look for opportunities to share common emotions or moments that others avoid.

SOURCE: https://x.com/whitesox/status/1837984379030696062

13. Barefoot Grandpa

TikTok / Creator

TikTok user Jaqxtv finds YouTube creators who aren’t getting the views they deserve. It's a wonderful content template that celebrates the underdogs and brings attention (and new subscribers) to worthy overlooked accounts.

The YouTuber featured below, Barefoot Grandpa, went from 84 subscribers to over 135k subscribers in less than two weeks.

WHY IT WORKS

It’s a very heartwarming story to celebrate people who are doing good in the world but not seeing results from their efforts. It gets you invested right away. Maybe you click over to subscribe or learn more about the creator or to see if they got more views from the video.

Another simple but powerful lesson here is finding a source of content that is consistent (there are endless YouTube creators to feature) and giving yourself an easy templated way to create that content. These videos are very simple and all very similar. They’re easy to produce, but still effective.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Find people who are putting in the work, being overlooked, and help celebrate them.

SOURCE: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP88jhvBv/

14. “Cardboard” Ceramic Art

TikTok / Artist Creator

Jacques Monneraud's ceramic art masquerades as cardboard. His remarkably detailed pitchers, vases, and cups are so realistic, that it's hard to believe they're actually made from ceramic.

WHY IT WORKS

Monneraud's work exploits the trompe l'oeil (fools the eye) phenomenon, creating an initial confusion that captivates viewers.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Experiment with the unexpected. Ceramics are hard and shatter when broken. Cardboard is soft and crumbles or folds. Two contrasting materials in one medium.

SOURCE: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP88jmQ9N/

15. Making Library Cards Cool

TikTok / Organic Social

The Monson Free Library in Massachusetts would like you to get your library card while they drop this beat.

WHY IT WORKS

The trending audio truly makes this whole video. The juxtaposition doesn’t hurt either, of your typically very demure, very mindful librarians giving the camera attitude with a little comic sans.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Take something dry and maybe even a bit boring and add it with a surprising audio soundtrack.

SOURCE: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP88jkaVk/

16. Jeopardy Bad Clue

TikTok / Organic Social

Jeopardy blooper here as Ken Jennings gives away the answer when reading the clue. It’s not the most exciting video, but becomes engaging because they typically never share this type of mistake. Adding the visual of the clue with highlights also brings the viewer along with Ken as he reads.

WHY IT WORKS

They’re sharing mistakes with full transparency. A behind-the-scenes look that their biggest fans loved.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Embrace imperfection and show that mistakes can create stronger bonds with an audience.

SOURCE: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP88jkrdA/

17. Vandy Crisps Creator Explainer

Instagram / Organic Social

Potato chip brand Vandy Crisps (and sister brand Masa corn chips) are on trend as anti seed oil snack solutions. Cofounder Steven Arena (aka ReallyTanMan) published this excellent explainer video about the brand and the history of the potato chip. Both of these chip solutions are delicious, but I love the content even more.

WHY IT WORKS

Explainer videos as a category have consistently engaged short-form video audiences. They’re a great storytelling medium that project authority as mini-documentaries. ReallyTanMan has also developed his own explainer video style that feels native to modern social platforms.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Develop in-house creator skills, invest in nuanced storytelling, and build a unique style.

SOURCE: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_A7D8SOZ25/

18. IKEA Sleepfluencers

YouTube / PR

A clever campaign by IKEA where any customer can get free window blinds as long as they don’t mind turning their window into an IKEA ad.

WHY IT WORKS

When we think of free promotions or influencer campaigns, we never think of turning windows into OOH billboards. It’s clever, simple, and delightfully transactional (surprising for a European brand).

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

What type of campaign would let you partner with ANY of your customers? What can you give away for free in a clever way?

SOURCE: https://youtube.com/watch?v=9n_E0EtHHiQ

19. Diet Coke Flat Lays

Instagram / Organic Social

Hat tip to Lauren Nichols for her LinkedIn spotlight of Diet Coke’s recent “gen-Z centric vibes and aesthetics approach.”

When I reviewed their recent IG content, one trend stood out: their modern lifestyle approach to flat lays. Where Diet Coke was not necessarily the dominant star of the shot, but one of many objects in a relatable moment like shopping at Target, being seated for a flight, or getting room service. Additional examples in this series from Diet Coke here, here, and here.

WHY IT WORKS

Flat lays, organizing multiple items together typically for an overhead photo, are a format that’s always worked on social. Especially for beauty, fashion, and food brands. Diet Coke gave it a modern lofi twist that’s somehow still apsirational.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Look to existing trends and formats that you can make your own or tailor to your audience in a new way.

SOURCE: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAWT6cguvxv/

20. Dopamine Brands

LinkedIn / Insight

I came across the below insights deck from Joe Burns on LinkedIn last week that speaks to a new CPG trend he calls Dopamine Design. It’s exemplified by brands like Graza, Goodles, Yellow Bird, Fishwife, and others. And features bright colors, fun illustrations, and a generally joyful vibe.

WHY IT WORKS

Design can be very seasonal. These bright, illustrative brands stand out on today’s store shelves while also pulling in retro ad trends like hand-drawn characters and unique typography choices.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Imagine your product or service is on a shelf next to dozens of competitors. What design or messaging choices can you make that will ensure you stand out immediately from the pack?

SOURCE: https://linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7250082729042526208/

Also, for some reason, all of these light and airy brands remind me of Hendrick’s Gin (one of my favorite visual brands) and their odd but very consistent illustrative cutout look.

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Inspiration for Marketing Teams

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Not necessarily you specifically, but probably you. On average we all do. Taking risks and championing something untested is difficult and scary.

This post is about Formula 1 racing, but it’s real topic is creativity, constraints, and why most of us give up too early on risky ideas.

Drive to Survive, the Netflix documentary series about F1 racing, is a case study that’s envied, imitated, and will be studied for decades to come. It’s why you see dozens of sports docuseries on all the streaming platforms today.

The above chart shows US interest in F1 racing before and after Drive to Survive launched. Google search interest doubled in the first season and is up six times in 2024 (compared to 2017 numbers).

US viewership for F1 has doubled since the show's launch (a staggering rise for a non-American sport). F1 has also added two US races (in Miami and Las Vegas). In 2024, the US is the only country in the world with three F1 Grand Prix races.

The investment in Drive to Survive paid off. But, it almost didn’t happen.

Before 2017, F1 had no marketing team, no PR team, and routinely demanded their star driver stop sharing race videos on social media to tens of millions of followers.

If you wanted something from the CEO, you famously had to fax him. They were cultivating a luxury sport that was out of reach.

When a US media company took over in 2017, they changed leadership and brought in Sean Bratches, a big player at ESPN, to run commercial operations (aka marketing and media). Bratches came up with Drive to Survive and his whole pitch relied on producing a docuseries that would have unparalleled access to what was a very closed-off sport.

In other words, F1 would have to give up creative control. There was one major problem. The top two teams in F1, Mercedes and Ferarri, said no to giving access.

It’s a pretty big leap to produce a TV show that won’t have access to the likely winners of that season.

Instead of focusing on the likely champions, Drive to Survive had to find human-interest stories. They built up characters with rich backstories, including the unfiltered Haas manager Guenther Steiner and the emotive driver Daniel Ricciardo, who’s still a crowd favorite.

It’s a substantial creative constraint for F1 to have their two biggest teams opt-out, and yet they built a show that has changed their industry and how we think about sports entertainment.

A few big ideas here…

1. Know When To Champion New Ideas
   And know when to shelve them. I wrote a whole post on this, but it boils down to three key questions: Are your insights unique? Can they have a significant impact? And will this new idea bring you joy to work on? Bratches knew sports entertainment and believed in this unique idea.
   

2. Invest In Creators

   Giving up creative control is tough. But increasingly, the people who understand how to promote your brand or project are creators. On the highest level that looks like Netflix, Disney, or Mr. Beast. On a smaller but still significant scale, it’s creators, influencers, agencies, and creatives inside and outside of a brand. Or you yourself as a solo creator. These are the tastemakers and risk-takers — tapped into trends, audience preferences, and authentic messaging.
   

3. Invest In Worldbuilding
   Ferrari and Mercedes said no in Season 1, so F1 invested more in narrative, lore, characters, and the setting of F1. Less competitive teams became central storylines. They built a richer world.
   

4. Embrace Constraints As Your Canvas
   Every project has constraints. The key is to reposition the constraints as your canvas. You should question the canvas you are given, but not all constraints are negotiable. At some point, you have to color in between the lines, but no one said you have to use crayons.
   

The 500 billion dollar sports industry is no longer just about what happens live during a game, match, or race. Documenting the people behind a sport, and their stories, is becoming an essential ingredient.

Drive to Survive has proven that change, but it wouldn't have happened if they had given up when faced with major creative constraints.

Invest in the ideas you believe in, even when someone puts a giant wall in your way.

As marketers, writers, designers, creators, or CMOs, we all need fresh ideas that stand out. Finding time for that inspiration isn’t always easy.

I’m building this Report to inspire and fuel your creativity. Each month, I'll share a curated list of creative examples to help you kick-off your next project or get unstuck — sourced from various social feeds, ad repositories, our Social Fresh research, and various obscure corners of the web.

Subscribe now

Let’s jump in to the first CREATIVE EDGE REPORT for September 2024

This edition includes examples from Uber, Pixar, Disney World, Ramp, Red Cross, Coinbase, Dick’s, Fidelity, HubSpot, and Chipotle. We’ve got a botanical garden weigh off, some thrift store art, a book carving, and a Metal Gear 2 shoutout.

1. #CharityShopFriday

TikTok / Creator Art

Why paint on a canvas when you can paint on a clock or a bowl or a rock?

UK painter “Sophie Tea Art” buys a random item from a thrift store each week, takes it home, paints it, and then returns it to the store so they can resell it. 

WHY IT WORKS

It’s magic when an artist can do something that feels like it’s never been done. Each week Sophie makes a one-of-a-kind piece of art from a random object in a different community. She announces these on social and her followers flock to the store. It’s for the community and participatory. 

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

• Artificial constraints: Limiting her canvas to only objects found in each store

• Everyday objects: Bringing beauty to objects everyone will recognize and relate to

• Giving back: Creating the art for free to bring attention (and a little revenue) to worthwhile community orgs

• Experience: Sophie shows up in people’s neighborhoods and interacts with her fans directly at each local shop

SOURCE: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8e9twnD/

2. Big Moments Every Day — Dick’s Olympics Ad

Broadcast TV / Olympics Ad

We’re not all great at sports, but most of us have joyful memories attached to playing as a kid or rooting on our favorite team.

WHY IT WORKS

Dick’s does an amazing job of pulling on heartstrings and tapping into our love of sports (bonus for the Chariots of Fire score). 

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

The Olympics spotlights the best athletes in the world. Dick’s contrasting ad shares amazing moments from amateurs and toddlers, proving they can be just as emotional, if not more.

UGC content gives the ad so much emotion. The white space ads to the effect. I call this the scrapbook format, when an ad leaves space around photos and video on a white or black background. It’s connects to the viewer by emphasizing the sourced nature of the content and adds a perceived authenticity.

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVSNWBPrKGM

3. On Our Way — Uber Olympics Ad

Broadcast TV / Olympics Ad

Bailing on people isn’t cool, but it is relatable. 

WHY IT WORKS

Uber taps into a relatable shared experience: the frustration of someone not showing up. It's a feeling we all know but rarely discuss. They shift the focus from this pain point to highlighting the joy and gratitude that comes from someone actually showing up.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Using UGC, sourced clips, and excerpts from TV/movies emphasizes the relatable and nostalgic feel of the ad. The repeated line "I’m on my way" cleverly ties into Uber’s Share My Trip feature, connecting the app’s UI into the ad.

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSh6Tpx-mRI&t

4. Ramp’s Ramp DMs

Twitter/X, Organic

Are people actually DMing photos of ramps to Ramp? 

WHY IT WORKS

It’s weird to post a bunch of photos of ramps to a brand Twitter account. But it also has all the makings of a meme. A brand that can create its own memes starts to build cultural power.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Try unconventional approaches. Create your own memes. Hire talented social content creators and give them the freedom to experiment with new, untested ideas. Whether this is already happening or something they're trying to manifest into reality, I love it either way.

SOURCE: https://x.com/tryramp/status/1828460130242908578

5. Pixar Cars Glitch

Threads / Organic

Sometimes you just have to break all the (design) rules.

WHY IT WORKS

It’s cringe, but in a way that you… think, maybe Lightning McQueen actually designed it?

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Take a meme (like “graphic design is my passion”) and ask what it might look like for the personality of your brand or one of the characters in your brand world to make it their own.

SOURCE: https://www.threads.net/@pixar/post/C_hr2Euupvg/

6. TrustCloud Meme 

LinkedIn / Ad

Getting something for free, that costs $10k (or over $150k) deserves a meme.

WHY IT WORKS

SOC2 compliance is expensive and increasingly necessary for dev teams. Offering it as a free benefit is pretty surprising. Using a meme to emphasize that emotional response helps drive the message home.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

What feature or benefit causes the most surprise or delight for your product? How can you quickly capture that emotion with a simple visual, metaphor, or meme?

SOURCE: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7222806941834612736

7. World Record Domino Fall

Twitter/X / Organic

I thought this was a cat jumping to its death at first, so naturally I kept watching.

WHY IT WORKS

World records are cool, but you still have to hook people into watching the first few seconds of your video. Throwing a stuffed squirrel at a tower of dominos does just that.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Help the viewer understand where they should look in a video. The red circle highlights the stuffed squirrel as a visual hook, while slow motion keeps them engaged. Strategic framing also hides the rest of the dominos, acting as a teaser to click over to YouTube.

SOURCE: https://x.com/hevesh5/status/1835337139304677609

8. Red Cross Flood Haters 

Threads / Organic

Turn the haters into content.

WHY IT WORKS

We all relate to getting terrible comments on a genuine post that ruins the vibe.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Keep an eye out for these relatable and behind-the-scenes moments that create emotion (positive OR negative). Human moments, even mistakes or flaws, can be shortcuts for helping an audience connect. This Pratfall effect sharing small mistakes can make you more likable.

SOURCE: https://www.threads.net/@americanredcross/post/C-YF6gQOm3p

9. A16Z Games Recruitment 

LinkedIn / Organic

There’s nothing better than an obscure reference to help you zero in on a niche audience.

WHY IT WORKS

If you played the video game Metal Gear in the nineties, then you’ll recognize this artwork as Solid Snake, one of the main protagonists from the series. A16Z wants to hire someone for video game marketing that has experience and knows this history of gaming.

WHAT CAN YOU LEARN

Embrace nostalgia and niche details that resonate with your audience. What obscure reference can spark an audiences’ fond memories of a specific time, place, hobby, or media?

SOURCE: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7221193879616708611

10. King Arthur Baking “Be Kind” listicle

Threads / Organic

At first glance you might see a “Live, Laugh, Love” vibe here. But, mental health is something people want to see more of, baking metaphors and all.

WHY IT WORKS

Like any horoscope, the content feels good, leaves you wanting to do good things, and is easily relatable to almost anyone reading it. 

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

A lot of text memes that get shared on Twitter, Threads, and elsewhere are simple lists that can be easily customized to make them your own.

SOURCE: https://www.threads.net/@kingarthurbaking/post/C-dJdaFuE5c/

11. Chipotle x Spirit Halloween Real Costumes

Instagram / Organic

Have you ever dreamed of dressing up as a Chipotle burrito for Halloween? You’re in luck.

WHY IT WORKS

Every year the Spirit Halloween costume package meme resurfaces and it’s always glorious. Finally, someone asked “what if we made the meme real?” Chipotle partnered with Spirit Halloween to sell these real costumes (Water cup, silver burrito, fork, napkin, and bag) in select stores.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

The costumes are basic (in the best and worst meanings of the word) while also being unique to Chipotle’s stores and how they talk about their retail experience on social. The water cup is always getting used to steal soda, guest take too many napkins etc. It gives the audience a unique IRL experience opportunity and expands the Chipotle brand world with real characters they can create content around.

SOURCE: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_lDxAgvhZ1/

12. #WaterlilyWeighOff24

Tiktok / Organic

One botanical garden asked the important question “How much weight can our waterlily hold?”

WHY IT WORKS

Denver Botanic Gardens started the competition and challenged other gardens. Around 20 gardens across the US and globally participated. The Missouri Botanical Garden won with 145 lbs. Honorable mention to the Toledo Zoo entry because of this unhinged intro.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Contests drive engagement. For these gardens, it’s a “rising tide lifts all boats" situation because they’re mostly not competing with each other, but can collectively raise awareness together. These are smart strategic partnerships. Props to Denver who for starting the contest and putting themselves at the middle of such a successful campaign. This is also another great example of worldbuilding for each garden, building out characters and lore around the team members, flora, and science that make them so special.

Source: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8ewQqyu/

13. Coinbase Native TikTok Ads

TikTok / Ad

Gen-Z TikTok engagement = FOMO + cringe + greenscreen + carousels.

WHY IT WORKS

Coinbase is targeting Gen-Z crypto novices using native tactics with simple FOMO based messaging about how to buy their first Bitcoin. This is one of the top performers of several variations they’ve tested in 2024

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

UGC is on the rise for organic and performance social, but I see most brands still ignoring simple tactical trends that work really well on TikTok and other channels. All of the ads in this series us greenscreen in a native way with the “floating head” affect that moves around the content. It’s low fidelity content that matches the platform. And while most in this series are videos, carousels are performing really well right now on TikTok.

SOURCE: No link

14. Australia Reptile Park

TikTok / Organic

This koala is cooler than me. 

WHY IT WORKS

When you have a koala who thinks it’s posing for a magazine shoot, you do the only that makes sense, you give it a soundtrack. 

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

The wholesome and chill koala oddly fits really well with the song "Nasty" by American singer an songwriter Tinashe. It adds contrast and personality. All of a sudden the koala has an attitude. Take something soft and give it an edge. Take something loud and make it quiet. Play with the tension between the message and the visual.

SOURCE: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8e42XD5/

15. Book Carving Art

TikTok / Creator Art

When creating something new, what you take away can be more important than what you add. 

WHY IT WORKS

When UK artist Shal Mines creates book carvings, she’s sculpting by cutting away the text in a book to reveal a diorama made from the illustrations within. Seeing the hours this takes shortened into a few second on TikTok is highly engaging. 

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Process timelapses are incredibly engaging, whether your creating art or mowing grass. They capture our imagination. This is also another example of artificial constraints and how powerful they can be for creativity.

SOURCE: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8ewytf2/

16. Walt Disney World Video Meme

Instagram / Organic

The secret to great content is to build a few amusement parks. 

WHY IT WORKS

They took a video of the ride that is visually interesting, evokes emotion, and turned it into a video meme with relevant and relatable message. The featured ride is Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom (Disney World in Orlando) 

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

We don’t all have a rollercoasters, but adding text labels to a video and making it into a meme is a repeatable format. Keep this in mind for any interesting video content you come across and ask how it can be used to convey a funny or clever message. 

SOURCE: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C--TeRSuIwP/

17. Confessions of a digital marketer

Instagram / Ad

When a product solves your problem so well you begin to doubt everything. 

WHY IT WORKS

They nailed the tone and humor of this ad. “I have full control of the funnel, but… is it suppose to be this easy?” Funnel.io is a Swedish company advertising in the US market and

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

This is a scripted ad that could have easily fallen flat. The video starts with the unexpected setting of a support group. The lower quality video adds to its authenticity and the counterintuitive copy of the script pulls you in. The on-camera talent also does a great job convincing us of his guilty conscious and doubting the quality of his work now that it’s so easy.

The ad concept gets my attention because it is contrarian. Start with a position that’s opposite what people expect to help capture attention.

SOURCE: https://instagram.com/p/C84U-DZtVVn/

18. Fidelity Scenic

Meta / Ad

The pool is small, but the relaxation is big.

WHY IT WORKS

The ad is aspirational and peaceful. Fidelity is targeting women investors with this stylish drone shot of someone relaxing in a pool in a luxury tropical location. It ties together a feeling a freedom, wealth, and mental health.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

Scenics are video content that typically shows a peaceful or tranquil scene with small pieces of movement or transition. Think of the fireplace videos you put on the TV at Christmas. Scenics capture attention because we’re use to much more happening in a video, especially ads and social content. Bonus points for the ASMR water sounds.

SOURCE: No link

19. HubSpot “Work Remote” Dreams

LinkedIn / Organic

When I grow up, I want to send memes.

WHY IT WORKS

Almost everyone aspires to work remote. Especially in a news cycle flooded with RTO stories. It’s relatable and connects to mental health trends.  

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

You expect the line “ever since I was a little girl” to be followed by “I wanted to be president” or a scientist, gold medal winner, etc. The surprise ending of “I wanted to work remote” taps into a big pain point for modern workers, and breaks the 4th wall a bit. The all lowercase copy and first-person voice all add to this.

SOURCE: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hubspot_ever-since-i-was-a-little-girl-i-wanted-to-activity-7229519828783366144-a5pl/

20. Cheech & Chong Edibles Come For Idaho

Twitter / Ad

What did Idaho do to them you might ask?

WHY IT WORKS

The map and unexpected callout of Idaho creates more questions than it answers and grabs your attention. This ad creative was part of a larger PR campaign that Cheech and Chong created to encourage states like Idaho to loosen their strict weed policies.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN

The minimal map image stands out while also leaning into the middle-funnel ad strategy of answering buying questions to hook an audience into the creative. “If they’re getting questions about shipping, people are buying these (and liking them?)” is the implied message/train of thought.

Idaho still has some of the strictest weed laws, which means no one is allowed any THC products there.

SOURCE: https://x.com/tommychong/status/1811713110471848262

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The movie stood out to me for another reason, though. 

A Quiet Place: Day One

You probably can’t tell, but this title is longer than most movie titles. See that colon in the official title. It’s more popular than ever for colons and ampersands to appear in movie titles. 

Over the last 25 years movie title length has increased 14%. They’re getting longer because of worldbuilding. What do I mean by that?

Big franchises are a big cause here (and yes, Disney is involved). 

For example, check out the epically long title Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl [36 characters]. Most of the longest movie titles come from franchises like Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson, Indiana Jones, Harley Quinn, Pirates, Narnia. 

Hollywood is also making more book-to-film adaptations than ever. See Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day [33]. Reese Witherspoon has helped lead the book-to-movie pipeline with her book club production efforts. 

Even seemingly “shorter” titles are historically longer than average. See Where The Crawdads Sing [20] or Daisy Jones & The Six [17]  (both are Witherspoon book club films).

Big franchises and book-to-film adaptations feed our need for bigger stories. And it’s not just movies, you see it everywhere — in media, entertainment, consumerism, social media, sports, and more.

Look at the 2024 Olympics we all just collectively streamed together. We watched through Peacock, but the larger world of the Olympic Village and athletes was more open to us than ever, largely through TikTok. The Chocolate Muffins alone feel like they achieved their own cinematic universe.

Why do we crave worldbuilding?

Many of you reading this likely have day jobs that boil down to figuring out how to tell better stories. Copywriters, social media marketers, brand strategists, movie directors, PR professionals, etc. We try to craft stories that are relatable, memorable, and trusted.

Those storytelling skills are more useful than ever, but stories can also be improved with scale. 

By telling a bigger story over a longer period of time and within a larger world. Don’t get me wrong, you still need talent and approval to make something that’s not boring, but the scale of the stories we tell is more important than ever.

And that’s when wordbuilding says hello. 

When we evolve from telling a single story within one setting or narrative to building a larger history, geography, and culture that can envelope multiple interconnected stories — that’s worldbuilding. 

Pioneers of worldbuilding like J.R.R. Tolkien in the Lord of the Rings and the creators of Dungeons & Dragons built immersive fictional worlds. They invented cultures, world maps, lore, and entire languages.

These larger worlds become richer sources of inspiration, but they’re also a more detailed playground for our minds to escape into. All without any real-world stakes to drag us down (I’m looking at your Friday AM finance meetings). 

The bigger the world, the larger the escape. AND, the more likely a story moves beyond just entertainment and can become part of our identity. 

We define ourselves through the things we love and invest in. To signal that we're unique and who we want to connect with in the world.

The lessons of worldbuilding are more relevant than ever in media, marketing, and for anyone trying to capture attention or build an audience.

Madison Avenue’s Worldbuilding Heritage

Worldbuilding is not new to marketing. 

I grew up in the middle of North Carolina and as a kid, I remember getting excited every year to go see the Budweiser Clydesdales at Woolworths every Christmas. 

I knew it was clever and some kind of marketing at the time, but looking back on it with my strategist glasses on I’m even more impressed. To bring a beer commercial to life by hosting local events that families brought kids to (again… as a beer brand!) is a pretty special type of worldbuilding. It makes the brand real, wholesome, and relatable in a way that’s incredibly rare. 

Since the earliest days, Madison Avenue has consistently built larger worlds for brands through mascots, jingles, and unique events/experiences.They instinctually knew that the bigger you could make a story, the closer you could bring that story to the consumer, the more meaning it would hold for people. 

The Michelin Man was one of the earliest examples of a brand mascot (1898) and still shows up at Michelin Star Restaurant award ceremonies today.

Kellogg's invented the first world of characters with Tucan Sam, Tony the Tiger, and Snap/Crackle/Pop still crowding the cereal aisle today.

And Betty Crocker essentially owned the kitchen for decades. Betty’s "test kitchen" recipes and cookbooks were mainstays in most American homes throughout the mid-20th century and still get passed down as family recipes today.

What Does Worldbuilding Look Like For The Modern Brand?

Worldbuilding is a concept I’m planning to write more about. But, I’ll leave you with how worldbuilding is impacting marketing today. 

In a digital world of doomscrolling, AI efficiency, and the memefication of everything, consumers crave connection more than anything. They’re searching for identity and trust.

How can a brand create a bigger world and spend more time with an audience?

Two things: owned media + creator studios.

First, let’s talk owned media. I first wrote about the rise of Trust Content more than a decade ago. This is content that allows you to spend more time and more meaningful moments with an audience. It can include events, communities, long-form resources, webinars, and more.

But a sweet spot of Trust Content is owned media — specifically newsletters, podcasts, and video series. 

I love seeing brands like HubSpot build their podcast network and Robinhood launch their financial news media channels. I’m also seeing more startup founders writing on Substack than ever before. 

Owned media lets us spend more time with an audience in more meaningful ways. 

A caveat here. The quality bar for owned media is higher than it used to be. 

If you’re going to invest in a podcast or newsletter, how will it be different? What is your contrast? A 500-word highlight of company news, favorite links, and client case studies isn’t going to cut it.

Lean into personality and research. Hire top people or upskill steadily over time through training and iteration.

Owned media investments are not just opportunities to spend time with an audience. When done well, they can turn into culture. Strong communities create their own traditions and vernacular. Look at Reddit AMAs, OP (original poster), and Karma points. Duolingo has Duo the owl (Duo is watching), streaks, and lingots/gems (their currency). Or Disney’s cast members and hidden Mickeys. 

Engaged media viewers and communities tend build their own little worlds.

Second, let’s get to the buzzword of our time: creators. You may have picked it up already, but owned media requires internal creators. 

When we think of modern “creators” (which a few years ago we were still calling influencers but I digress) we’re really talking about video.

RedBull and GoPro are pioneers at creating internal creator capabilities at a high level.

I’m also seeing more brands invest in talented social media creators and giving them the agency to create something new and unique. Shoutout to the early innovators on Twitter like Amy Brown (the voice of @Wendys), Patrick Wells (the voice of @moonpie), and Nathan Allebach (the voice of @steak_umm). 

In recent years, we’ve seen the modern extension of this work by RyanAir, Duolingo, Flex Tape, and Aviation Gin among others. More brands are taking risks and allowing creators to take the wheel.

The brands that invest in internal creators are the brands that can build larger worlds. In an AI world, this looks remarkably close to real people expressing themselves, helping others, and being good stewards for their audiences.

Take a look at the work you do and the media you consume. Even the traditions you create in your personal life, friend group, or family. Worldbuilding is all around us. And it represents some of our best instincts as humans. Go build.

First, the bad. While teaching my advertising class at Baruch College last fall, I noticed my students’ writing was very formal. At first, I thought it was cultural, as they were all exchange students, but I quickly realized it was AI.

Today, when I see “It’s important to note” or “In conclusion,” I automatically assume the copy I’m reading is from ChatGPT. 

AI overindexes on certain words and phrases so much that it’s changing the internet, which will reinforce those words and phrases even more. 

That’s the bad news. 

AI is incredibly useful, yes. But, we’re starting to rely on it so much that a lot of the “content” we create and “ideas” we share are losing flavor. It’s like eating a spoonful of plain oatmeal. Where’s the cinnamon, sugar, and blueberries?

The word “delve” is probably the most egregious example I’ve seen documented. In the last two years, as ChatGPT and other tools have grown in popularity, use of the word “delve” in scientific papers has increased by over 630%. 

Using AI to write isn’t inherently bad. But when AI creates content without a human filter, the quality will wither. 

And that is, sneakily, the good news.

AI abundance means human content that shows personality and a real point of view will stand out even more. 

The OpenAlex data tells us quite a few scientists are using it to write their reports. And a GetResponse survey from May said 71% of marketers are actively using ChatGPT.

I’m sure most people will learn to edit out these telltale signs pretty quickly and delete every “delve,” “tapestry”, and “fostering” that ChatGPT serves up.  

But, the soul of the content will still feel like it’s missing something. When we meet up with friends or colleagues in the real world today, it’s more valuable than ever. We shake hands, hug, laugh, and look each other in the eye to connect. 

Content that connects finds a way to do the same. Sharing those real, tactile parts of ourselves is what gets remembered. 

In conclusion, instead of delving into an intricate tapestry of transformative sameness, build your voice. Have something to say. And don’t be afraid for it to be a little messy. We need more of that.

P.S. Our Consistently Creative workshop is happening this week (Thursday!). We'll share practical creativity and brainstorming strategies ideal for marketers and content creators. ​Sign up here​.

“The opposite of play isn’t work; it is depression.”
– Dr. Stuart Brown

When we misplace the act of play in our lives, we put ourselves at a disadvantage.

We need to play. 

Both in big splashy ways like carnivals and beach days and in smaller sips when we doodle in our notes or tell bad dad jokes to friends (did you hear about the fire at the circus… it was in-tents).

No one was better at play than Salvador Dali. When he collaborated with Life Magazine photographer Philippe Halsman in 1948 their ultimate creation would become one of the most iconic photographs ever taken.  

The photo, titled Dalí Atomicus, is brought to you by play. 

Dali's first idea for the collaboration was to blow up a duck with dynamite (I kid you not, a real duck), but Halsman refused. Instead, they created a photo where everything would be floating in the air, including three soaring cats and a bucket of water in flight.

It took over 26 attempts to get a shot with the cats, water, and Dali in the right spot, and without the behind-the-scenes helpers accidentally in the frame.

Halsman's playful approach came from his other celebrity photo shoots. When he struggled to make famous people look natural, he'd ask them to jump. He explained, "When you ask a person to jump, their attention is on the act, and their mask falls, revealing the real person."

In addition to Dalí Atomicus, this playful technique led to a series of mid-air photos by Halsman.

Play is like a muscle. 

Using it in small ways makes it easier to embrace bigger, more playful ideas. Regular play boosts confidence and helps you respond optimistically to challenges.

Play more games, create more things with your hands, wander, go on side quests, and be curious.

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In my upcoming book, The Case for More Bad Ideas, I go deeper into the power of play with real examples, best practices, and more on the research behind it all. To get access to more of my bad ideas, find me at my new IG handle @GetMoreBadIdeas.

When we need new ideas, we usually:

1. Google how everyone else is solving the problem or search social for inspo

2. Plan a traditional brainstorm on Zoom (or in a drab conference room)

This gives us something to do but doesn’t inspire creative thinking. When all your ideas feel uninspired, you need divergence—something new to break the mold.

Divergent thinking is exploring unexpected paths. Letting yourself explore unfamiliar places. It’s the opposite of convergent thinking, which seeks a single correct answer.

Divergent thinking is challenging because it requires us to do something new. 

I created a resource, the Better Brainstorming Guide, to help you in these moments. It’s a free list of interventions to help you think divergently.

Here are 3 things from the guide you can try today:

1. Don’t Overprepare

Prepare, but don’t overdo it. A brainstorm brief should be one page, max. Over-explaining limits a team’s ability to escape groupthink.

When brainstorming solo, set time limits. For a blog post, I use a quick outline, 30-60 minutes of research, and 1-3 hours of writing. 

Minimal prep keeps divergent thinking on the table.

2. Introduce Novelty

In 2005, a study on Broadway musicals showed the power of diverse groups. Teams with a mix of familiar and new members produced the most successful shows. For example, the hit show "West Side Story" combined the experienced pair of composer Leonard Bernstein and director Jerome Robbins, who had worked together before, with fresh talents like the lyricist Stephen Sondheim and playwright Arthur Laurents.

For solo brainstorming, use writing prompts, random word generators, or ask how different people might solve your problem (e.g., a scientist or an abstract painter).

3. The 3 Horse Rule

For every winning idea, generate two strong alternatives (the thoroughbreds) and one "favorite bad idea" (the unicorn). This maintains diversity in your creative process by preventing fixation on a single concept.

For example, imagine you're redesigning a video agency’s website. Your 3 horses might look like this: 

• Thoroughbred: A retro site celebrating the history of film 

• Thoroughbred: Focus on highlighting team expertise using UGC vertical videos 

• Unicorn: Use a series of linked YouTube videos as the agency’s website

Instead of converging on one winning idea, this process keeps each idea in discussion longer, giving you more options and unexpected insights.

—

We think of brainstorming as a standard process, but without disrupting how we normally work, divergent thinking typically escapes us. 

Break patterns. 

These tips and the Better Brainstorming Guide will help you go in new directions. Grab the full guide here.

When I open a cookbook, I don’t meticulously follow every recipe from start to finish. Instead, I flip through, looking for one of my favorite ingredients, for me that’s usually something with potatoes. It’s a reference book where you pick the solution that works for your preferences and current needs.

On the flip side, if I want to build the very precise LEGO model of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars, I need their 500-page instruction manual. While relaxing and good for finding a flow state, too much structure means fewer creative benefits. There’s less decision-making happening. If we treat creativity like an instruction manual, the result is more reproduction than creation.

When we have a creative challenge, it’s pretty similar to looking through a cookbook for recipes we love. We skim through the reference books in our brains looking for the right interventions: random facts, brainstorming techniques, unique opinions, and our personal taste.

Your creative process is unique to you. This is true for the most successful creatives in the world.

Consider the fashion industry. Karl Lagerfeld is famous for quickly generating dozens, sometimes hundreds, of detailed sketches as the first step for a new collection. Many in the fashion world emphasize the importance of sketching as the first step in their creative process. This is what fashion schools teach.

And yet some of the most successful fashion designers do not start with sketching.

• Marc Jacobs is known to begin his design process with intricate mood boards

• Vivienne Westwood starts by deconstructing and reworking vintage garments

• Calvin Klein selects fabric first and drapes them on a model or dress form 

There is no wrong way to start a creative process. What works for you is what works. Creativity is about building your reference library of interventions. Your personal cookbook of ingredients and recipes that work for you.

ps. Reminder, to learn more about our upcoming creativity workshop, ​sign up for the waitlist here​.

So it wasn’t a surprise when I noticed a trend among the most successful companies — they all share the same core belief:

Great work takes time.

Making time for great work can be incredibly difficult, and not always in our control, but the benefits are undeniable. Success requires more time for research, incubation, and recovery.

In short, great work requires breaks. Stepping away from work regularly is not only important for our mental health, but one of the keys unlocking new ideas.

According to a survey, workers who take breaks during the day are 13% more productive than those who don't. They also have 62% higher scores for work-life balance (aka happiness?).

We’re also seeing a rise in companies around the world testing 4-day work weeks, specifically because it has shown an increase in productivity and quality of life.

The breakfast epiphany

Jerry Seinfeld tells a joke in his standup routine about Pop-Tarts and how unique they were when they launched in the 1960s. This led him to make a movie about the invention of the Pop-Tart, which was just released on Netflix. 

Seinfeld writes all of his jokes on yellow legal pads with a blue Bic pen. He has a process, and a big part of his process involves not settling for a joke until it is dialed in perfectly for audience response. 

Because of this, he might spend an inordinate amount of time on a single joke. Probably longer than you’d expect. He continually comes back to a joke to replace a bothersome word, adjust the timing, and perfect his delivery. 

“I've probably been working on [the Pop-Tart joke] for two years... It's a long time to spend on something that means absolutely nothing. But that’s what I do.” — Seinfeld 

He spent two years from idea to completion. For one joke. Before he ever performed it on a stage.

Seinfeld’s process includes intentional incubation: active writing and editing, followed by breaks. Refine, rest, and repeat. 

Putting incubation into practice

The best creatives understand the necessity for breaks. They’re willing to work longer on projects, willing to iterate more, and they understand the necessity of stepping away from a project.

Ideas that pop into your head in the shower or right after you wake up are examples of incubation. The ability of our subconscious to shape ideas without our direct attention is an important creative skill. 

Our brains prefer larger blocks of time to work on problems. 

I’ve been working on my creativity book, The Case for More Bad Idea, for years. Ninety-nine percent of that time was spent thinking, not writing. I researched, contemplated, absorbed the world around me, brushed up against life, and made connections back to the book’s core concepts. 

Time is one of your most powerful creative tools when you can afford it. 

Once you understand the broad strokes of a problem, taking a step back and giving your mind space to breathe, leads to great work.

3 tips on taking more breaks and fostering more incubation:

1. No Meeting Days
   I know it’s not possible to have a no-meeting day at every company, but if you can swing it, the results are tremendous. An MIT Sloan study found a 35% increase with one no-meeting day per week and 71% with two no-meeting days. I find it hard to do this on Mondays or Fridays, but Thursdays have proven successful for us.

2. Take Small Breaks
   Consider using the Pomodoro technique, named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer ("pomodoro" is Italian for tomato). A Pomodoro is 25 minutes of work time followed by a 5-minute break. Using a timer to break work up enhances focus and creativity while emphasizing mental rest.

3. Take Active Breaks
   One way to encourage incubation is through using meditative tasks as breaks. These include activities like going for a walk, taking a shower, or driving the long way home. There’s typically repetitive motion and no mental gymnastics, allowing you to relax take a break from active thought, and encourage subconscious reflection.
   

I’m here for more naps, fewer meetings, and, if we can find a healthy version, more Pop-Tarts. 

Consider how you work. Are you intentional about building in breaks and incubation? Do you allow yourself enough time to do great work, truly creative work?

To learn more about our creativity workshop, sign up for the waitlist here.

Great ideas often defy convention and require an idea champion — an advocate who pushes the idea forward, iterates, and rallies support, often without initial buy-in s or resources.

Idea champions are more willing to write their first novel, pursue a side project, or build a new business without any funding.

The key is knowing when to champion an idea. When is it worth it? A few deciding factors can help you make quick decisions on when to pursue a creative project and when to put it on a shelf and return to it later. But first, let’s talk about Broadway. 

Everyone thought it was crazy

The greatest Broadway show I’ve ever seen is Hamilton. By a big margin. 

Nicole heard about the show early on before it hit Broadway and we got to see it before it skyrocketed into the cultural stratosphere (and ticket prices didn’t require the budget of a small country).

5 minutes into the show I leaned over and told Nicole it was the best show I’d ever seen. 

Also, Hamilton is the only live show that’s ever made me cry. The ending is wonderfully poignant and intense.

Since it launched, Hamilton’s global revenue is estimated at over $1 billion. It won 11 Tonys, received a Pulitzer Prize, and is even credited with keeping Hamilton’s portrait on the $10 bill. The play’s success is undeniable.

Making a musical about Alexander Hamilton was a great idea. But, if you go back to the beginning when Lin-Manuel Miranda initially had the idea for Hamilton, no one else saw his vision. 

When Ron Chernov, the author of the Alexander Hamilton biography, was initially pitched the idea for the Broadway show, he didn’t quite get it. A musical about Hamilton? He laughs when he remembers early responses from his friends.

“Everybody, and I mean everybody, who wasn’t directly involved in the production thought the whole thing was just crazy… I would tell people about it, ‘Well, it’s a hip-hop musical about Alexander Hamilton,’ and people would just look at me like I was insane. It must have been quite worrying for Lin, especially in the early years… It was just so implausible!”

It took Miranda seven years to develop Hamilton from the initial idea (that came to him on vacation in Mexico) to its Broadway debut in New York City.

The longer Miranda worked on Hamilton, the more people he won over. But in the early days, Miranda had to be the sole idea champion. It took him two years just to perfect the opening song.

The “crazy idea” of a hip-hop musical about a founding father wasn’t so crazy to Miranda. He carried the torch and made history.

The idea champion rubric

How did Miranda know Hamilton would be a hit? How did he have the confidence to champion this new idea?

When you’re trying to decide if an idea is worth championing, look to Hamilton for the three factors you want to consider.

1. Unique Insight
   Do you have access to a unique insight through extensive research, deep personal expertise, or some other unique point-of-view? Miranda had Chernov’s biography and his clear passion for the topic.
   

2. Significant Impact
   Does your idea bridge a clear gap in the market, offer a scalable impact, or align with recent trends uniquely? Hamilton celebrated American history in a modern way and deeply connected with audiences.
   

3. Personal Joy
   Does the idea bring you joy, make you happy to work on, and keep you motivated? Miranda’s passion and talent for storytelling is palpable throughout the play.

Consider each of these factors. If you can answer yes to at least two of the three, you should feel comfortable championing the idea. 

The last one, personal joy, is also the most important. If an idea does not bring you joy, you simply won’t make as much progress. You won’t have the energy to see it through (or it will completely drain you). For me, that’s increasingly a deal breaker.

We love underdog stories, and idea champions are often the underdogs. The idea champion is creating something new and going it alone, especially in the beginning. Because no one believes in them. 

The goal is to work on creative projects that you love, even when no one else sees your vision. Lean into your offbeat ideas, find the ones you can defend, and be your own idea champion.

PS. I’m building a creativity workshop — more details coming soon! ​Add your name to the waitlist and be first to know when it launches.

Sometimes the ideas are unending, like a roster of new Hallmark Christmas movies (one year they released 26 new holiday films, that’s just impressive).

But other times, ideas run away from you, lock themselves in a treasure chest, and hide at the bottom of the ocean.

On top of this, you’re probably working on creative challenges all day — on a deadline. It’s common to have only a few hours or minutes to come up with creative solutions

So what can you do when you’re out of time and asked to deliver the moon?

Here are 3 ways to help speed up your creative process.

Editor’s Note: One important point of caution here… Great ideas take time. If a client or employer asks you to create winning ideas regularly with unreasonable timelines, pushback is warranted. Protect your peace.

1. More Bad Ideas

One of the quickest ways to warm up your internal idea engine is to eliminate any feeling of pressure through bad ideas. Requiring bad ideas as a first step improves every creative process.

Bad ideas typically fall into two categories: the obvious and the absurd. Making a list of obvious and absurd solutions to your creative challenge will put you in a much better headspace and better equip you to form new ideas through these connections.

Sometimes, these lists of obvious or absurd ideas will contain your winning solution, and sometimes, they are a great shortcut to jumpstart inspiration.

Time to execute: 5 minutes

2. Constraints as a Canvas

We frequently need to tackle new projects or client requests with very specific constraints. Questioning these limits is at the heart of creativity.

Constraint-led ideation is the process of listing all of a project's constraints and then questioning each limitation one-by-one. Restructure each constraint as a “what if” question and ask yourself what would have to be true to be able to ignore each constraint.

Not all constraints are negotiable, but there’s usually something you can question.

The process of going through each perceived barrier will do two things: 1) get your creative brain moving in the right direction and 2) define the canvas of what you have to work with.

Time to execute: 10 minutes

3. Creativity Loves a List

Start making lists of everything you love.

This will become a huge resource to pull from when you’re up against a deadline.

Here are some lists I keep (several for over a decade):

• Favorite words

• Design I love

• Great art

• Fiction book ideas (these are mostly from dreams)

• Non-fiction book ideas

• Amazing things my partner says

• Stories from my life (collecting personal anecdotes)

• Interesting stories I hear (collecting random anecdotes)

• Bad ideas (counterintuitive creativity anecdotes)

• Engagement templates (social inspo)

• My top drawer list (got this from Nicole D’Alonzo, a list of wins and support)

Starting this habit is easy. Pick one list idea that brings you joy and start adding to it today. Next time you see a good example of that thing, add to it. Rinse and repeat.

I update some of these lists every week, and some less often. Many have years of content. The longer you keep these lists, the more valuable and special they become.

I started my bad ideas list 9 years ago and it’s been an essential resource while writing my new book, The Case for More Bad Ideas (coming soon).

If you often have to solve a specific creative challenge on a deadline, consider a list of inspiration or examples that would help you in those moments.

Time to execute: A few minutes each week

Try these tactics next time the world gives you a challenging timeline. And don’t feel bad on those days when your ideas are a little less shiny than you’d like. Keep going, take breaks, and when all else fails, revert to joy.

ps. What’s your creative challenge?

When I ask our community what they need the most help with, coming up with new ideas more consistently is always at the top of the list. We’re building something to help.

Let me know — What part of your creative process needs the most support? (hit reply)

1. Inspiration: Getting unstuck when you’re in an idea rut

2. Scale: Generating more ideas

3. Quality: Generating better or more unique ideas

4. Team: Getting better at collaboration or brainstorms