“Fear is the biggest killer of creativity”: and more from TGA panel

It’s ok to carry the “stench” of bad idea around, but first you need psychological workplace safety to even get the idea out in the first place.

(LR) Pippa Chambers, Mim Haysom, Justin Hind, Naysla Edwards, Michael Rebelo and Christina Aventi speaking at the Growth Agenda Sydney run by News Corp and commercial partner Advertising Council Australia in Woolloomooloo. Picture: Adam Yip

A creative renaissance is ahead, marketers don’t like “comfortable” ad ideas and fear is the biggest destroyer of creativity, according to a panel of brand and ad agency experts.

Speaking at an event in Sydney for The Growth Agenda discussing “creativity beyond the ad”, chief strategy officer at ad agency BMF Australia Christina Aventi, explained how psychological safety in the workplace is key for creativity to truly flourish.

“Fear is the biggest killer of creativity,” Ms Aventi told attendees. Ms Aventi, who previously worked at Unilever and has been at BMF for more than 17 years, admitted to having a many a “dumb idea”, with some so bad they had a “stench attached,” she joked.

Christina Aventi, Chief Strategy Officer, BMF Australia. Picture: Adam Yip

However, while for her – given the agency’s culture, leadership and overall feeling of psychological safety – the stench soon dissipates and it was onto the next idea, not enough companies were creating safe environments that people felt they could let their creative juices and ideas rip.

“For some companies that stench can stay a little bit longer as they don't have that same permission — which is why it’s critical to make sure you have the right conditions for creativity to thrive,” the Gruen TV show panellist said.

Speaker Naysla Edwards, VP brand, charge cards and experiences ANZ, American Express, agreed that people could be too afraid to lose, and she relished the opportunity to be pushed out of her comfort zone with new ideas.

“We have to be prepared to try new things,” she said.

“Do I want to be pushed? Yes. I will jump and I'm prepared to fail.”

The panel at TGA event. Picture: Adam Yip

In the panel, hosted by TGA editor Pippa Chambers and also featuring Mim Haysom, (CMO/EGM brand and marketing at Suncorp Group) Michael Rebelo (CEO at Publicis Groupe Australia and NZ) and Justin Hind (CEO at CHEP Network), Ms Haysom echoed Ms Edwards’ sentiment about “loving” that uncomfortable feeling when looking at new advertising or marketing work.

“If I get shown work that doesn't make me a little bit uncomfortable, then we haven’t pushed it far enough,” former M&C Saatchi exec Ms Haysom said.

“That's how my brain works as it’s then probably quite category generic and quite safe — and I’ll share that with agency partners and say scare me a bit more.”

Mim Haysom, CMO/EGM brand and marketing at Suncorp Group. Picture: Adam Yip

Both marketers say they prefer winding agency partners back in rather than having to keep pushing, but as Mr Rebelo agreed, it’s these great types of conversations and such openness that boils down to having true, honest and collaborative relationships.

While admitting most people didn't think of insurance companies as very creative, despite Ms Haysom’s 20-year history in ad agencies working on myriad different campaigns, she said none had been as creative as Suncorp.

“I think that is because there‘s this beautiful restlessness and customer obsession in the organisation,” she said.

Being purpose driven and inherently asking how to change things and innovate, takes creativity, she argues.

“As organisations, if we're not finding a way to embed that in our culture, ultimately you’ll become redundant and you’ll become irrelevant — that’s why it’s critical that organisations are thinking creatively,” she said.

“They might not know they‘re thinking creatively and they might not label it that way, but if you’re truly trying to push your organisation forward for better customer outcomes and better business outcomes, that takes innovation and creativity in different shapes and forms.”

(LR) Justin Hind, Naysla Edwards and Michael Rebelo speaking at The Growth Agenda event. Picture: Adam Yip

Addressing the audience at the Ovolo Hotel in Woolloomooloo on future predictions for the marketing and advertising industry, Mr Rebelo said a “creative renaissance” was around the corner.

Particularly with tough economic times ahead, the Sydney-based exec, who leads more than 1,700 people across creative, media, digital and data agencies, said “everyone will be forced to do better” and those brands that worked harder on their creative endeavours would come out on top.

Created to highlight the role and importance of creativity in driving business growth, The Growth Agenda — this weekly page in the national broadsheet in partnership with Advertising Council Australia — was also highlighted by Mr Rebelo as a great vehicle for showcasing exactly how brands were using creativity to drive commercial growth.

Mr Hind, who was CEO and co-founder of the With Collective agency which was sold to Dentsu in 2016, added that creativity was absolutely the “differentiator in business performance”.

“We are seeing creativity more embedded in clients’ businesses because it’s a strategic priority,” Mr Hind said.

“I can only applaud businesses (brands) that are really investing in hiring great people, a lot of them ex-agency into helping them change their creative culture and not for creativity sake, but for the hardcore business sake of driving the business forward,” he said.