How Creative People Are Different

To be successful in marketing, you have to be of a creative mind. Sure, you don't have to be artistic but you have to be able to think originally, abstractly, uniquely, thoroughly, and so many more adjectives that could be used to describe a creative mind.

So what are some things that creative people do that their non-creative counterparts do not do (or as often)?

• We tend to daydream more. Daydreams are not a waste of anyone's time because they are often how our minds express desires, thoughts, realizations, and allow us time to escape our current moment. Daydreams are a way for our minds to utilize the process that is called "creative incubation" which is how we have those random amazing ideas. 
• We like to observe. A lot. We observe people, objects, processes, social norms, rules, language, interactions, relationships, how other people observe, etc. This is a biggie if you want to be in marketing (internet marketing too) because you have to understand how the mind works when looking for products, especially your product type. 
• We tend to work on our own time. Now, yes, when you work in the business world, you have to work certain times; however, within those hours, you will find that creative minds are doing other things when their creative hours have not come yet or have already passed. Some creative minds do have the luxury of working whenever they feel like it. 
• We are resilient. We tend to not take failure so personally and when we do fail, we look at it as improvement instead of a step backwards. Failing only means one less thing to consider next time, clarifying the road to success. We fail and do it often, if you don't fail often, you are not trying enough. 
• We ask questions; we tend to ask the big ones. We are curious people, we see things and wonder what they are or what could be different about them, etc. We do it through conversation with others or with ourselves (in our minds, of course).
• We like to change things. We see things the way they are and like to shake them up. We like diversity in things as well. 

Marketing in 2014- Our Favorite Possible Trends

Marketing trends change every year; various trends emerge and they may or may not change the face of marketing. Perhaps the biggest marketing change in recent years that is still reigning champion is social media marketing. Since its emergence, companies have been doing it and even created jobs just for that sector of marketing. With all the areas of marketing, such as, search engine optimization, web design, graphic design, social media marketing, online marketing, and more traditional marketing such as branding all desire to be fresh and innovative.

 However, there are more predictions for what people believe will be marketing changes and progressions for the coming year. We have picked our three favorite possible trends.

1. Content marketing. This is utilizing content that your company has written to bolster your name and build your marketing platforms. Common ways to do this are blogging, articles on your own site, articles on other sites, newsletters and videos. This form of marketing is already around but for the coming year, it is predicted that it will explode in popularity. A lot of companies attempt this form of marketing but they either do not do it correctly or they do not do it enough. A company blog does very little to generate popularity if it is only being written once a month. 
2. Images. It is said that images will become gold in marketing in the next year. This totally makes sense because in a field where visuals are what make things happen; either in the sale of the marketing plan or the plan for packaging, etc etc. it is all about what we can see. If someone is looking at something online or in print and there is no photo to quench their curiosity for what the plan will look like, then they aren't going to be sold. We, as people, like seeing pictures. It just helps us see things and aids the thought process. 
3. Going back to simple. A big change in marketing for 2014 will be the movement towards simplicity. You can see the trend already forming for companies like Apple; it just appeals to a lot of people to see something simple because then we're not overwhelmed by the marketing. If we see a complicated ad, we tend to dismiss it; thus, companies will be moving towards simplicity and letting creativity reign instead of shoving information in the faces of consumers. Web design is seeing this as well. 

Integraphix is a leading Chicago Marketing, Advertising and Creative Agency creating strong brand identity and marketing strategies with our unique mix of advertising, graphic design, web design, and internet marketing expertise. We give free consultations. 

Unique QR Codes

You’ve probably seen them all over the place, those little black and white patterned boxes all over advertisements, also known as QR codes. Over the last few years QR codes have become big in the world of marketing meets technology. Now most people can easily identify QR codes and know how to use them. As a marketing company that’s always on the cutting edge of technology, we believe QR codes are a great way to promote your company and market new ideas creatively. Not a big fan of the black and white look?  Don’t be turned off by their looks, because there are many different ways to personalize your QR codes.

Personalizing QR codes can make viewers more interested and intrigued to start scanning.  Adding color to your codes can make your company stand out amongst the crowd, especially with so many companies using the standard black and white code generator.  You can use the ability to create personalized QR codes to your advantage when designing an advertising piece.  Magazine ads, business cards, catalogs or brochures all make for great places to stick the special color code.  Utilize your company’s color palette and design concepts for your QR code. If you are creating a QR code for your website, you can easily create a complementing code generated with the colors of your company or logo. This new ability is great for graphic designers and marketers to utilize creative, interactive designs.

While your business cards usually only contain a small amount of basic information, a QR code can take a viewer to a page filled with endless amounts of information.  QR codes are a great way to call attention to a promotion your company is doing, a sale your company is having, an event your company is throwing and more.  If you place a QR code on a business card, you can add more than double the amount of information without making your design look cluttered.  You can stick to keeping the bare basics on your card, but have all the extra information be contained in the link attached to the QR code.  

With the new colorful QR generator not only can you create multi-colored codes, but you can also combine them with images.  The opportunities are now endless and there are many different creative ways to present your QR codes. Below are some of our favorites:  

Have any questions about QR codes?  Just drop us a comment or contact us.