Since the beginning of time, or at least since I have been involved in the public relations field, there has been an us vs. them mentality – PR and the “creatives,” also known as “the ones who make pretty pictures.” Please note – I have all the respect in the world for the “creative,” otherwise known as the creative directors, art directors, production artists, copywriters, and the list goes on and on. Although this is mostly recognized in the agency world, I think it’s important for public relations practitioners to understand and embrace – WE ARE CREATIVE, TOO!
Think about it – on a daily basis, whether you work for an advertising/communications agency, a government agency, non-profit, corporation – you have to be creative all the time. To me, writing is a completely legitimate, and often overlooked, creative element that must be crafted and honed for many years. We have to be creative in how we present items to the media, how we obtain media coverage for an event or how to engage our or our client’s fans/followers in the digital arena. That takes a lot of creativity and if you don’t view yourself as creative, trust me, you are.
Image source: Shutterstock
There is a great book called “Accidental Creative” that I read recently and was fortunate to hear the author speak at an event. If you read this book through the lens of a public relations practitioner, everything he talks about is applicable to our profession.
Here’s a quote from the author, Todd Henry:
“You go to work each day tasked with (1) inventing brilliant solutions that (2) meet specific objectives by (3) defined deadlines. If you do this successfully you get to keep your job. If you don’t, you get to work on your résumé. The moment you exchange your creative efforts for money, you enter a world where you will have to be brilliant at a moment’s notice. (no pressure, right?)”
Being brilliant at a moment’s notice is hard, especially when you are at the table with your CEO or client staring at you waiting for that one statement, the million dollar PR idea, which will revolutionize your company or industry and set you apart from everyone else. Again, no pressure, right???
Bottom line – you are creative. If you are in public relations, I can assure you, that creative gene is in you somewhere. So the next time someone says, “Hey, we need to bring the creatives in to this project,” you can reply with confidence, “I’m here!”
Here’s to wishing all of you a creative-filled March!
