Vail Resorts and Dynamic Branding
Here is a interesting video from Vail Resorts about how the decision cycle of their customers has rapidly changed. I think this is a great example of how companies need to adapt their marketing to be able to respond to what's going on in near real time. The days of a carefully planned message 6 months from launch are quickly giving way to being constantly dynamic with your brand.
The Creative Department
The power of titles is something one learns about very quickly once they enter the business environment. While most titles are likely intended to describe job function, they in the end become much more. Titles describe rank, importance, and often become prescriptive of how one behaves and thinks. I am manager therefore I must manage. I am a creative therefore I am creative.
The problem with this is that it’s not reflective of how things actually work or how they should work. The idea of the creative department in today’s marketing environment seems archaic to me particularly in the digital realm. Anyone who has been a part of the production process of a website should understand without question those labeled as the creative do just a part of the actual creation. UX and technology folks are equally creative, yet for some reason an assigned to some other silo which I believe greatly limits creativity. True innovation comes from a cross-disciplined team that constantly blurs the lines of roles. So, let’s all move beyond the idea of there is one department within an organization that’s creative.