The one-sentence summary
When considering creative ideas, concentrate on the size of the idea, not the size of the budget.
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WHAT THE BOOK SAYS
- It is sub-titled How to turn creativity into a powerful business advantage
- Most leaders have more creativity in their organisations than they realise
- Identify one critical business problem that needs solving and then rigorously unearth insights that lead to a spectacular solution
- There are Seven Principles of Creative Leverage:
- Always start from scratch
- Demand a ruthlessly simple definition of the business problem
- Discover a proprietary emotion
- Focus on the size of the idea, not the size of the budget
- Seek out strategic risks
- Collaborate or perish
- Listen hard to your customers (then listen some more)
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT
- Starting from scratch is harder said than done, and more marketers should do it, or at least investigate doing it
- The principles at the heart of the book will resonate with anyone involved in any form of creative marketing:
- Creativity will be an increasingly essential business tool
- You can’t buy creativity, but you can unlock it
- Creativity is not an easy path to walk but the rewards are worth it
- There are some good case histories from Skoda, Citibank United Airlines and Lee Jeans
WHAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH
- The authors are the founders of Fallon so at times the book can read like an agency brochure
- The seven principles aren’t that original or earth-shattering – a helpful reminder of good practice, but not stunningly new in any particular sense
- American case histories such as Holiday Inn, EDS, and Bahamas Ministry of Tourism may be of less interest to UK readers