Staying Creative at Home

2020 has brought advertising agencies a new way of life. We’re now getting work done from the comfort of our bed, couch or kitchen table, while still having our weekly Friday happy hours over Zoom. But with this new style of work, comes the challenge of staying creative.

Since we’ve been accustomed to collaborating in person, check out our tips on how we can bring that same energy from the office to our homes.

Find What Inspires You And Share It

A great way to keep your team involved is to hold weekly, virtual creative meetings. Share your work with each other and have conversations about what’s currently going on in the world. Discussing your work with your team fosters a collaborative environment and gets fresh perspectives, ultimately making the work better.

Make the most of Slack and create fun channels for your team to share content with each other. Whether it’s a song of the day or weird cat memes, spreading random things gets your team to digest new material outside of everyone’s individual bubbles. At LRXD, we have an internal Pinterest account for our team to source inspiration and use as thought starters in our creative briefings.

With industry conferences turned into webinars and at a fraction of the price, now’s the time to attend as a team. Be on top of the newest tactics and strategies you can implement into your creative. It’s a matter of taking advantage of the small things so you can keep finding big ideas.

Don’t Get Comfortable

With long-term clients, we recognize how easy it can be to get into a routine, but it’s important to look out for what other brands and agencies are doing. It keeps your team’s competitive fire strong and pushes you to make your work as compelling as possible.

“Never stop conceptualizing the idea,” said Associate Creative Director Ashley Rutstein. “Even when our ideas are bought by the client, we’re constantly re-evaluating and discussing how we can push for more creativity. Always try to make things better.”

Shift your focus onto using the resources that are readily available and get scrappy. Although the pandemic has created production limitations, there are still ways to create meaningful content outside the traditional tactics of an advertising campaign. Our latest production was shot on a drone, definitely more than six feet apart.

Stay aware of how people are changing their media habits. If people are changing the way they live, brands need to change how they talk. Find ways to transform traditional advertising experiences and tactics into digital and at-home experiences, so people can still see the messaging without having to leave their homes.

Don’t Follow the Script 

If there was ever a time to do things differently in advertising, it would be now. Look for new ways in and don’t settle for what feels comfortable.

“We want to be able to try things that we haven’t done before versus following a script,” said Associate Creative Director Kelsey Steffes. “We want the creative team to always feel excited about their work and have the opportunity to throw out Hail-Mary ideas.”

Working from home has its challenges, but taking advantage of all available resources can really push your team to be creative from home. Even the simple things like downloading inspiration extension Muzli or reading the blog Hello You Creatives can keep your team inspired. Implementing these tips within your team is a great way to stay creative from the couch!