[...]... generated an enormous amount of free PR, airtime, and media attention More than any ad campaign Building a city landmark instead of creating a bunch of ads and putting together a media buy? That is creative business thinking at a higher strategic level than simply executing an advertising campaign It is a true Creative Business Idea SAFETY SELLS Another example:Volvo Cars The reason I am in advertising Quick... my awareness, from a very early age, that I had both left-brain and right-brain interests Part of me was attracted to a creative, aesthetic way of life—to music and art and fashion and design and writing And another, seemingly equal part craved logic and order and ideas based in reason After a very early first marriage, I had less time to ponder anything And when I became a father, at age 20, I really... “great creative campaigns,” and “great creative ideas.” No one has ever said, “Hey, Bob, let’s skip the creative stuff and get right to some straightforward ads and media plans.” No one Ever They want creativity in all its forms: in databased direct marketing, interactive marketing, and sales promotion as well as advertising They want it in all communications and in their overall business They want it in. .. Sloves and began a journey into the “real” world of advertising It was a wonderful, 9 10 TALES OF A L EFT-B RAIN /R IGHT-B RAIN T HINKER eye-opening experience Another inflection point The realization that the world of creativity is really that—and that what was happening in London and Paris and Brazil was a whole lot more exciting than what was happening in New York It was exciting to work with international... area A bridge Literally, a bridge across the river That is nonlinear creative thinking that goes from A to B to M That is a huge creative leap So far, this is great creative thinking BUT IMPLICIT IN EVERY CREATIVE BUSINESS IDEA IS A QUESTION: HAVE YOU GONE AS FAR AS YOU CAN? CAN THIS BIG IDEA BE EVEN BIGGER? P ROFITABLE I NNOVATION : S IX TO L EARN F ROM In Buenos Aires, as it happened, the idea had... brand and was not the same old boringly safe Volvo? Not an ad campaign Instead, a “Revolvolution” in its business and marketing strategy Until Frank Perdue came along, the chicken business was a commodity business Now it’s a branded business His A South American confectioner was watching sales drop So it launched an ongoing contest that gave children the opportunity to create their own business ideas... had begun installing laminated windshields in all its vehicles to prevent flying shards of glass in the event of an accident Some 15 years later, this became a legal requirement in the United States Volvo also was already boasting a two-point diagonal safety belt But that safety belt proved to have serious shortcomings A colleague of Gunnar Engellau had been in an accident and was thrown from his car... park business or even the entertainment business Disney is in the business of making people happy A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW And what about the Chicken Man? The first client I ever had in advertising Up until the early 1970s, if you walked into a market and wanted to buy a chicken, that is exactly what you got Frank Perdue changed that with what people in my agency would call a world-class Creative Business. .. product Knew everything about it Was buoyed by the support of others, but would have tried to make it happen anyway 3 4 TALES OF A L EFT-B RAIN /R IGHT-B RAIN T HINKER BEFORE YOU LEAP: Understand that passion is the starting point of all great creative ideas If you are looking to make your mark by creating something new, make sure you are in a field that totally fascinates and captivates you Remember,... leads to trust And trust, as we shall soon see, is the first and most necessary building block of creative collaboration and creative thinking After taking a course in marketing, I did what I could never have imagined doing a few years before I signed up for an MBA in it A child of the ’60s turns But a Young Turk (as they used to call us) with the beginning of a reputation for creative thinking going . age, that I had both left-brain and right-brain interests. Part of me was at- tracted to a creative, aesthetic way of life—to music and art and fash- ion and design and writing. And another, seemingly. and business are as unnatural a combination as business and “ideas.” I can understand that. Most often, business thinking is based only in numbers, research, analysis, and logic. These are comfortable. we learned all about chickens—and all about Frank Perdue. As loving as he was toward 6 TALES OF A LEFT-BRAIN/RIGHT-BRAIN THINKER his chickens in their brief, nine-week stay on earth, he was just that