Creativity

The 70-year-old London rock venue the 100 Club has played host to some of the world's most famous musicians over the years, including Muddy Waters, Rolling Stones, Sir Paul McCartney and more. But the financial strain in 2010 was too much for the legendary venue and it announced plans to close.

What are the chances of you coming up with a new idea if you walk into the same conference room, sit around the same table, surrounded by the same people and staring at the same old walls?

Cohn & Wolfe’s Chief Creative Catalyst, Jeremy Baka, threw down the creative gauntlet in the September issue of PRWeek. In a provocative op-ed, Baka challenges the PR industry to raise its creative game, writing that it has been “hit hard by a deadly creativity-killing disease—fear.” While surveys cite creativity as the most vital of qualities, and “big ideas” are asked for incessantly, "safe and sound" is often what clients either get or ultimately accept. Says Baka, “Leading requires that we take risks.”

Brand Science Institute (BSI), a German think tank specializing in brand management, conducted a study to find out why most corporate social media projects fail. As part of its analysis, BSI surveyed 560+ marketers representing more than 50 brands. One prominent finding: 68% of the respondents had never heard of the 90-9-1 principle.