Here's how you can stay ahead of the current trends in creative strategy.

Yes, embracing changes is essential in a game of creativity and improving processes. Please don't hesitate to change your processes, daily tasks or routines, your mindset, your strategies, your processes and technologies. Look around, everyone or every business changes its marketing and operational strategies as needed because if they don't do this, they will survive in the market. So don't be afraid of changes instead you can embrace it. (For "how you can be updated by trends", will be discussed later in this conversation or article.

Alright, step one: grab your crystal ball and channel your inner psychic - because staying ahead of trends in creative strategy is basically predicting the future, am I right? Step two: stalk your competitors like a ninja on caffeine, because let's face it, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. BTW, who else is suddenly tempted to start a crystal ball reading business after reading this? Just me? Okay then..

I'd recommend a more nuanced approach: train yourself in the ability to distinguish between trends and fads (shortlived hypes without real substance). Maybe it helps to keep in mind, that Jeff Bezos built amazon on the right mix: Observe what doesn't change in the market (especially in terms of human behaviour, needs etc.) - this is where the big potentials lie for businesses. It is really important, not to build long-term strategies on topics that change fast. Where adaptability to trends and technologies becomes important is in the way how you serve those stable needs/behaviours (just as amazon did utilizing technology again and again). Don't chase change as an end in itself - pursue change as a means to build stable businesses.

Precisamos de mudanças e de mais escuta, para que seja possível romper com vieses negativos. Por exemplo, redefinir o conceito de idade, ampliando o diálogo para celebrar todas as faixas etárias, em uma nova compreensão sobre o envelhecimento e também sobre a juventude é primordial. Se os 60 mais não se sentem representados, existindo uma lacuna entre o poder aquisitivo e o consumo, os excluindo desde a candidatura a um emprego até a compra de um sapato, alguns jovens preferem as marcas que celebram a auto expressão e que tenham propósito impactando a sociedade.

Research, Research, Research! Here's how: Visit Reddit and Quora and join communities where your desired target audience hangs out. 1. Read comments on social media platforms and take note of their pain points, challenges, failed attempts, and what makes them happy. 2. Engage with both positive and negative reviews and ratings. 3. Send email surveys to ask your audience about their preferences. This approach will help elevate your marketing efforts and ensure they resonate with your audience the most.

Use analytics tools to monitor how your campaigns perform across different channels. Dive deep into demographic data, user behavior, and psychographics to understand your audience's preferences, Experiment within the confines of what data shows is effective,

Well yes, data can help. And of course you should track and analyze what you do. But in terms of keeping up to date with trends in the market (and maybe sometimes even riding the wave), data is rarely what will help you. Not only because most data are available to your competitors as well, so you're only getting level with them at best. Ethnographic methods - studying human behaviour in a range of areas (especially those typically producing outliers such as art, culture, youths, minority groups etc.) AND trying to figure out what the deeper reasons for or meanings of their behaviours, values etc. are, can help you staying on top. (Book recommendation: „From marginal to mainstream" by @Helen Edwards).

Pode ser mudando valores culturais empresa. Quando Steve Jobs assumiu a Pixar, identificou que as críticas excessivas estavam acabando com as ideias criativas. Então ele instituiu uma política, em que só se poderia oferecer uma crítica se incluísse uma solução potencial. Essa estratégia simples levou as pessoas de serem críticas a criadoras, mudando a dinâmica da equipe. Para o autor, os líderes podem melhorar a criatividade do grupo prestando muita atenção em como as ideias são discutidas, incentivando os membros da equipe a desenvolver as ideias uns dos outros, escutando as ideias com uma mente aberta para reconhecer aspectos úteis e melhorar os pontos fracos.

Nada será eficiente se as metas dos colaboradores não estiverem de acordo com o momento atual, de transição de valores culturais. Eu tenho percebido como pode ser complexo dentro das corporações, dar espaço para profissionais inovadores e agéis, porque as métricas e index de sucesso/metas, ainda estão alinhadas com a produtividade, rentabilidade financeira, quantidade de coisas, horas, etc... entregues e realizadas.

Prepare for various outcomes by having backup plans and alternative strategies ready and working in cycles or iterations, allowing for continuous improvements based on feedback making the process dynamic and adaptive.

It is important to not just be adaptive by engaging with webinars, events, podcasts etc - but it is important to be commercially aware through social media platforms like LinkedIn/ Tiktok/ Instagram. Social Media is a strong way of identifying the latest campaigns done by leading brands - which pave way for newness and creativity to be integrated within your own brands' campaigns.

To maintain a dynamic edge in creative strategy, continual learning is key. Both you and your team should be actively engaging in educational opportunities that expand your horizons. By participating in industry workshops, webinars, and conferences, you'll keep pace with emerging trends and methodologies. Also, cultivating a habit of reading broadly can introduce fresh perspectives and innovative thinking to your work. Embrace a philosophy of ongoing education to ensure your creative methods are always progressive and relevant.

(We directly come to the point) If you are attending workshops, webinars and conferences, then that is great but keep a few things in mind, attending these events or conferences alone will not give you the whole picture. In addition, you can also distribute some limited time (like 10/20/30 mins or even an hour) to learn about the trends on Social Media and read blog articles (this will also require some time). Newsletter websites are a very good source to know about trends and current scenarios. . [Social Media + Newsletters] . You can follow some news websites.

Vivemos num paradoxo, porque se a criatividade tem sido considerada como uma das mais importantes habilidades, ainda falta colocar o bem-estar de cada pessoa no centro de importância, para que de fato a criatividade possa ser praticada por todas as pessoas em todos os lugares. Mais do que workshops, treinamentos, entre outros . Este trabalho requer um compromisso político claro e consistente, um estilo de liderança inclusivo, uma estrutura organizacional cuidadosa. Os programas e estratégias de criatividade são urgentes, para o crescimento e colaboradores engajados.

Learn how to unlearn! Continuous learning is not enough - we need get rid of some conventional „wisdom" too in order to find new ways. An example often cited is the ai which was first to beat a human champion in the game of Go - Google's Deep Mind/AlphaGo. It is said to have won because it didn't know „that you don't make this move" in many cases. It wasn't conventional in it's interpretation of „possible meaningful" moves on the Go Board. And therefore did some really surprising things. It knew all the rules - but not all the conventions. And was able to pave new paths. Try to unlearn - sometimes the unknowing perspective of a little child is your best chance to find a solution.

Harness AI-powered analytics to continuously monitor and interpret global digital behaviors and cultural shifts, allowing you to adapt and innovate your creative strategies proactively rather than reactively. Leverage generative AI to experiment with and visualize multiple creative scenarios in real-time, enabling you to test and refine avant-garde ideas before they become mainstream, setting the trend rather than following it. Implement AI-driven predictive modeling to forecast emerging trends and consumer preferences, ensuring that your strategies not only meet the current market demands but also shape future directions in creative industries.

Keep an eye on social media, literally. Look at what is going well, look at what people love, look at what is going viral regularly. Consider the style, concept, ideation, subtext in what isn't being said. Don't fall foul of doing what has already been done, just because it worked (once). A creative strategist needs to have a finger on the pulse, and never fall-back on what seems easiest. It's a surefire way to get boring and fast ugh.

Be contrarian! Also in terms of trends. The best way to not only come up with a plan but a true strategy (creative or otherwise) - and one that'll be hard or even impossible to copy by your competitors - is by being contrarian to what „one does" in your segment. That automatically invokes differentiating perspectives and leads to actionable measures with a clear and consistent direction. This also applies for the topic of staying ahead of the curve: if all you do is to observe the same channels, thoughtleaders, trendsetters etc. as all the other strategists, you'll probably end up with the same conclusions. Go places the others would laugh at. Ask what the outcome could be, if you came to the opposing conclusions compared to your peers?