In This Dame and Age | Creativity + Connection Event Recap
The Setup Women in Marketing series highlights the thoughts and advice of prominent marketing brand and agency leaders in companies such as Aflac, Mizuno, Great Clips, Lionsgate, Blackbaud, and Regal Cinemas. The takeaways from these blogs were not only informative, but incredibly insightful for any marketer on their career path.
The contributors’ powerful stories and advice led to our all-women networking group: In This Dame and Age, where we host discussions and connect women marketing leaders with one another.
The latest event was attended by agency leaders and brand representatives from Great Clips, Aaron’s, Greenlight, and more, and we held a discussion about fostering Creativity + Connection in the workplace.
“I loved getting to network with others, it feels like it’s been so long since I’ve had that opportunity. I learned a lot from individuals in the agency world on how they’re fostering creativity, and I think that is something we’re lacking on the Brand side. I’m excited to take these tips back to my team.”
The Reason for the Theme
As many companies have turned to remote work or shifted culturally due to lay-offs or newly onboarded members over the last few years, leaders are searching for innovative ways to foster connection. Based on survey responses from our event attendees, we decided to facilitate an environment where leaders could share their successful methods with one another through discussion and networking.
Key Takeaways:
In this competitive talent market, employees want to feel invigorated, challenged, and connected to their team. It is up to leadership to provide a space to fulfill these needs in order to 1) retain their staff, and 2) build a creative environment. By investing in relationships and deeper connections, people feel more inspired to share a part of themselves and how they think.
Facilitate connection through open doors, team retreats and outings, team building exercises, and open communication and channels. Sarah Woodward, the EVP of Growth at Three Five Two, mentioned her agency’s “Taco Quest,” an effort to connect everyone working remotely by meeting up and trying tacos together in different neighborhoods of Atlanta. Sandi Murnane, the Director of Creative Services at Aaron’s, chimed in that going out to lunch as a now remote team definitely makes a difference. People need to engage with one another and feel connected to their work through their coworkers.
Woodward also mentioned that networking and learning at conferences like Fintech South are good for inspiring and engaging the team.
Olivia Patrick, the Senior Manager of Lifecycle Marketing at Greenlight, shared how her team utilizes Snack Magic to give tasty snacks to connect the remote team as well.
Facilitate creativity by holding dedicated space and time for brainstorming. Though you can’t schedule brilliance, attendees agreed that providing a structure can help.
“Creativity loves structure,” stated Christofer Peterson, the Chief People Officer at Dagger. Giving structure provides a “why” or purpose to the brainstorm. “Make a point to marry the notion of process with creativity…Make a time where people can know how to be in that space and get excited about it.” Woodward echoed this sentiment, “Constraints help drive creativity [so that you are] driving towards something that can be accomplished [instead of wasting time].”
Even if the brainstorm does not lead to immediate action, communicating the purpose and goal of the time provides clarity and intention to the exercise.
Everyone deserves a seat at the table, and by prioritizing individuality and opening up the discussion to different perspectives, creative ideas are formed.
Seek creative ideas from outside influences such as competitors or different experiences or industries. Going to an event, immersing yourself in outside passions, or exploring different types of media (books, magazines, podcasts, etc) all tap into new ways of thinking.
The beauty of hosting these events is getting a chance to peek into the different mindsets and priorities of marketing leaders. As the attendees shared their stories and advice with one another, one thing was clear: Everyone is doing their best to create open environments where their teams feel accepted and acknowledged.
Feed the creativity and connection in your company with the ideas above. If you feel burnt out, take a moment to step into other activities and areas that give you life and motivation. By feeding other parts of yourself, you will feel recharged to get back to work motivated.
If your team needs to work on connecting with one another and fostering creativity, check out our new Team Building service. Using the principles of improvisational comedy, Setup will walk your team through exercises that will help them feel more supported, connected, and confident.
If you are an agency partner or a brand leader, please join us at our next in-person event in August. We hope to see you or some of your team at the next Women’s event!
When we first featured Andrea Arnold in 2021 for our Women in Marketing Series, now Senior Manager, Thought Leadership & Content Strategy at Eaton, her perspective reflected a creative marketer with a strong strategic instinct and a clear belief in the power of story.
Back then, she shared, “At the end of the day, we are all compelled by the story of the product or service, whether at the business level or personal level.” Years later, Andrea’s perspective has expanded alongside an industry that now demands more speed, more systems, and more discernment.