Creativity as a force for growth

Creativity in the spotlight

Growth has been a primary responsibility for CMOs. However, as generating growth becomes more complex due to rapid societal, technological, and economic changes, many brands have responded by doubling down on data and analytics. While these analytical tools are now often viewed as essential for any contemporary marketer, there are indications of an imbalance. Organizations may now lack the creativity needed to meet the challenges of the modern business world, as manifested in fewer creative leaders in the C-suite and lower emphasis on creative skills among CMOs and marketing talent.1

Creativity can go well beyond brand communications and advertisements, using innovative thinking to shape how systems are designed, challenges are converted into opportunities, employees collaborate, and organizations engage with customers and other stakeholders.

Our Deloitte survey of 1,015 executives indicates that creativity in this form does, in fact, contribute to growth. High-growth brand respondents (defined as those with annual revenue growth of 10% or more) are more likely than their negative-growth peers to have the mindset and processes to allow creativity to flourish. Not only are higher-growth brands more likely to view creative ideas as essential to long-term success, they are also more likely to create an environment that supports creative thinking by encouraging risk-taking and cross-functional collaboration (figure 1). The percentages shown may seem low for high-growth brands, but it should be noted that only the “strongly agree” responses are displayed (that is, the brands that are fully committed to these ideals); when including “agree” responses, the proportion of high-growth companies who responded approaches 90% for each attribute.