The second episode of the iMarket Podcast delves into the idea of Creativity in Marketing. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but to what end? Something controversial in the Fashion Industry, for example, is when something is created in Kenya, and it’s recreated in another country. Why are we up in arms in that situation, yet when Kenyan brands recreate Western-Style designs with Kenyan fabrics, we are more receptive?
Faris and Rosie Jakob; the husband-and-wife team behind ‘Genius Steals’, a nomadic and creative consultancy state that “Ideas are new combinations and nothing can come from nothing. Look at the best of what came before and combine them into new ideas. Combine those elements into new solutions.” Even Pablo Picasso said “bad artists imitate, the great artists steal.”
Silvia Tonui, current Project Manager and Marketer, believes that while there’s outright copying, where something is taken apart and redone in the exact same way, creativity comes when you add your own essence to whatever you’re “borrowing from”. Tonui and Kabiru agree that the nature of fashion is nothing truly new or unique, we draw inspiration from trends and from our environment. This is the same for all in the creative industry.
Think back to when Facebook was new, marketers were trying to get onto the platform to sell. Now we have a lot of online shops and they’ve become so much more efficient that Kabiru shares an anecdote where she was headed to the airport and realized she forgot her swimsuit. She found a shop on her Instagram feed, called for a swimsuit and got one delivered before she reached the airport. How many online shops do we have now and what makes one better than the other? Simple, catering to consumer needs and being visible.
Tonui is also a farmer. A bee-keeper to be specific. She has been able to start from the ground-up with her Kenyan honey brand, Marigat Gold, through getting certified and sharing her experience and struggles with other entrepreneurs. In her opinion, marketers play an important role in a business, and if you build a good product but you don’t know how to market it, then it’s pointless. As a start-up founder, she found that for her to market her product efficiently, she needed to understand the whole value chain. When starting out, she found that people are reluctant to share information – be it where labels are printed or where to find bottles for her honey, to which Kabiru adds that it’s important to share information in order to grow in businesses and careers. When you don’t speak enough, you don’t learn enough.
A lot can go wrong when you start your own business and something important to note is that you need the right team, build trust over time and have great relationships with people. In marketing, you have to be agile in your strategy; formulation and creation, and you have to work with people who have the right attitude.
Tonui believes that a lot of brands that do well have something in common. Great storytelling. Whatever the industry, the common factor is great storytelling. She encourages marketers to read more fiction because of the need of creativity in Kenyan copy for ads and digital communication. She suggests reading diverse genres of fiction.
Another important factor to consider when creating powerful campaigns is familiarity and emotional connection. Eliud Kipchoge’s ‘No Human is Limited’ campaign touched the hearts of locals and internationals alike because it told real human stories with people who look like us.
“The best quality you can have as a marketer is agility” – Silvia Tonui