• by editor , David Baker , November 17, 2008

That was the theme of our meetings this week in San Francisco, where over 100 top-level people from our agency met to discuss and share stories and experiences of driving transformational ideas for our clients. I'm continually reminded of the creative minds and business strategists when I participate in these meetings. It's both inspiring and allows me to sit for a few days and think outside of the email and eCRM realm. It's not about communication, it's about engagement. It's not about clicks or impressions, it's about business solutions.

 

The idea of "A Seat at the Table" is both a metaphor and a reality -- that you have a responsibility to bring transformational ideas to your business and to illustrate this at the most senior level in terms of business solutions and outcomes.

In the agency world, a transformational idea can often be masked by a creative campaign, but in reality transformational ideas are about getting outside the "liabilities" -- or, as a high-level exec said to me a few years ago, "removing excuses" and taking a few risks. It means expanding beyond your role and thinking about helping the business, about thinking outside your channel and into the minds of your customers.

Watching creative work and solutions for two days makes you reflect on what you actually do to drive loyalty, retention and great experiences through a digital channel. What is our contribution to this experience and how do we support the greater good? These are some of the topics we'll be discussing at the Email Insider Summit next month in Park City with some great keynotes and industry leaders.

 

I came away from my recent company meetings with renewed energy and a notebook full of ideas -- but most importantly, with a new realization that it takes many parts to make success happen; we are just a piece of the puzzle. We need to be part of the organization and not a channel. We need to lead ideas, not execute them. We need to infuse creative, not simply optimize it for the inbox. We need to think about the experience and not simply inbox delivery.

So here's an example of a unique experience to help us think outside the box -- a campaign for Intel's Core i7, which, unlike any other processor Intel has produced, has a target audience  of creative professionals  like film producers, gaming developers, and animators. We're helping raise awareness for the Core i7 by holding a Digital Drag Race  later today in San Francisco. Designers and gamers will be given the same software, system build and set of design assets to race against the clock in a timed, motion graphics design challenge.  Of course, the designers will be using equipment powered by the Intel i7 processor. Winners will have their work posted on a special YouTube channel.  They will go on to compete in a final race at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Here is a sample entry from a qualifying round. The site won’t be updated til later tomorrow.

Creativity is a discipline, not simply an art, and we all have it in us; it just comes out in different ways. Hope you enjoy the site.