• by June 30, 2005

Amid the cacophony of ad spending forecasts, some gloomier than others, there is something marketers and media types can and should place their bets on: creativity.

The "big idea," investing in the talent, along with unusual creative and media plans will always be in vogue whether ad spending forecasts are up or down. It's the Minute's version of a sure thing - the more emphasis you place on the quality of the content, the ideas, and their execution, the better off your business is.

Creative horsepower is, of course, the topic of the second annual "Battle For The Heart" road show led by Joseph Jaffe, principal, jaffe LLC and author of Life After the 30-Second Spot. This year, the road show hits six cities and features top creative folks who will focus on the theme of redefining creativity.

"The whole point of view is having the ability to be a compelling and persuasive storyteller in today's cluttered and fragmented environment, amid empowered and skeptical consumers," says Jaffe. "It's more of a challenge than ever before, but the opportunity is open."

It surely is. If you're a good storyteller, you ought to be able to tell a story across media - no matter the type of media. "In order to be able to evolve the art and science of storytelling and messaging in this fragmented environment, the first thing that has to happen is you have to embrace a new definition of creativity, one that isn't predicated on 30-second blinkers," Jaffe adds. Last year, Jaffe's road show focused on balancing out the right brain and left brain activities. That is to say, the right brain is more focused on return on investment issues, media metrics, and data, while the left brain is more idea-centric and conceptual.

Essentially, executing good and effective marketing and media is a "battle for equilibrium at a time when not only is it necessary to bring these two disciplines together, but also to evolve the very nature and fundamentals of what constitutes creativity," Jaffe says, adding, "It's [about] a democratization of creativity."

Who should attend "Battle For The Heart?" Anyone who cares about creativity - that's you - media and marketing types inside of agencies, marketers, and media companies. Click here for more information. The Battle launches in Chicago, next Thursday. Rage on.