Does the creative sector have an intelligence deficit?

Before we explore this contentious subject, we’ll make out perspective clear. We love creating things – but the ability to be self-critical is also essential for the survival of the sector.

As defined by the online Cambridge dictionary, it is:

‘A detailed plan for achieving success in situations such as war, politics, business, industry, or sport, or the skill of planning for such situations..’

Some creatives have been working with companies for a long time, however, has this come at the expense of their own long-term ability to predict what will be the future in technology, trends, and innovation?

But what would constitute an intelligence deficit?

Would it be those with educational qualifications above, say, level 7 (Master’s degree), or the number of PhDs in the sector. We feel this needs further investigation to get an accurate picture of the way how bright the sector is.

First of all, let’s define what we mean by creativity.

In ‘The runaway species’, neuroscientist and Stanford University professor, David Eagleman suggests nothing is really, genuinely new, it’s essentially a melding of other ideas into a new one. Furthermore, the same book paraphrases Apple founder Steve Jobs, who famously quoted:

‘Creativity is just connecting things…They just saw something. It seemed obvious to the after a while; that’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthetise new things.’

Yet we wonder how agencies that have only ever focused on creativity as a skill can apply it to the sciences – since they’ve never discussed highly theoretical concepts such as the world of sub-atomic particles, organic chemistry (…yikes), RNA or the laws of thermodynamics (just don’t get us started on entropy, please…).

So how then, are they able to find the correct brand space or personality for a tech company who have a USP in one of these abstract ideas that the agency leaders have never even heard of – let along been challenged to turn into a visual metaphor?

If a creative agency has only ever branded fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) or department stores where their main objective is to communicate the brand’s quality in the shortest time possible, how can they reasonably be expected to give good suggestions when the customer journey of a potential buyer of a tech company is years or even months. The whole process would involve repeated exposures for the brand to achieve top of mind status because the product or service is virtual.

We believe that education is a lifelong commitment, as innovation will render some of that knowledge irrelevant – therefore we must keep learning new skills to stay ahead of that curve. But it’s tiring and requires constant attention.

We’re big fans of all the sciences (yes, even physics), the idea of using robust theories to make sense of the world and predict the future is the only way we can see of ensuring we stay ahead of driving tide of innovation.