At Converse, the Nike-owned lifestyle brand known for its Chuck Taylor sneakers, creativity plays a central role in helping the company connect with its customers and inspire its employees. But keeping pace with street style and consumers’ latest behaviors can be no small feat; it often requires innovation and fearlessness.
For Sejal Shah Miller, who took on the CMO role at the brand more than two years ago, that means creating an environment in which fresh thinking and a willingness to take risks are embraced. “Psychological safety is really important,” she tells CMO Podcast Host Jim Stengel in a recent episode. “It’s letting people know that when we try something and it doesn’t work, it’s okay, and we’re going to figure it out together—we’re not on separate sides of the table.”
That mindset guides rapid-fire “big ideas” sessions that Shah Miller has led with her team to spark breakthrough thinking. Groups pitch about 20 ideas during a session—at a rate of three minutes per idea—then the team picks five ideas it thinks are particularly interesting. Anything goes, she explains, and the marketing organization ends up funding some of the pitches. “It’s okay if it’s not the right moment for an idea, but bringing it to the table is really important,” she says.
Shah Miller also reminds marketers that they are the voice of the consumer—and should be fiercely loyal to, and curious about, that consumer. To fuel innovation and creativity, she suggests thinking not just about customers’ wants and needs but taking it a step further to consider their hopes and dreams. This approach led to the brand’s recent integrated multiplatform campaign, “Create Now. Create Next,” which puts the voice of diverse emerging and established creatives—including artists, athletes, musicians, and creators—at the center. Unscripted, more than 20 creatives from 18 cities collaborated with Converse on how they wanted to self-express their creativity in the global campaign.
Finally, she underscores the need for marketers to understand how their product, brand, and company generate revenue. “A large part of marketing is helping to drive revenue and future value,” she explains. “We sometimes lose sight of those when we’re talking about creativity, but it’s critical because they are the guardrails and the constraints against which you’re operating.”
—by Mary E. Morrison, editor, Executive Perspectives in The Wall Street Journal, Deloitte Services LP
Published on Oct 2, 2023, 11:00 PM
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