Creative strategist Abby Beaudin shares her tips on staying original

We all need inspiration sometimes, indeed, that’s probably why you’re on this site now.

Cross-industry inspiration is an important practice, and the habit of exploring unrelated industries, new technologies and approaches that can be applied to your product or service is a likely route to impressing audiences.

Paying attention to cultural trends, societal shifts, and keeping a finger on the pulse to identify new opportunities and meet evolving needs is a great way to keep things fresh. Every year I see creativity and originality from brands who are simply applying a new take to a time proven formulas. Here are a few ideas:

Activations and campaigns looking to nature

Utilising floral design is a quick way to impress creatively. Prada’s “In Conversation with a Flower” is, at its core, a very simple concept around flowers accentuated through impactful storytelling.

Brands taking over everyday spaces

A quick way to give people a fresh take on your brand is to consider alternative settings and venues in which to hold events, or provide product placement. Think bodegas, cafes, ice cream shops and newsstands.

Adidas recently demonstrated this with a very on brand look and feel.

Other brands are turning to sport for inspiration, like Pandora with the basketball court, or Tiffany & Co who pulled a similar stunt, and featured at the US Open with Tiffany blue.

Don’t sleep on adding digital

Screens with looping content, live streams, and social media channels with live feeds showing people posting are a great way to display the cultural relevance of your brand.

“Insta moments” are never going away and are here to stay. If your goal is to increase exposure, this is an important component.

Embrace experimentation and play

If you stay still you get left behind.

Don’t be afraid to try new things or bring back old things, explore the 'no-risk-no-reward' model to find overlooked inspiration. It’s easy to have a creative deadline and think you have to have the most creative 'never-done-before' idea in the room.

In reality, there are unique ways to repurpose tried and true inspiration.

Photo walls, oversized products, gifts with purchase or branded SWAG giveaways are standard moments in branding that are ripe for a rethink bespoke to your brand’s inner personality.