The Importance of Creative Thinking

In an increasingly competitive economy, it is vital for businesses to think creatively to grow and expand the reach of their brands. This is especially important in marketing efforts. Press releases, social media connections, standard promotions and advertisements are vital; but not enough. What to do? First: start thinking outside of the box.

Case in point, take the perfume company Fresh, who just released a set of fragrances and candles based on the best-selling novel Eat, Pray, Love, now a motion picture starring Julia Roberts which is set to be released next month. Fresh took the three sections of the book and made three scents inspired by three travel destinations in the book. The fragrances are set to release July 15^th.

Another interesting method of expanding a brand? Twilight Makeup. Yes, a makeup brand inspired entirely on the blockbuster film series. The premise behind the company’s two Twilight makeup lines: vampires and true love. Luna Twilight is designed to artistically capture the love between Edward and Bella. The mission behind this line is for ‘ everyone from the Twilight enthusiast to women looking to highlight their inner radiance.’ Their Volutri line, is a much more dramatic, darker line highlighting the vampire elements of the movies. The makeup has been featured in eight different magazines, such as Allure, Elle and Lucky between 2009 and 2010.

Both of these companies are perfect examples of expanding a brand beyond their targeted consumers—in both cases by harnessing the power of pup culture. Fresh, whose target consumer is women, really hit the jackpot by using this book as an inspiration for their new line because as a New York Times best-selling novel, the fan-base is enormous--and expanding, with the movie due in a few weeks. Twilight beauty is not just targeting the Twihearts, but also, consumers looking to buy makeup for all ages as seen with its placement in eight nationally read magazines.

The point: remember that inspiration can come from anything and, with creative marketing and good pitch, anything is possible.