If ever there was a need to think outside the box it’s now. Adapting our lives and businesses to the challenges of a COVID world requires creativity and innovation. While some companies have pivoted quickly – such as alcohol distilleries producing hand sanitiser and engineering firms creating ventilator machines – the stresses of a pandemic world can make it hard to think differently.
Here are Marke’s top picks for creative events running (mostly virtually) throughout August – October 2020: from John Cleese teaching creativity to becoming a creative ninja – they’re designed to help inspire and get your mind ticking in new ways! (click on event names for more information):
12th August – Objectives Unlocked: Customer Acquisition: If you want to grow your brand you need to acquire new customers. Find out how the smartest brands in the world have tackled this ongoing challenge and what you can learn from the campaigns that nailed this crucial business objective.
18th August – How to be a Creative Ninja: Develop practical creativity and brainstorm skills. With an emphasis on tools and fast results this session enables people to consistently think more creatively, whether they have 10 minutes, an hour, a day or a week.
August onwards – Once Upon a Try: An exhibition that explores some of the most influential packaging inventions, designs and discoveries that have shaped our daily lives up into the present. It presents a snapshot of history of packaging and how innovation, business and consumer demand continue to inform its evolution.
3rd-5th September – FT Weekend Festival: The online ideas festival of our age: Authors, chefs, FT columnists, robots, designers, artists, adventurers, and, of course, experts, yes, experts, debate the ideas and passions of 2020 from taming tech to Fauci’s lessons for fighting disease and the death of the office – and our home-working future.
4th September – When brands take a stand: Brands and advertising have the power to influence society. They affect the way we see ourselves and how we engage with others and the world we live in. When large brands and businesses take a stand on societal and political issues, it resonates strongly with consumers; often positively but sometimes negatively. This exhibition and accompanying series of talks present some of the most inspirational and debated advertising campaigns that take a stand for causes such as diversity, inclusion, environmentalism, health, wellbeing and human rights.
13th September – John Cleese teaches Creativity: Creativity is usually regarded as a mysterious, rare gift that only a few possess. John Cleese begs to differ. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, John will share his insights into the nature of the creative process, and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing.
14th-18th September – Future of branding Week: From Sonic Branding to VR and AR – explore how leading brands are disrupting the industry using new channels and evolving technologies. Discover the most innovative approaches to brand strategy from the world-class creative and advertising agencies.
15th September – How Bad Are Bananas?: When it comes to the climate crisis, we all know that the clock is ticking. But few of us truly understand how to meaningfully change our lifestyles and play our part in ensuring the Earth remains healthy and habitable for future generations. Ten years ago sustainability expert Mike Berners-Lee wrote How Bad Are Bananas?, a guide to the carbon footprint of everything – offering a definitive, empirical account of how to calculate and meaningfully reduce our individual environmental impact. Now the guide is back – with updates to include things that didn’t exist back in 2020, like Tweets, Bitcoins and the Cloud.
18th September – Communicate in a digital world: Communicating online in virtual meetings and webinars is a different ball game to real-world face-to-face interaction, requiring us all to adapt and learn new skills for the post-pandemic world. This masterclass on virtual communication skills course offers proven strategies, exercises, and supportive feedback to help you make a strong first impression as well as communicate clearly and concisely. You will discover how to engage others and master effective virtual communication.
12th-20th September – London Design Week: The 18th edition of London Design Festival returns bringing together the greatest thinkers, practitioners, retailers and educators to celebrate and promote design annually across the capital.
1st October – Mind the product: Bringing together product leaders from around the world to explore the intersection of design, technology, and business, inspiring you to build better products.
13th-15th October – Wired Smarter: The Future of Business: Make innovation happen. Give yourself permission to make changes. Be diverse, challenge the status quo – be human. A series of engaging, candid discussions, panels and roundtables with thought leaders from across business, retail, technology, finance and economics as we explore the future of the world – and what that means for business.
22nd October – FT Next Gen: Ideas for Tomorrow: FT NextGen, a one-day festival that asks the big questions of today – and tomorrow. This year, join virtually for more exciting speakers, tackling current issues the next generation are facing in a post-corona world. From how to invest in property to dating during coronavirus, hear from the FT’s brightest young editors and experience NextGen from the comfort of your own home.
Creative isn’t in our name for nothing. We can support your business through challenging times with innovative and sustainable merchandise strategies. Whether it’s ways to keep employees safe and engaged to pivoting events from physical to online, we’ve got lots of ideas to help. Check out our product catalogues here and get in touch with us at hiya@markecreative.com!