Top Marketers Say Creativity Can Make Bosses “A Little Unsettled,” But Ultimately Is “A Real Lever For Business Growth”

When data, efficiency, and ROI are top of mind in boardroom discussions, creativity “means the ability to transform a brand.” 

Liana Dubois, former CMO at Nine Entertainment, told LBB while she views creativity in “much more macro terms than the pure creative that we know comes from the craft of a creative agency,” she is “a firm believer that all forms of creativity are a lever for business growth.

“I think it's a real shame, to be completely honest, when creativity is stifled in business – whether that's due to short termism or a blunt focus on returning shareholder value.

“If the culture of an organisation isn't right, there's not the kind of psychological safety to enable creativity in all of its forms. I think if creativity was actually fostered more openly and in everyone, then fundamentally, many more businesses would be in a very different place than they are today.”

Former CMO at iNova Pharmaceuticals, Christine Le Maitre, agreed creativity is what cuts through the clutter of modern marketing – particularly in categories like FMCG and healthcare, where brands jostle for attention on crowded shelves. For her, creativity “means the ability to transform a brand in terms of standing out from the competition. 

“To actually be able to use creativity and those distinctive brand assets that are associated with building memory connections in consumers' minds, I think are critical, because we're just overwhelmed with so many messages these days. Creativity is the thing that makes you stand out.”

Liana and Paramount+ vice president of marketing and growth, Louise Crompton, appeared at DO. Agency’s recent CMO lunch and roundtable, in partnership with Little Black Book and award-winning Sydney restaurant NEL. Over lunch, marketers discussed why creativity isn’t a “nice to have” but a lever for long-term growth and differentiation.

Louise said creativity has become “a force multiplier” in a world where attention is scarce and consumers are overloaded with content.

“I feel very strongly that with creativity, all boats rise, and it's a real lever for business growth,” she said. 

“I think about it two ways. Firstly, in the practice of marketing, it's really about an approach and mindset. It's about being curious and thinking consciously about how to approach different situations differently.

“When it comes to the marketing output, what the consumer actually sees, it's really about meaningfully standing out in a way that makes sense for the brand, and not just being disruptive for disrupti[on’s] sake. I also feel that in this day and age, consumers are so busy, their time is very fleeting, and so when you get the chance to make an impact, it's great to try and entertain.”

While measurement conversations abound, all three CMOs agree that creativity plays a direct role in driving ROI and efficiency – even if it can make some leaders uncomfortable.

Christine said getting creative ideas that “can be a little left of centre” through layers of approval can be challenging, “because creativity is often seen differently to different people.”

“In my experience, often the more creative and the more different ideas are often the hardest to sell in, because of that whole greyness in terms of senior managers these days wanting the test statistics and the animatic results before they're prepared to actually spend the money on production. Creativity can make senior managers feel, I suppose, a little unsettled.”

Louise sees no contradiction between creativity and efficiency, instead adding the the two work together to reinforce one another and improve “across the entire customer life cycle.”

“Creativity is about creating that mental availability,” she said. “Whether that helps you in the short term when you're actually buying a category or a product, or the long term, in terms of really building that long term ability to stick in memory. Therefore you know if you are creative, and you can achieve that, then really it should lift your ROI. It should help you be more efficient in your marketing output and your marketing results.”

The relationship between creativity and ROI is “not an either or,” instead “creativity drives all of those things,” Liana argued. 

“A great idea that has impact and is distinctive and differentiated and settles in the memory of the consumer drives all of that. It drives ROI, it drives purchase, it drives acquisition, it drives short term sales, it drives all of those things,” she said.

“The beauty of it, though, is that it also sits in your mind for the long term, and it gets recalled over and over and over again, and it gives businesses that long term sustainable growth. I don't subscribe to the belief that it's one or the other, I absolutely think it's both. The beauty of creativity is that it does drive both.”