A Creative Title!

It would be ironic to answer the few questions for this blog in paragraph form, size 12 font, no embellishments, no pictures, no original ideas. You can of course understand the pressure I feel to make a blog post about creativity… well, creative. Let’s give it a shot.

What is creativity?

(I know. I’m not off to a good start with the standard definition-in-the-first-sub-heading. Bear with me.)

Creativity is all about thinking outside the box- coming up with new ways to use something, new ways to catch someone’s attention, new solutions to a problem.

Innovation is a product of creative thinking. I think that in our technological, rapidly changing, sensory overload society, the standards for creativity and innovation are insanely high. Especially if you want to make any difference, or if you want anyone to notice.

Here are some examples of ideas that could be categorized as creative, but I think they kind of missed the mark.

If you search “creativity” on Wikipedia (and yes, I did do that), you will find this picture... The description below it says:

...an electric wire reel reused as a center table in a Rio de Janeiro decoration fair. The creativity of this designer in reusing this waste was used with good effects to the environment. 

While I support recycling, I don’t think this is more than just marginally creative! After all, it pretty much already looked just like a table. It did not take much imagination.

Here’s another example:

The challenge here on Project Runway was to use car parts to innovate a new garment. This one is woven out of seatbelts. It looks fashionable and well-made. However I wouldn’t categorize it as innovative for two reasons. First, the “rules” specified the use of car parts, limiting imagination. Second, seatbelts are probably among the most fabric-like parts of a car. Looking for something that resembled conventional materials for clothing further limited this designer in creativity.

Again, I only point these out because I think the standards for creativity and innovation are really high if you want to make any impact.

In my opinion, these next people are pretty great at thinking outside the box:

It has to be tough to innovate in art, because every artist tries to be unique. Whoever first created this kind of sidewalk art is undoubtedly innovative. He not only used a non-conventional medium and location, but also a completely new perspective.

Take a look at this ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGud_WBWpnE 

I don’t think I ever would have guessed that this story in an Indian commercial was meant to sell investment services. But they thought enough outside the box to catch my attention, which is a crucial first step.

What settings foster creativity?

I can tie these previous examples into what I think about individual vs. organizational creativity. In general, I believe there are distinctly different benefits from both situations, and either could bring about worthwhile innovation in the right setting.

- Individual

The wheel-as-a-table idea to me represents a flaw with individual creativity. There is no one else around to help you brainstorm, build off of your ideas, and make them more innovative.

On the flip side, creativity in an individual setting can be more limitless (like the sidewalk artists).

I tend to most enjoy being creative in an individual setting. This is because 1.) I take more risks when it is just me on the line (I am scared of doing something that would in any way negatively affect other people), and 2.) I personally need to a lot of time to think, process through ideas, and look for inspiration if I am going to come up with a good, unique idea. So I prefer plenty of time, a relaxed or in some way inspiring location, and few restrictions in order to be really creative (whether on a project or problem solving, or in art or music).

I think creativity is rarely easy. Like I mentioned before, this world has high standards to be entertained, engaged, or even remotely impressed. It takes work.

I was creative when I worked for a non-profit as an intern, and I was given the task of organizing our auction. With complete freedom, I felt that I developed a unique organization structure, and made it more fun than had I been given many guidelines. That being said, sometimes I really like instructions to get me started, or other people to work off of. For example, if I am being graded or evaluated, I feel limited in my creativity by the grader’s expectations, and tend to look to other people for validation in my ideas.

- Organization

So in that way, an organization structure can be limiting (like the structure put on the project runway designers). But as I have already mentioned, it is of value to bounce ideas of others and improve and further innovate each other’s ideas, which is a benefit of working together in an organization.

When I worked with Macy’s, my fellow intern and I worked together to develop new games to motivate our employees. We found that in brainstorming together, both of our ideas were better than had we worked alone.

Macy’s also really fostered our creativity, giving us minimal guidelines on our projects. Being trained as we are to follow instructions, this was daunting at first. But we soon gained our footing, and developed unique ideas, and innovative recommendations to present to our district team at the end of the internship (things like new training programs and store wide announcements we created). The Indian ad is another great example- advertising is a structured process, but it is the goal for people to work together to come up with something unique

I think this is my most effective setting for creativity- when I have people working with me to brainstorm, but little pressure to fit within certain guidelines.

I definitely think there is more than one process to solve every problem. Should we trust ourselves to just know when we need one approach or another? No, probably not. But that's not necessarily bad. I actually think we often get stuck in one method of solving a problem, and don’t even consider another way could be better.

This girl has now solved her soup-is-too-hot problem. (Bonus points just for trying!)

Visualizing HALLOWEEN Data

Here's a visualization of some data I found about Adults' costume and spending habits on Halloween:

My sources (also shown at the bottom of the photo):

http://research.nrffoundation.com/Default.aspx?pg=110#.UmKZKfmTiKp

http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/halloweenfacts.php

Why I want to write about Macy's

I worked with Macy’s this past summer as a Store Management Intern. I got to manage a team of associates, learn all about how Macy’s operates, practice analyzing store reports, and network with a lot of awesome people.  It was a fantastic experience.

Here is my store! I worked in Austin, and my little 2 story Macy’s is right next to California Pizza Kitchen (delicious).

I only say it is little because of my trip to Chicago for the Intern Summit. This is their 11 story tourist attraction store.

Why do I want to write about Macy’s?

Macy’s is such a solid retailer, and has been so since 1929 (then called Federated Department Stores).  In 2013, they were ranked number 14 on the top 100 retailers list, bringing in $27.6 mil in 2012 (source: www.stores.org/2013/Top-100-Retailers).

Macy’s sells everything from clothes and fragrances, to furniture and housewares.  They have an “omnichannel” strategy, serving customers both within the brick and mortar stores, but also online. They have recently developed a back of house system to deliver merchandise to customers via large fulfillment warehouses or from other store locations through their “more choices” system. I loved learning about Macy’s, and I already have a basic knowledge of how they operate and who they cater to, as well as in store experience with their associates and customer base. So here are some insights I already gained about Macy’s target segments:

Macy’s Customer Segments

As of about 2009, Macy’s has been developing a localization strategy. At our intern summit, I watched a video Macy’s made that described their movement towards diversity at the store level, with the purpose of catering to the needs of the specific city.

For example, we learned that the stores in San Antonio carry long sleeves and jeans year round, colorful “fiesta” wear, and sparkles (ha) for the wants of their Hispanic market.

Another example is the “street wear” that is primarily advertised in the Detroit market – which includes the “Miss me” jeans, and matching tops.

A third example is the DC market, where they focus on professional looks, and dark colors, for their high concentration of business people.

The market is defined at the district level, but planners and buyers are encouraged to get even more specific to the store level.

What I think I am going to write about…

This localization strategy just proves to me that Macy’s is a company that is focused on individualizing their offerings based on customer needs. That being said, I don’t think I want to write about 3 or 4 specific locations, but instead, markets that are seen nationwide. I divided these based on departments that interested me:

Moms:

Macy’s has brands that are more mature for their shopping moms. For example, they carry Style&Co, a store with simple and classic looks at a reasonable price. They also carry a brand called “Not Your Daughter’s Jeans”… self-explanatory, but here's a picture! 

Teen girls:

Macy’s has connected themselves with designers that appeal to this market, like Jessica Simpson. They have also developed in store brands like MaterialGirl, which offers bright colors, edgy styles, and mix and match options.

Businessmen:

Macy’s offers a unique store experience for its professional customers. The suits and dress shirts department has a much more clean feel than the rest of the store, and they offer associates with expertise for fittings to add to the overall prestige of the department.

I hope to look at these three market segments, and get some insight as to how they differ from location to location. Right now all of my insights come from Austin, so I am really interested to do further research.