Creative Strategies in the Hybrid World
360° Key Takeaways from Jenny Hoffman – Senior Global Creative Strategist at Spotify
Jennifer (AKA Jenny) Hoffman, Senior Global Creative Strategist at Spotify, has worked in the creative industry (in events, launching marketing campaigns, leading workshops for brands, and tons more) for over seven years.
While the rest of us scrambles to find our way into the hybrid world, Jenny has been living #thathybridlife for six years already, making her an expert in a world where the rest of us are still playing catch up.
At InEvent’s 360° event, Jenny left us with pearls of wisdom to help us navigate creative strategies in the hybrid world. If you missed it, you could catch her session on-demand.
Here are our key takeaways.
According to Jenny, who has delivered virtual presentations for live audiences, live presentations for virtual audiences, and everything in between, her conclusion is that hybrid events are the future of events.
“Hybrid events are alive and well. They are not going anywhere.”
– Jenny hoffman
According to Jenny, we are in a creative crisis due to our hurried and overscheduled lives, compounded with the increasing amount of time spent on entertainment devices. The solution? A hybrid world.
According to Jenny, a hybrid work model will enable us to fix this crisis by helping us tap into our creativity more. 85% of people in the UK and 90% in the USA want to use a hybrid model for work. Undoubtedly, the demand to pivot to hybrid is higher than ever before.
The outdated perception of the world of work required employees to be in the same physical space simultaneously. As it turns out, “in-person interaction does not breed creativity. Time, autonomy, and diversity do, and that’s exactly what a hybrid world is giving us”, says Jenny.
Time
A hybrid world gives us more time to indulge in our passions, to spend time with our family and friends, and more time to do the things that make us happy.
Autonomy
A hybrid workforce enables us to decide when, where and how we work, a model that is significantly conducive to creativity. We can lay the foundation for more creativity by embracing flexibility around when and where we work.
Diversity
Hybrid employment allows us the ability to connect with more diverse people outside of the workplace. Diversity, in this case, is not just about who you know but also diversity in what you are doing, allowing employees to pursue their passions and desires.
Creative strategies for event planning
As Jenny has expertise on both ends of events, from being the standard attendee to being the event organizer/host/presenter, she has concluded that the key to a successful event is marketing. “If people don’t know about it, they can’t come to it,” attests Jenny.
Marketing is critical to the success of an event
– Jenny hoffman
Through insights, marketers and event planners can plan and execute events that leave a lasting impression.
The ABC’s of hybrid creativity
A = Anima
Anima is the unconscious part of your mind, which works automatically without your awareness. The root of the Latin word means “soul” or “life”. It is the core part of who we are. If you are not in a good place, you will inevitably not create good ideas.
Jenny’s tip: Sit in silence for one minute to connect with your inner knowing, which will lead to a clear flow of creativity.
B = Brand
The brand is all about you and your business. Think about the proprietary information that you have that no one else does. Think about the consumer research, the feedback that you have received on social media. “Whatever you have is valuable. Brands tend to forget about this,” says Jenny.
C = Consumer
This is the cardinal rule: know your audience. Start with your existing consumers, then examine who your aspirational audience is and create a roadmap that takes you from your existing customers to your intended consumer.
C= Culture
Think about the spaces that your brand has the right to play in. Many brands seek to align with trending causes for the sole purpose of how their brand will be perceived, without a genuine connection to them. But people want to support brands that they can trust.
Jenny’s tip: Ask yourself, “Do we have the right people in the room to think about this audience?” If you are not buying this product or service or you are not invited to this event, you should not be marketing it.
At InEvent’s 360° hybrid event, Jenny shares her creative strategy prompts and brainstorming techniques for hybrid teams. If you missed it, it’s not too late to catch up on-demand.
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[hubspot portal=”5958648″ id=”de0c0cbb-e144-4596-8bde-5ca391770991″ type=”form”]About the Author / Akeem Okunola
