The pivot. A familiar term for many businesses as we navigate our way through the unprecedented waters of COVID-19. Changing tact, direction or embracing change has become, for many, crucial for staying afloat in these uncertain times. In the majority of cases, this doesn’t mean scrapping everything and starting again, quite the opposite in fact. It’s more about exploring what’s possible and how existing processes can be adapted to suit the current environment.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many marketing campaigns have come to a halt – with a number of brands pulling their ad spend altogether. Out of fear and uncertainty, businesses are naturally cautious about where they invest their money in these troubling times. And with a recession looming over us, it’s unclear when things could get back to ‘normal’.

The world has changed. Regardless of your industry or geographical location, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted everyone in some way – forcing us to work from home and juggle both personal and work lives, while driving businesses to suddenly embrace different ways of working.

But from challenges also come opportunities and learning. That’s why, in our latest issue of The Knowledge, we’re taking a look at the current B2B landscape and our own experiences as a business and offering our thoughts on how we, as marketers, can adapt to the new normal. In it, we cover:

• Tackling change
• Addressing workplace challenges
• Developing a strategy during uncertainty
• How you can adapt your marketing plans

Ideas generation in the marketing minefield

Failure is something we all want to avoid at all costs, both from a personal and a business standpoint.  But, if looked at from a different perspective, failure can be a learning exercise. Because, really, how can you learn without making mistakes? When it comes to ideas generation, learning how to fail successfully and accepting it as just another part of the process could, over time, lead to greater wins.

Everyone’s heard of the phrase ‘there’s no such thing as a bad idea’. Tunnel vision, a fear of hurting feelings, laziness or a lack of objectivity – these are just a few of the reasons why there have been plenty of false starts in the idea generation process. In reality, there are bad ideas. Probably more bad ones than good. Ideas that aren’t goal-orientated, that don’t meet the brief, or answer the audience’s questions, desires and demands. But how can we turn this seemingly negative truth on its head? Can bad ideas contribute to the creative process?