BITES // 04.09.20 // CREATIVITY AT 6 FEET APART
Every month we collect six of the best pieces of content published on the web and share them with you, because we believe that the most extraordinary thinking is inspired by looking to unexpected places. BITES is a reading list for those who want to bring a little of the outside, in.
1. REFRAMING BRAND ACTION
In the face of this uncertain new normal, we are witnessing unprecedented creativity from brands as they rethink product and use of resources. Breweries and distilleries, from industry heavyweights to beloved indie brands, are pivoting production models to make free sanitizer for those at the frontlines of the crisis. Fashion houses like LVMH are shifting their factories into mask assembly lines to provide protective gear for those most at risk of contracting the virus. Collaboration is replacing competition, with Amazon and Lyft showing that there’s immense power in teaming up to tackle challenges together. As we continue to hear from every brand we’ve ever subscribed to about how they’re handling the crisis, it’s comforting to hear about the ones harnessing creativity to act in meaningful ways, big and small. It begs the question- how will this response-oriented creativity continue into the recovery phase?
2. MAXIMIZING TOUCH POINTS
Especially during challenging economic times, investment in creativity is critical. The time for breakthrough, persuasive communication is now. Amid a barrage of contradictory headlines and misinformation, creatives and artists are joining the fight, sometimes without the backing of any brands, by volunteering their expertise to spread advice and useful information. We’ve seen powerful imagery insist on a new mindset. A Netflix spoiler billboard campaign threatening to keep people inside. Faux subway posters that encourage unity, not division. To enroll more grassroots efforts from the creative community, the United Nations issued a global call to creatives, underscoring the necessity of creativity as a means to reach diverse audiences faster than the reach of the virus.
3. REIMAGINING THE RESTAURANT
As restaurants feel the strain from government-mandated lock downs and consumers feel the impact of cleared shelves at grocery stores, the hospitality industry is reimagining business models and finding solutions that allow them to keep the lights on while also helping consumers. Local restaurants are evolving into bodegas and mini-marts, providing packages of pantry essentials like produce, meat, dairy, and paper products. Iconic, long-standing establishments are having to adapt out of necessity by pivoting from dine-in only / cash-only models to delivery services and new forms of payment. Restaurants with liquor licenses are turning into neighborhood bottle shops. And in a symbolic sign of unity within the industry, we’ve seen start-ups like Dining at a Distance on a mission to keep people fed and employed by aggregating restaurants and farms during the crisis. In a time when the industry is in a constant state of fight or flight, we are seeing just how resourceful and resilient the restaurant sector can be.
4. NEW LINES OF COMMUNICATION
The irony of social distancing is our resolve for staying connected. To get through these trying times, people have adapted quickly, finding alternative means for communication that keep us ‘in the world’ rather than isolated from it. In this new era, little more is needed than a smartphone, social media, and six feet. Human signals arrive in the form of viral meme challenges, live streamed dance classes and concerts, and backdrops of where we want to be. We’ve also seen neighborhoods in New York cheering and flickering lights in unison for health-care workers, and families conversing through screen doors. As we wait out the storm, the abundance of inventive outlets reassures us that we are still connected, perhaps more now than we’ve ever been.
5. WORKPLACE REWIRED
Coronavirus has radically disrupted working life, with employees worldwide being asked to work from home, if possible, to flatten its progression. The adjustment is both a physical and mental test, as people have stretched their imaginations to establish a sense of normalcy. Without the luxury of a proper office, desk set-ups involving ladders, ironing boards, and even bathtubs have become temporary solutions. In an environment that doesn’t pull for productivity, fascinating WFH fashion, 3D workspaces to conduct holographic meetings, and auto-zoom/noise cancellation tech helps to contend with home-working spaces. As we calibrate to a fully virtual workforce, creativity is the new workplace necessity.
6. LESSONS IN PERSPECTIVE
As creativity emerges across every nook and cranny of society, we’re even seeing creativity in how people are gaining perspective to cope with the situation we find ourselves in. When we hear the stories from survivors of the Holocaust, Great Depression, WWI & WWII, and the Spanish Flu, you realize the kind of fearlessness they had to nurture in the face of regular misfortune and loss, and that “happiness is ultimately a human reflex as much as it is an aspiration.” Or when you take isolation advice from retired astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a year in space, you can start to put yourself in his shoes and realize that viewing Earth from the perspective of space shows just how inescapably connected we are. The more we can come together to solve our problems (while keeping a 6 foot distance, of course), the better off we’ll be.
TAKEAWAY:
Creativity comes calling in times of challenge, and our survival instinct is to answer. From harnessing resources to getting crafty with workarounds, examples of ingenuity will only continue to accelerate during the coronavirus period, as a new wave of entrepreneurs embrace a unified defense against the devastating impact. The good news, as Zambezi’s founder and president Chris Raih puts it, is that “creative people love a good problem to solve. The harder the rules of the game, the better we play.” And while it may be difficult to keep the juices flowing in the face of overwhelming uncertainty, we at Zambezi are guided by our namesake — to be adaptable and strong. The spring of innovation is only proof that extraordinary thinking is possible, even when the chips are down.
