Unlock your Creativity: Ideate. Create. Innovate
by Mario Carandang
Ms. Merlee Jayme was our third distinguished speaker for the 2022 edition of Zone V Camera Club’s Z Academy.
Merlee Jayme is currently the Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu International for Asia Pacific. Shifting from her role as the global co-president of Dentsu Mcgarrybowen, she now focuses on the regional creative excellence of the said company. She is also the Chairmom of Dentsu Jayme Syfu and Dentsu One Manila.
Merlee is one of the 8 women included in the top 100 Chief Creative Officers in the world as announced by the 2019 Drum Global Ranking. She is the first Filipino to be awarded the Creative of the Year for Southeast Asia by Campaign Asia Pacific Agency of the Year. Also a recipient of Cannes Lion Grand Prix for Mobile, Grand Clio, NYF Grand Awards, Gold and Silver Lion for Outdoor: Green Peace “Dead Whale” among others.
She has led her agency to win key accounts such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, Shell and Wyeth. This year, they kicked off 2022 with big wins including Unilab’s flagship brands.
As a prominent creative agency leader and entrepreneur in the industry, she is a sought-after international speaker. She is a seasoned judge in major award-giving bodies. One of CNN’s Leading Women, a member of Gabriela, a feminist group, an advocate for helping women at work through Sistergood, a best selling author/illustrator of a handbook titled “Everyone Can Be Creative,” a mom to 4 beautiful girls and an inspiration in breaking the glass ceiling in this mad men’s world.
Her topic Unlocking Creativity can be summarized in three key points: Ideate, Create, Innovate. These can very well equip us in photography.
Ideate is to conceive, imagine, daydream, think. You unlock your right brain which encompasses the creative side by doing so.
When you already have an idea, write a brief. It is necessary to organize your thoughts and guide you on what you want to do. Ask yourself: what are you creating, why do you want to do this, for whom are you creating it for, what is the desired action or effect you want to achieve.
One way to encourage ideating is to obsessively observe your surroundings. Indulge yourself in research. You can also brainstorm with your colleagues. If possible, with different cultures as well. Your ideas will become richer and have more meaning. List down as many ideas as you can which she referred to as create a hundred. Then scale them down to the better ones until you get the best one. Don’t settle for the first idea. Consult with a trusted friend to choose from your top five to come up with an objective decision.
Next step is to Create. Make your idea exist. Tell a story in the most entertaining manner. Be a good storyteller. Make your idea come alive. Choose the courage zone instead of the comfort zone. Taking the more difficult route is more rewarding. Ask yourself what you will do if you weren’t afraid. Don’t go for mediocrity. Remember to go beyond your win and you will definitely discover more and create conversations after. Dig for the human truths. Visualize your idea. Look for inspiration everywhere. Treat it as your research material.
Last one is Innovate. Introduce new ways, methods, products. Combine things to create something amazing. Usually this is related to technology.
One way to innovate is to add experience. It is imperative that people experience it. This sets things apart from one another. Another way is zig and zag. Always do the opposite. Don’t join the bandwagon. Set yourself different from everybody else. Remember to be resourceful. Be creative in solving problems. Craft it well. The way you craft makes or breaks an idea. You can tell by the outcome if it is lovingly done and was allotted with precious time and care. Aim for perfection. Look for the purpose. Learn to give back. Be updated. See what’s next. Don’t get left behind.
Be aware of where the world is headed. Examples of which are NFT’S or non-fungible tokens, metaverse and crypto currency.
She coined the word ba-na-na meaning bago, naiiba and nakaka-kaba as a benchmark to use if your idea is creative enough. If you have these three essentials then you have a very beautiful creative idea. So “let your imagination run wild and keep on creating,” Merlee concluded.
