Creativity Squared: Becky Morriss on the True Value of Creativity
Becky Morriss is a senior art director at DDB Melbourne with over 13 years’ experience. She’s passionate about ideas that can have an impact for good. And in her time, she’s worked on multiple award-winning campaigns, on some of Australia’s biggest brands. Becky is a proud member of the Aunties, a Melbourne founded mentorship program and support system that inspires, protects, and champions women of all ages and backgrounds across creative industries. She is also a proud Chow Chow mum, but not so proud of the hair he leaves around the house.
Person
I’m an all-in kind of creative person. It’s not something I just do for work, it’s part of who I am, how I see the world. I’m always on the lookout for inspiration and am creative with my cooking, my style and my extracurriculars. I’m often waking up at 3am to scribble down an idea or pulling over to write my thoughts down in the notes app. My notes app is a graveyard of ideas – some have made the cut, while others sit dormant, waiting for their moment in the sun.
Creativity is deemed as something only some people possess – but we’re all creative in different ways. I think that people underestimate creativity. They see it as being “arty.” But creativity is more than that – it’s thinking differently. It’s questioning what is possible and wondering what could be. It’s problem solving, it’s innovation - I think myself lucky to apply creativity to so many different challenges every day.
Product
For me, truly creative work elicits a strong emotional response. You just know a great idea when you see it because you feel it. If I’m laughing, crying, or changing the way I think about something – it’s done its job.
The work I’m most proud of creating is The Creative Index. It’s the first ever tool that puts value on creativity in the community. The index aggregates Australia’s top creative companies using historical and live ASX share price data, from 2012 to now. The result: proof of the performance and power of creativity, as a total dollar figure, currently $605B AUD.
The Creative Index shows that creativity not only serves a crucial purpose, but that its economic impact is comparable to mining and agriculture. And while we value those industries they’ll eventually dry up. The Creative Index not only challenges people's view of what creativity is … it’s also proving that creativity is something of value, something that can shape our futures and make real lasting change.
Overall, what I find exciting about our industry's output is the cultural change we can catalyse. Whether we like it or not, advertising has real influence. We have the power to educate people and the opportunity to shift the dial.
Process
When I start a campaign or creative project, I like to spend time mulling on it. Usually during the briefing you’re hit with some initial thoughts and ideas but almost always those aren’t the solution.
One technique I hate is group brainstorming directly after the briefing. This in my opinion only results in shallow first thoughts. A brief deserves more love and attention. You can brainstorm but it’s better to have had time with the brief first – so you’re bringing thoughts that have been interrogated a bit before being shared.
That makes me sound like I don’t like working collaboratively. I do, I really enjoy working with others. There’s a reason why creatively we’re paired into copywriter art director teams. Each person brings a different view, experience, history, and insight. I love how a kernel of an idea can suddenly grow into something magnificent with the input of different people. It can take on its own life, better for having many owners.
When I hit a brick wall on a project, I find the best solution is to get away from my desk. Get outside, go for a walk, go for a drive, talk to someone about something unrelated. It’s all about shifting your view and focus. If I’m in the office I find that it’s on my drive home that I’m frequently hit with the solution to something I’d been struggling with.
Creative work can always be pushed further, so often the only reason for a piece of work to be ‘done’ is the due date.
Press
I grew up in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. For the city-loving girl that I am - I grew up amongst the gumtrees. Our property was big and leafy, so I spent my childhood with my sister in the backyard with only our imaginations. Not far from our home was a 100-acre forest that our Granddad would take us to. There he created an imaginary world, convincing us that goblins, ghouls, and fairies lived in parts of the woods.
My mum and grandma also played major roles in sowing the seeds of my creativity. Forever encouraging my sister and I to be playful both in arts and crafts and in our playtime. I tell you what my Barbie playtime plots would rival that of a Hollywood blockbuster. So many natural disasters.
I’m still honing my craft, but you could say I am a product of my adland journey and all the people and experiences I’ve had along the way. I’ve learnt by watching, listening, and jumping in the deep end. Every experience is an opportunity to learn and get better.
When it comes to my own creativity the external factor that is a point of contention for me is stress. Sadistically, I believe stress is good for you. It pushes you and makes you try harder. But too much, and it paralyses you. You need the freedom to be playful, to wander through your mind and try different approaches.
The advice I would give to clients looking to get the best from their agency is to trust us – you’ve hired us because we’re creative experts. Let us help you take that leap.
As agencies I think we can remind ourselves and our clients of what creativity is and that it’s a powerful renewable resource that has endless possibilities.
