How Can Creatives Stay in the Pocket?

Ben  
Okay. Welcome back to another episode of Content Amplified. Today I'm joined by Kevin. Kevin, welcome to the show.

Kevin Mautino  
Thanks, Ben.

Ben  
Love having you here. So Kevin, the subject's really fun today and I have a lot to learn, but before we dive in, it's really relevant. Let us get to know you. What got you into the field? What's your background? What do you love about being creative and content? Let us get to know you a little bit.

Kevin Mautino  
So yeah, I am currently the head of marketing for AeroNet Worldwide, global logistics solution provider and freight forwarder. We handle freight for a number of industries, including medical, automotive, EV, aerospace, high tech, industrial, retail, and the company recently celebrated its 42nd anniversary, still family owned, which is rare in these days. For me, I've been here eight years. I started out marketing back in 1999. Part of a small agency headed by someone who is still my mentor to this day. I started out in the creative end of things, eventually becoming art director there. From there, I worked in various digital marketing roles within corporate teams, which has been a mix of management and hands-on roles in graphic and web design, content development, analytics. I mean, you name it, pretty much many hats.

I've also done quite a bit of freelance and consultation, which is a way that I used to grow my skillset, you know, within the corporate marketing field when you're kind of asked to do one thing, this or that, it's good to pick up freelance and consultation gigs. You can kind of expand your arsenal that way. What I love about content marketing, it's that connection. It's finding the right content, finding what resonates with an audience, and finding out what they want to consume. Not necessarily what you want to push down their throats, but finding what they want to consume and figuring out what that sweet spot is. And once you get that connection and you get that brand loyalty coming back to you, that's really the sweet spot there.

How to Curate Original Creativity While Collaborating

Ben  
When you're often thinking about creativity, there's collaboration, right? That you're working with other people. So how can you curate like this original creativity while still working with other creatives and other people in that process?

Kevin Mautino  
Yeah, and the key is also remaining original, not taking too much from other people and trying to make it your own. The key is to be more focused on the process rather than the outcome. I think it can be helpful to brainstorm and share ideas about the creative process, what you consider good creative to be, how to be inspired, etc. But just understand that ultimately you need to bake into the final piece your own uniqueness. Be self-aware enough to know what it is that you do well, what you bring to a piece, and ensure that that comes through. That way you won't feel like you're just replicating or perhaps producing a lesser version of creative that you think is exceptional. But just be yourself and let your unique capabilities and abilities shine through.

Getting Creative Inspiration from Your Target Audience

Ben  
So when you are looking for creative inspiration, how do you get that from your target audience? Like how are you going out there and getting that inspiration from them?

Kevin Mautino  
I think it's pretty simple in that you need to get out there and you need to consume what they're consuming, see what they're seeing. And I think sometimes creatives overthink this. They try to deliver what they want, what they think is cool, rather than giving their audience what they want. You don't have to necessarily pander, but you need to find that common ground so that what you're producing resonates with them. And, you know, especially if you work with a sales team and...

It helps even if it's a large sales team that has a lot of people that sell into diverse verticals or different types of markets, get their feedback. And, you know, there's always that kind of push-pull between sales and marketing, but they're the ones, the boots on the ground that know their customers best. So, you know, get their feedback. They know their customers well, and they might have some insight that you never considered.

Overcoming Creative Blocks

Ben  
Sometimes we get stuck in a rut, right? Like it's hard to get, you know, you've got the writer block, the creative block, you just having a hard time. How does like, what is your inspiration or how do you get out of that mindset? You know, maybe change of scenery or something like that to start to find new inspiration.

Kevin Mautino  
Well, this is a big one for me since I've worked in a lot of corporate environments, corporate marketing. The traditional office can be a killer of creativity. Let's be honest. You know, unfortunately, this is not something that is often understood by the corporate types, especially if their jobs are more operational and transactional. So getting out of the office can be a big boost to creativity. For myself, I like to go outside, go to a local park. I like to walk. For whatever reason, getting my legs moving also gets my creative brain moving. Sometimes getting out to people-watch can also spark creativity, believe it or not. If you're in an area where they still have malls, they still exist, or a shopping center, just witness how people move about. Go to a store, observe how consumers operate, what they look at. Look at product packaging, see why it works or why it just blends in with the rest. The point is to get out into the real world, get some fresh air, draw some inspiration from how the world works rather than just observing it online. And if you work from home, still get out. Even a home office can become stifling if you're there long enough. If you're in a coworking space with other creatives, see if chatting with them gets the creative juices flowing. This goes back to what we talked about with networking, surrounding yourself with people, creative types that can kind of get you a spark.

Using Research to Spark Creativity

Ben  
So how can you like use research to spark creativity? How does that work?

Kevin Mautino  
Well, other than the real-world observations I mentioned, I mean, there's obviously research online that can spark creativity. The key is following where the attention is. You know, go to Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, any other platform and look for what's trending. You're not looking to replicate again, but dissect what's trending and figure out what makes them appealing. What is it about the content, the layout, or just how the information is presented? Once you're able to dissect why content is successful and reaching a particular audience, you can bake that into the process. So, you know, it's about being kind of analytical, but also observational and being able to pick apart something. I kind of go through like with athletics as well. If you're able to pick apart, learn the fundamentals, then you're able to kind of build back up and understand where you can be successful. And with creatives, it's the same sort of thing. Break down the piece, find out what makes it successful, what lures people to it, and bake that into your process.

Elements to Focus on When Researching Trends

Ben  
If I'm out there, you know, just to double-click on this, if I'm out there like really doing this research, looking at trending things, what are some of the things that I should be taking note of? You know, I can imagine how I feel, how it looks, the layout, but like what are some like standard elements that you would recommend you kind of just take note of and really focus on to understand why something is successful or doing well.

Kevin Mautino  
I think when you're looking at it, you have to first off look at what sort of action do they want you to take. So if you're looking at a particular piece, and I mean really every piece has a call to action, even if it's just promotional. If you're looking at that call to action and you figure, you kind of dissect it and say, okay, how are they leading the user to that call to action? Or are they even properly leading that user to the call to action? You know, obviously not all creative and not all pieces work right. And so you have to look at it objectively from does this work? Does it not work? And you also have to separate your own bias from it and say, okay, I may not personally like this, but I know other people do. So what is it about that? What is appealing to somebody? Why would somebody take that call to action? Or even if it's like, follow, subscribe, why would they follow that action? How are they gonna stick with this brand or this person long-term and just kind of dissect that. But it's also important that, especially on social, when you're consuming content from a research and a marketer's standpoint, you have to kind of divorce your own feelings from the process and look at it really objectively as to how does this attract users and how does this convert.

Staying in the Creative Pocket

Ben  
We're coming close against the time. So one final question, you know, again, you have this cool phrase of staying in the creative pocket. How do we stay in the pocket? Like, how do you keep that creativity going and avoid distractions and really harness that ability?

Kevin Mautino  
Well, I mean, this again can be a tough one for creatives if they're in a corporate environment because an office can be filled with people each day that are just kind of playing out the clock. You know, there are people that, you know, also the noise of a busy office can create distractions, especially if your desk is in a bullpen area, like we talked about the cubicles.

But as a creative, you don't want to let that inspiration or that momentum dissipate. Momentum is another big thing that you have to respect. So it's okay to shut the door, go somewhere quiet, get outside of the office or even your home if you work from home. But just ensure that you stay in that pocket. Don't let the distractions get to you because you don't want to lose that moment because it never may return in the same way. If you have that idea, you might have that idea again, but it may not be in the same way that you had it before. So you don't want to lose that moment, that momentum. So, you know, the other thing too is figure out if there's a particular time of the day when you're most creative, and then dedicate yourself to maximizing this time. We all have our rhythms throughout the day. So the key to creatives is to find yours. Don't force creativity, but rather understand when it best comes to you and really hit that time hard.

Ben  
I love that, I love that. And I think that's a great piece of advice to end on. And again, these episodes are short so that they're easy to consume on the go. Lots packed into this episode. Kevin, so much good information. If anyone wants to reach out and connect with you online, how and where can they find you?

Kevin Mautino  
Best way is on LinkedIn, Kevin Mautino.

Ben  
Love it, love it, and we'll link to it in the show notes. Again, Kevin, thanks for your time and insights today.

Kevin Mautino  
Thank you very much, Ben.

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