The Economic Purpose of Creativity

Marketing Shenanigans (#014)

What’s the economic purpose of creativity? If you’re still selling yourself as just "creative," you might be underselling your value.

Let’s start with the basics: By definition, creativity is the ability to generate ideas, theories, or techniques that are both original and useful.

Sounds impressive, right? But let’s go deeper.

Creativity is more than just coming up with ideas—it’s part of the broader virtue of wisdom. It sits alongside traits like curiosity, judgment, a love of learning, and perspective. All are powerful, valuable qualities.

Here’s the catch: Creativity is open-ended. And when you’re pitching yourself or your work, open-ended doesn’t always work. Investors, employers, or clients don’t like uncertainty—they want to know what they’re getting.

So, while creativity is an incredible tool, selling yourself as "creative" alone leaves too much up for interpretation. It’s vague, and vague doesn’t build trust.

Instead, think about how people value applied creativity:

• Advertisers: Creativity’s purpose is to capture attention in a crowded marketplace.

• Product developers: Creativity’s purpose is to solve problems and make solutions beautiful, intuitive, or groundbreaking.

• Copywriters: Creativity’s purpose is to simplify complexity—turning intricate ideas into digestible, compelling stories.

In every case, creativity isn’t the main pitch. It’s the framing that producing results.

The real magic happens when you pair creativity with problem-solving and a focus on outcomes. That’s what makes your work clear, actionable, and valuable.

The Takeaway

Before you describe yourself as "creative," think about what your creativity does.

• Does it drive sales?

• Solve customer pain points?

• Build emotional connections?

• Deliver solutions people didn’t even know they needed?

Focus on the outcomes, not just the skillset. That’s what makes people sit up and pay attention.

Conclusion: Creativity is powerful, but it’s not the headline. It’s the engine. When you tie your creativity to problem-solving and measurable results, you shift from "open-ended" to "indispensable." That’s what people want to invest in.

Teddy Giard

In case you don’t already know, my name is Teddy, and I operate a firm that specializes in marketing strategies for outdoor brands. Our approach is simple: align your product development timeline with your marketing production timeline; by doing so, we can own the distribution of our message and our products.

If you’d like to explore working together, feel free to fill out this form, and if we’re a good fit, we can schedule a discovery call. We ask this because we keep a fairly narrow target for whom we work, and we like to be as open about that on the front end as possible. After all, time is life’s most valuable resource.