This week marks World Creativity and Innovation Day.
A day designed to celebrate new ideas, fresh thinking and the role creativity plays in solving real-world challenges. And if you work in internal communication, you’ve probably heard some version of this before.
“We need to be more creative.”
“Can we make this more innovative?”
It’s almost become part of the job description – but here’s the thing.
Most of us have been creative. We’ve come up with the big ideas, designed the campaigns and pushed for something different. And if we’re honest, we’ve probably got a few stories to show for it.
The Pink Panther, the props… and the problem with “creative”
In the first episode of The Stuck Record Podcast, Emma and Lee share some of those moments. Including a Pink Panther themed internal campaign complete with painted buildings and life-sized cut-outs!
It was brilliant, memorable and exactly the kind of thing people often think of when they say “be more creative.”
But it also highlights something important.
Because while those moments might grab attention, they don’t always create impact.
As the podcast reflects, internal communication has often leaned towards entertainment over experience. And that’s where things start to unravel.
Because the real test of creativity isn’t how original it is, how different it looks, or how much attention it gets.
It’s much simpler than that.
- Does it connect?
- Does it make people feel something?
- Does it help them understand?
- Does it change what they do next?
Because if it doesn’t, it’s just noise.
This is where People-First IC changes the conversation
When we talk about People-First Internal Communication, we’re not talking about being more creative for the sake of it. We’re talking about a different kind of creativity altogether. One that starts with understanding real experiences, focuses on solving real problems and involves designing with people rather than for them.
In other words, creativity as problem solving. Not decoration. Not performance. Not a last-minute attempt to make something “more engaging.” But a deliberate way of turning insight into something meaningful.
From campaigns to connection
This is where so many organisations get stuck.
They invest time in understanding what’s going on. Insight is gathered, themes are identified and plans are created. And then somewhere along the way, the focus shifts to how it looks rather than how it lands. That’s why you can end up with well-designed campaigns that don’t change behaviour, or clear messaging that doesn’t build trust, or creative ideas that don’t actually solve anything.
The connection piece is missing.
So what does creativity actually mean in practice?
At People Lab, we see creativity differently.
It’s not about chasing the big idea. It’s about asking better questions and staying close to the reality of people’s experiences.
What’s really getting in the way here? What does this feel like day to day? What would make this easier, clearer or better?
Then working with people to design something that responds to that. And that might still result in something bold. It might still look like an ‘out of the box’ campaign….but the difference is that it’s not just creativity for creativity’s sake – the difference is, it works.
Creativity that makes a difference
If World Creativity and Innovation Day is about anything, it’s this.
Not just celebrating ideas, but recognising the role creativity plays in solving the challenges that actually matter.
In internal communication, that means moving beyond campaigns for the sake of it, content for the sake of it, and creativity for the sake of it.
And focusing on something much more powerful.
Designing experiences that people understand, trust and act on.
Want to explore this further?
If you want to hear the Pink Panther story and a few other brilliantly honest reflections, you can listen to the podcast here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5BjVZ1U0SbskMCfm1ERYuZ?si=b8689a63e0ad436d
And if this has got you thinking about your own approach to creativity, communication or experience design, we’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re trying to solve a specific challenge or simply sense that things aren’t landing in the way they should, it’s always worth a conversation. And if you want to share some of your own ‘pink panther’ type stories…. we love to hear those too!
