You’re allowed to be jealous right now. I’m in my rented condo at the beach and the forecast for this whole second week in October is 80 degrees and not one drop of rain. All that being said, how does that connect to wanting to become creative? In 2011, I wrote a blog that has to do with something many of you have probably seen while walking along the beach. It’s an oldie, but I think it’s still a goodie. It also might help you become more creative!

become creativeJune 8, 2011

I really wasn’t expecting to find such an important advertising tip while walking on the beach. However, it really made too much sense to ignore. When you take a walk on the beach, how many sand castles do you run across? Sometimes you can find 10 or more in a few minutes. Although, how many of them do you really remember? My girlfriend and I took a nice long walk on the beach a couple of nights ago. There were plenty of sand castles up and down the beach. Nothing more elaborate than just buckets turned upside down with dumped out sand to create a structure.

All of the sudden, we ran across an alligator. No, not a real one, but one made of sand. It was about 10 feet long with open eyes, a long tail, and it was green on top. Impressive to see, but in all seriousness, not hard to reproduce. In fact, the part that stood out the most was probably the easiest part, the green color. Probably was nothing more than some kind of green paint. So other than the extra time to create, there was probably nothing that you couldn’t do yourself. What was the result? That was the only sand structure my girlfriend and I talked about…long after we passed it. Then, it was the first thing we told my parents about when got back to the condo.

The next night was the same deal. Lots of sand castles, but one big mermaid on the sand with the seashell scales on her tail created by about 100 seashells. My parents even asked us if we had seen the mermaid on the beach. Again, nothing too difficult. Fairly easy to find 100 seashells on the beach. Only slightly time consuming. However, we all remembered the mermaid on the beach, probably along with hundreds of other people.

Take all these sand structures and think about number of billboards and advertisements you pass during a typical day of driving. How many billboards can you honestly remember in detail? What about non-chain restaurants that you pass by? One of my favorite restaurants at the beach is Benjamin’s Original Calabash Seafood Buffet (heading there tonight). When people tell me that they’re going to Myrtle Beach, I always recommend that place. People always ask, “Where is it?” And I always give the same answer: “Right next to the giant crab.” What strikes me funny is that when say “giant crab,” I’ve never had to give further detail. How difficult was it for the restaurant owner’s to get a giant crab? Probably not too hard. But again, that’s the one people remember.
Just keep in mind that when you create your ads, business cards or promotional materials…become creative! You can often do it by putting in a little extra time. I learned that from , an alligator, a mermaid, and a giant crab.