Originality
INSIGHT OVERVIEW:
In a world where it’s harder than ever to be Original, Originality is the individual.
The experiences, memories and everything else an individual collects on their life journey results in originality.
Essentially, as people, we are all snowflakes that cannot be replicated [yet!].
Concentrating on having the confidence to be themselves is the way in which our audience is original.
Other traits of Originality include being brave, being spirited and having a soul [the journey of life].
As a brand, to be an Original, we have to be brave; this is about involving.
As a brand, to be an Original, we have to be spirited; this is about uplifting
As a brand, to be an Original, we have to have a soul; this is about inspiring.
Creating a culture for [Original] growth therefore is also about involving, uplifting and inspiring people and culture.
When it comes to events, this is about being a brand that provides experiences and memories for the consumer’s life journey.
As the pandemic hit in 2020, PSEUDO embarked on a huge, global project to understand the Future of Creativity. Carried out for WeTransfer, importantly, what we heard then –which included an examination of Originality in today’s world – chimes with what we’ve heard now. With such robust research [it was carried out with people whose job titles were things like ‘Head of Creativity for Australia’ or individuals opening their own Creativity School in Wales], we lean into the findings from that work here too.
“"Ideas come from a unique person, so technically everything is original. It doesn’t matter, just the fact that we’re bringing something that’s coming from us and our unique perspective is what counts."
The word 'originality' has two meanings: 1] 'the quality of being unusual or novel' and 2] 'the ability to think independently and creatively'. In the research, however, when we asked the audience to describe Originality they described it in a far more digestible way, indeed - what makes something original is quite simple. Originality is the individual - the same findings we heard in the Future of Creativity work. In a world where the algorithm obstructs, ideas are prolific and ‘most things have been done before’, it is the individual being which makes something Original: those experiences, memories, feelings, opinions, and everything else that a human being collects on their journey through life.
Concentrating on having the confidence to be themselves is the way in which our audience is original. It is a case of knowing that human beings themselves are Original, and that we're all snowflakes that can't be replicated [yet...]. Therefore it is this application of self to an idea that makes things as near to original as possible, as the secondary definition ‘the ability to think independently’ shows. It doesn’t matter that everything has been done before, it doesn’t matter if we’re taking inspiration from elsewhere or someone else, if we as individuals haven’t done it before - it’s new and it hasn’t been done before, simply because we’re the ones doing it.
Naturally, this means we have to be aware of how we talk about Originality in-house. For instance, ‘originality matters more than ever’ translates as ‘the experiences a human collects on their journey matters more than ever’ which yes, can be read as a nice proposition, but intrinsically suggests those experiences didn’t matter so much in the past. When testing various hypotheses with the audience, however, there was one that grated more than most, as it directly negated how they see Originality. For, when asking them ‘what would happen if Originality ceased to exist’, we were naturally asking them to consider their own ‘removal’, as such. To them, if there’s no originality, there are no humans. Inevitably their answer is: ‘we’d all be robots or AI.”
“"I never ask for permission. I lean into my own mixtape. I treat originality like jazz. And now, now I’m way more intentional, way clearer. One of the things I’m understanding: clarity. When you can move from emphasising creativity to emphasising clarity, and you become specific, it’s no joke. Now, the more I’m growing, the clearer I’m getting. Like, this is dangerous, I love it."
As a brand, to be an Original, we have to be brave [involve]. This is about knowing we have to change and doing so fearlessly. It’s about daring to be bottom-up and finding our courage to go for the unknown. It’s about taking audacious risks [something Pharrell says we need to do too] and seizing opportunities quickly, while boldly leaning on the Originals of Culture to guide us.
To be an Original, we have to be spirited [uplift]. This is about doing things differently and experimenting with enthusiasm. It’s about being non-conformist as a brand, and leading never following. It’s about breaking [broken] rules and remixing in a way the consumers demand. It’s about disrupting outdated modes and models that don’t work for us and finding our own way and our own true spirit.
To be an Original, we have to have soul [inspire]. This is about having clarity with a global brand narrative built around purpose, people and planet. It is about having the confidence to talk about being first and of the beginning; leaning into our heritage to tell stories while celebrating and cherishing the brand soul across realms. It is about knowing who we are and who we’re not, refusing to copy or chase.
“"adidas has tried less over the years to find themselves, being in a space where they’re unoriginal. I would say how we fix that is being original in plans. You’ll find the originality that’s being sought after when you go against the grain of what you’re used to. The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and expecting a different result. You’re not going to find originality if you’re not involving original people with originality into your spaces."
Creating a culture for growth is about involving, uplifting and inspiring culture and our audience. It is about rooting ourselves in the culture and using our power to make a difference in uplifting it by cultivating and nurturing individual and cultural growth. It is about always being ‘a part of’ culture, never ‘apart from’; being appropriate, never appropriating. It is about being a key player in the Originality journey.
To fuel Originality, we have to be brave [involve]. This is about fearlessly playing our part in culture with humility; providing spaces, places, experiences and product for people and communities to create and connect through. It is about urgently reconnecting with the people and places rooted in culture to jumpstart our connections, seeking out others to collaborate and partner with.
To fuel Originality we have to be spirited [uplift]. It is about sharing our platforms with others and showing our support for the people, places and issues they truly care about. It is about acknowledging others and creating awareness, always with passion and in a way that reflects our consumer. It is about making a commitment to culture and sticking with it, always with energy and enthusiasm.
To fuel Originality we have to have soul [inspire]. This is about inspiring others and impacting change by investing in the culture, people and planet to create a better world for all. It is about using our power to make a difference to others, seeing and believing in what they do and standing behind that. It is about promoting inspiring change, from the inside soul of the brand to outside world and culture.
“"adidas need people that come from the base, people that are so deeply in the culture that they know exactly what to do."
When it comes to events, this is about being a brand that provides experiences and memories for the consumer. It is about playing our part as a brand and getting involved through occasions that express culture and the people sharing it, through the Make a Statement segment, which the bullseye sits within. Bullseye occasions are all about making an impression; expressing yourself and your attitude through curating a sense of self [fuelling originality]. This is the curation of ‘soul’. Typically these are cultural events such as music festivals/concerts, fashion shows/events and experiences centred around the arts and media [opinions and feelings].
To the audience, these moments define the true meaning of ‘avant-garde’: Progress with intention to challenge the status quo. Our events should set trends for looks and aesthetics that travel well beyond their moment of origin. It’s where shared memories are created that become part of the collective consciousness – those who were part will remember forever. Hence, they are immersive by nature giving consumers the opportunity to lean in – and move from being passive spectators to change-makers and power-shifters, again fuelling their own originality. It feels exciting. It arouses anticipation. It inspires the journey of the Original.
The traits and characteristics of being Original can be applied here too. For instance, brave events are those that collectively curate culture [involve], for culture is never sterile; it’s created, fostered and shared through the people devoted and involved in it. Spirited events are daringly experimental. They explore the edges of the impossible and bring the ‘power of re-’ to the forefront: re-imagine, re-define, re-invent. Events with soul are about being expressive and progressive. It’s about being a platform for the attitudes and values that pave the way for our future.