Let fearless creativity reign in the Year of the Tiger

As we begin the Lunar New Year amid yet another wave of the coronavirus, some annual greetings and well-wishes have a sound of caution in them. In a global economy still at the mercy of the ongoing pandemic and dynamic market movements deterring anticipated progress on longer-term business strategies, organizations are navigating massive, disruptive changes. The difficult days are not yet behind us.

But in 2022, the Year of the Tiger — a creature associated with confidence, bravery, and strength — there is hope for businesses with those same attributes. If much of the past two years has been about surviving each day, then 2022 is about creatively seizing it.

The Tiger — the second in the 12-year cycle of animals in Chinese astrology — will bring an unprecedented year for inspiration as creators take on the challenges of a world transformed by the pandemic, letting ingenuity carry them forward.

Even more than before, we’re living in an interconnected digital world. In this hypercompetitive business environment, creativity has been democratized, no longer solely confined to sleek offices and professional design studios. But this shouldn’t worry enterprises. Rather, leading organizations are recognizing the value of always-on high impact content coming from the community and connecting with influential contributors across the creator economy.

Creativity and design will play a critical role in engaging both consumers and business customers in 2022. Here are three ways top companies can win with fearless creativity in the Year of the Tiger.

1. Lean into your fear and rise above it.

The idea of being fearless suggests the absence of fear, but that’s not true. Being fearless is about acknowledging fear and overcoming it. Courage is the ability to move through fear creatively, to fight it with new ideas, strategies, and innovation.

The past two years have been challenging, both for individuals and businesses. You can start by applying your own experiences to recognize your customers’ pain points so that you can design solutions to address them. Recognizing your own organizational, departmental, or personal vulnerabilities — downsizing, hybrid work, health concerns — is a key first step to creative success.

Open, honest vulnerability builds trust and cohesion among colleagues, forming a shared vision that empowers a team to try new ideas, forge creative resilience, and present an authentic brand identity and perspective through unique, imaginative storytelling.

Still, things can be hard sometimes, and when they are, creative leaders need to exercise self-care. We must take care of ourselves so we can be strong for our teams. Just like in aeroplane safety instructions, when you’re told to put on your own oxygen mask first and foremost, we should look out for ourselves and know we’re not alone in dealing with adversity.

“Courage and fearlessness broaden the realm of creativity,” says Heesun Byeon, head of new IP group at The Pinkfong Company and director of the Pinkfong & Baby Shark's Space Adventure film. “Those mindsets allow us to embrace innovative ideas from teams and creatively apply them to content, ultimately delivering an ‘unusual fun’ for consumers while leading to a new opportunity for business.”

2. Don’t be afraid of new opportunities.

The Tiger is considered the king of all beasts in China. In 2022, agile enterprise leaders must be tiger-like — courageously creative, daring in decision-making, and ready to pounce on new prospects. Essential to being prepared in a fast-changing environment is using advanced technology — from AI and 3D to data-driven insights and immersive virtual reality, as a force multiplier for creativity — giving it precision, performance, and profitability.

“Creativity allowed our team to think of new and innovative ideas to engage with members, especially during times of COVID and budget pressures,” says Kawin Tangudtaisak, managing director of The 1, Thailand’s largest loyalty program. “We continue to see record numbers for monthly active users in our app from creative campaigns driven by our targeted rewards, gamification, and engaging content.”

While it can be uncomfortable to navigate major changes, these transformations open up opportunities. In 2021, for example, Pinkfong employed a “familiar-unfamiliar” strategy to craft never-before-seen IP, expanding beyond traditional content consumption formats into virtual spaces — for example, launching Baby Shark-themed fashion items, video booths, and an NFT artwork series. For Byeon, this move helped “bring inspirational, enjoyable stories and immersive experiences to a wider audience around the globe, whether in the metaverse or the physical world.”

3. Explore, experiment, express.

An organization with a fear of failure will shackle its creative people. In a work culture with a sense of adventure and professional risk-taking, employees feel free to tap into creative thinking and express themselves. Missteps are treated as chances to learn and grow. That’s when the best innovation happens.

“Often uncharted territories are earmarked and noted for future action — delayed until critical mass or proven success elsewhere,” says Grace Astari, creative lead, Innovation at Diageo. “But culture is moving at a speed that calls for pace, reaction, and a spirit of experimentation. As leaders of lifestyle, brands need to embrace the uncharted with a courage consumers expect of us, because through our journeys, they too have the courage to explore, discover, and engage with the world with novelty, intrigue, and excitement.”

Byeon believes creativity is the most important force spurring companies to keep challenging the status quo and produce consistently inventive, impactful content in an era of quickly shifting trends. The key to doing this with a shorter time to market is constantly testing and learning, approaching the content development process with an attitude undaunted by potential failure.

“Following a winning formula of proven content is a double-edged sword,” Byeong says. “It might help increase production efficiency but there is a risk of lagging behind in a fast-evolving digital content industry. Brands and their IP can thrive for a long time only if they continue fearless, ceaseless attempts to achieve two goals: production efficiency and new content experience.”

Adds Tangudtaisak, “In moments such as these, many organizations tend to scale down and become more conservative in their investments for growth. On the contrary, we believe this is the right opportunity to push our boundaries and be willing to try new things, make mistakes, and learn and improve from them. Once the situation starts returning to normal, those with courage and fearlessness will most likely be a few steps ahead of the rest.”

As we celebrate Lunar New Year around the world, now is the time to move forward with confidence and courage — in our creativity, our passion and our work. It’s time to celebrate where the Year of the Tiger will take us. It’s time to #SpringintoFearless.