Improving Marketing Through Improv

I just got home about an hour ago from a very exhilarating evening with the improv group Chicago City Limits and the NYAMA.  We had a very special workshop on creativity in marketing.

For me, personally, it was one of the most enjoyable events I’ve been to this year.   I must confess my strong bias.  I’m a person who has always found improv classes to be the most enjoyable theater experiences.  They are easily as enriching and mind stretching as anything I did at Columbia’s School of the Arts.

If you work in marketing or any creative field, you owe it to yourself to study improv.  Agency side, client side, consulting, academics — we can all benefit from this as long as we keep an open mind and open attitude.

Chicago City Limits is NYC’s longest running improv theater.  It was transplanted here about 20 years ago when Paul Zuckerman, the creative director, moved to the city.  And by great good chance, Paul is also a member of the NYAMA.

Next up:  Monday is a networking event at the NYAMA.  And next Wednesday, May 25th, is breakfast with Jack Trout as part of the NYAMA’s “Meet The Author” series.

If All Business Is Show Business, Then You Should Come To NYAMA’s Evening With Improv Group Chicago City Limits (in New York, of course)

The improv pros at Chicago City Limits (here in NYC) are collaborating with the New York American Marketing Association (NYAMA) to give a special workshop on Creativity in Marketing on May 19th!

Sign up, bring a friend, and learn how to unlock your creative side.  Take center stage!  Grab the spotlight!  After all, the best ideas in marketing are not limited to the creative directors on the agency side.

New York's own Chicago City Limits!

Join in.  Be one of the 40 marketers giving their creativity a workout on Thursday, May 19th, at Chicago City Limits’ theater, 318 West 53rd Street in New York City.  6 pm to 8 pm.  Sign up at nyama.org

[Chicago City Limits in New York City?  I know, I know, they moved to New York about 20 years ago…]

One last secret I’ll let you in on — these workshops are exhilarating!

And yes, this event is limited to 40 people only, so that everyone gets the opportunity for hands-on experience with the CCL team.  So sign up now!

Put some creativity into your marketing – or – Improving by Improv

Marketing managers of the world, exercise your creativity!

Here’s a perfect opportunity to add some creativity to your marketing thinking.  The improv group, Chicago City Limits, will be hosting a creativity in marketing event for the NYAMA on May 19th.  [Learn more here]

No, you don’t have to go to Chicago.  Chicago City Limits is actually located in New York’s theater district.  It promises to be good fun and a good way to rethink marketing.  The event is going to be held in their theater.  We’ll be going through mind stretching exercises led by members of Chicago City Limits.

Why Chicago City Limits?  In addition to being a training ground for some very talented actors, writers, CCL runs creativity training sessions for many major corporations.  They know their business…and ours, too.

Here’s what some of their corporate clients have said:

Praise for Chicago City Limits corporate programs

Creativity is all about perspective.  Creativity gives you a way to look at the world in a different way.  Because when you look at the world in a different way, you can come up with new ideas and new answers to old problems.

Perfect example:  for decades people had been twisting apart their oreos, throwing way the part with only cookie and then putting together the two cookie/creme sides.  How did Nabisco respond?  They introduced the Double Stuf Oreo.

So now, I twist apart my double stufs, put two together and…hey…Nabisco, how about a Quad Stuf Oreo?

Double The Stuf, Double The Funn