Mike Yapp talks creativity, the expressive potential of online and the creative process at Carat.

Mike Yapp, national executive creative director, Carat Interactive spoke with iMedia about defining creativity and how it is evolving online.  He will be on the "New Challenges for Creativity" panel at the iMedia Agency Summit May 22 - 25 at Amelia Island, Florida.

iMedia: Talk about what creativity means to you.

Mike Yapp: Creativity is not so much the end product as it is the process of arriving at that creative solution. Creative people think differently from others. Most people tell a story by fact; good creatives tell a story by feel. There exists in the creative mind a need for exploration. To talented creatives, life is a constant bombardment of symbols; even words are symbolic. These are unconsciously stored and intuitively drawn upon when creating.

Most ideas are recognizable and referential, a one-to-one correlation. But great ideas are original, indirectly referential. Inventive ideas take time and discovery, are transcendent and precedent making. Referential ideas are immediate and imitative.

• Creativity is the difference between an imitative execution and an original one.
• Creativity is not confined to messaging and designing. Those are only two tools for expressing creativity.
• Creativity in the online space includes those more associated with right brain endeavors, namely math.

iMedia: Why have you chosen interactive as your medium of expression?

Yapp: In general, it is the fact that the interactive space is so mercurial. From the first week I began working in this space the velocity and ever-expanding creative capabilities of online were absolutely intoxicating and, simultaneously, exhausting. And the type of creative people this media attracts seems to feed off this energy. It’s kinetic. It’s simply so immediate, so demanding, so creatively competitive and so entrepreneurial that, for me it is irresistible.

iMedia: Describe the state of online creative right now.

Yapp: Online creatives need to stop thinking “online” and start thinking “interaction.” Interaction spans far more than the browser space; it is pervasive of all mediums. Because of this, online creative is in an extremely advantageous position. IP has become the basis for all multi-way communication and creatives that have been in this space for a few years and understand the creative interactive behaviors are best equipped to apply its unique communication properties to the advantage of a brand.

Having said this, however, I think many online creatives get caught up in the execution and fail to address the overall brand. This is something online creatives have to get a better grasp on. Traditional agencies have historically controlled the brand. Controlling the brand equates to controlling all messaging and, ultimately, all mediums to express the brand.

iMedia: Discuss how your agency goes about the creative ideation and development process, specifically with respect to collaborating with your media counterparts.

Yapp: There are basically two types of brainstorming in our agency. The first is more strategic including creative, media, technology and account management. This meeting explores the possibilities in context of the brand, the budget and the need. Here opportunities are identified and creative and media strategy is defined. The second is strictly creative and includes the art director and copywriter and possibly a technologist. Obviously this brainstorming results in the creative ideas and executions. These are comped and reviewed by the whole account team and submitted for presentation to the client.

iMedia: ROI is an inevitable part of interactive. How do you reconcile branding/story-telling and selling product?

Yapp: No matter how much the client wishes to “sell” the product, it requires good messaging, compelling design and innovative media/technological execution to cut through the online clutter and make the audience take notice. The days of buying every ad impression and expecting a realistic CPA are over.

I know brand response is an overused phrase, but I do believe that the two are not mutually exclusive. Tracking and accountability have kept creatives in the interactive space honest for a long time.

More on Mike Yapp

Mike Yapp defines and drives the creative direction for all of Carat's campaigns. Through strategic thinking, fresh conceptualization and compelling graphical executions, Yapp consistently delivers great advertising for Carat's roster of leading brands like Adidas, Western Union, Macy's, RadioShack, Showtime, Miller Brewing Company and Ofoto. With more than 20 years experience in the magazine and internet publishing worlds, Yapp has earned numerous design awards. His background includes art direction for several computer-related magazines such as Mac User and PC Computing, and the development of websites for Ziff Davis and Wells Fargo. Among Yapp's awards are Clios, One-Show Gold Pencils, and most recently, an MSNEnny for "Best Branding Campaign of 2004." He was a Clio awards judge in 2003 and a Cannes Lion judge in 2002.