How Unscrunched Minds Lead to Industry-Defining Marketing!
- Chloe Ambrose
- Jun 4
- 2 min read
What's our marketing-reality? We're constantly trying to keep up with competitors, the algorithm, and the incessant demand for ideas. "More, more, more!" the marketing-monster screams. And you perform, scraping the idea-barrel, reshaping others' ideas, and working yourself into the ground. So, I argue.... ⬇️💡
To continue delivering industry-defining work, we need to unscrunch minds and replenish creativity. With more demands comes a reduction in time, energy, resources, and us creatives can't continue to deliver at this capacity. Especially whilst the work load increases and our teams...erm, decrease?
Where has everyone gone? Oh, that's right, they've gone freelance. Because they've had enough of working for organisations that don't understand, nurture and appreciate their creativity, their extraordinary.
And for those who stay? They often become scrunched.
A scrunched mindset occurs when a creative or marketer is under intense pressure, operating with low capacity for innovation, and consistently exposed to environments that undervalue creativity subsequently. So, over time, they turn inward, reducing their creative voice and, ultimately, their ability. Like a prematurely binned idea or a scrunched-up piece of paper, they begin to ignore their values and the need to challenge the status quo, becoming quieter, and eventually tossing away their full creative potential.
In my experience, working under these conditions made me deeply resentful of my workplace, and of the creative industry as a whole. So, I asked, how can creativity be demanded but not looked after? How is it that no one educates us on how to access, nurture and better direct our creative ability? And whose responsibility is it to look after the welfare of creativity? That frustration turned into a question, and that question turned into a mission. So unscrunch was born.
💥 Three traits of a scrunched mindset: 💥
💡Fear over flow:
Instead of working in a state of "creative flow," individuals operate from a fear of failure, of being replaced, of not being "on-trend." As a result, they lose touch with their creativity, defaulting to safe, recycled ideas or imitations, in hopes of preserving the security they (and their creativity) crave.
💡Short-term thinking:
Constant urgency kills long-term vision. For example, everything becomes reactive rather than strategic or inspired, leaving you with clones of existing content and your organisation with a same-online-presence.
💡Internalised Devaluation:
Creatives begin to question the value of their own ideas: second-guessing, self-censoring, and holding back bold contributions. Because creativity is deeply personal, this self-doubt often seeps into other areas of identity, leading to frustration, disengagement, and a quiet erosion of confidence.
These are just three out of many traits that suggest a scrunched mindset. So, why is it important to undo uncreative thinking habits?
When we let go of creativity-limiting narratives and behaviours, we create space for better ideas, stronger voices, and bolder marketing. unscrunched minds don’t just survive in the industry, they define it.
Are you doing something about yours?
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