When you work in marketing, you’re expected to be a well of fresh ideas — endlessly creative, relentlessly on-brand, and always ten steps ahead. But inspiration doesn’t only come from trend reports or competitor analysis. More often than not, your best ideas are hiding in plain sight: at the corner café, in the book you’re reading, or during an overheard conversation in line at Trader Joe’s.
Things that make you stop scrolling
For example, a client in the wellness space might benefit from a campaign inspired by a weekend farmer’s market — not just the aesthetic, but the warmth, the connection, the casual, sun-drenched energy. A luxury brand might draw more attention by leaning into the absurdity of aspiration — not perfection, but the wink at perfection.
Inspiration isn’t always about looking up. It’s about looking around. The world is giving you ideas. You just have to be paying attention.
Good marketing starts with observation. But great marketing? That starts with living.
The environment you're in — physically, socially, culturally — shapes the way you think. If you’re sitting at the same desk, cycling through the same 5 open tabs, wondering why you feel creatively drained, it might be time to step outside. Literally.
When you expose yourself to new surroundings — a gallery, a hiking trail, a vintage store, a weekend walk through an unfamiliar neighborhood — you start to notice patterns, textures, emotions. Architecture, for example, can teach you structure, spacing, how to create visual tension. Even if you’re not a graphic designer, studying how a brutalist building uses harsh lines or how a Spanish colonial one softens a facade can spark ideas for layout, composition, or branding tone.
Hobbies matter too. The books you read, the movies you watch, the classes you take for no reason other than joy — they give you reference points that others don’t have. And those reference points become metaphors, visuals, captions, even full campaigns.
Marketing isn’t about staying plugged in 24/7. It’s about unplugging enough to fill your brain with other things — so you have something original to draw from when it’s time to create.
