Creativity Squared: Benjamin Potter on Viewing the World with a Discerning Eye

Ben is CEO North America and global creative director of CLICKON, a transformative tech-centric creative services group based in the US and EMEA and founded in 2014.

Renowned for pioneering digital campaigns, creative content and proprietary technology products, CLICKON partners with global brands such as the US Navy, BBC, TikTok, Lenovo, Facebook, Land Rover and Amazon.

I'm often caught up thinking about the many sides of creativity itself. Creativity exists in every industry, sometimes getting extra spotlight in the art-driven realm of advertising. I believe I use creativity in everything I do, whether it’s negotiating a new business opportunity, an acquisition or forging a new campaign. For me, it’s about pushing the boundaries and being different from your competitors. By standing out and making enough noise, people tend to notice you!

Were you to ask me to summarise my personality, I'd choose words such as determined, fierce, and unapologetically competitive. These qualities underpin my strategies when confronting both creative and strategic challenges. In social settings, I'm an extrovert among those familiar to me, but when meeting new faces, I assume the role of a perceptive observer. I like to view the world with a discerning eye, appreciating the nuances that colour every situation. The world, I've found, operates in shades of grey far more intricate than a simple binary of right and wrong.

Addressing the perennial debate of whether creativity is innate or nurtured, I lean toward a synthesis of both. So much of our creative elasticity in our brain comes from our childhood experiences, and whether we were given the freedom to invent. 

Routine, I've discovered, offers solace and structure, serving as a reliable framework within which my creativity can thrive. Yet, the creative endeavours that captivate me, are about exploring a new project that doesn’t fit your wheelhouse. Time and time again at CLICKON, we’re faced with new requests from clients that ask for things outside of our bread and butter services, and I think that’s where I really thrive.

The assessment of an idea's true creativity is a nuanced process. There’s so many pieces to consider. Does it say something new? Did it employ a new style of storytelling? Did the camera do something I wasn’t expecting? Did the music add another character that wasn’t there. I think ultimately though, it’s did this piece of work take me on a journey I hadn’t been on before? As you get older and wiser, I think you expect more from a piece of work. My criteria for assessing creativity have evolved. It becomes less about “is that work really poppy and cool?” and more “how did that piece of work have a profound impact on my life?”

Among the projects I hold in high regard, 'Faces of the Fleet', which is into its fifth year for America’s Navy, stands as my proudest piece of work. Through our partnership with VMLY&R, we’ve redefined storytelling for the Navy, and created one of the most successful recruitment campaigns ever. We’ve travelled the world several times to give people the knowledge and access to what life is truly like in the Navy - something that has never been done before Faces of the Fleet. Similarly, our collaboration with Special Olympics has fostered an inclusive movement that's transforming lives. Through storytelling, we’ve helped create an inclusion movement across the United States where schools are utilising Special Olympics’ education programs to help create a better world for those with and without intellectual disabilities.

In the current landscape, the rise of AI ushers in a transformative era, where human innovation and technological progress intersect. The narrative is shifting from the individual 'artist' to the synergy between humans and technology. However, amidst the rush for content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, the art of storytelling has at times taken a backseat. Yet, I remain optimistic, confident that captivating narratives will once again reclaim their prominence.

Launching a campaign or embarking on a creative project is synonymous with collaboration for me. I like to sit down with my creative and production teams, and hear a diverse range of ideas from great people I admire. Creativity is all about being human at the end of the day, and anyone that thinks they can use a digital communication tool like Teams or Zoom to come up with the next big idea is going to have a hard time. I’m not saying people can’t be creative using technology, but the best ideas are always born when great minds are together in one room. That energy is electric.

Teamwork, I've found, ignites creativity like nothing else but during moments of creative block, I've found that stepping away is the way. For some, that might mean going to a wrecking room or running 10 miles. For me personally, it’s just stepping away from the office and doing something completely unrelated until the inspiration comes back.

In the realm of project inception, I would ideally begin with a blank slate. Yet reality often introduces its own complexities, especially when collaborating with other agencies or brands that have already built out some sort of creative shell. Whatever stage of development we’re brought in at, we collect references from work we love without falling into the trap of imitation.

And when it's time to wrap up, a sense of completion resonates deep within and you just know in your heart when a piece of work is done. There’s a catharsis that happens where you just feel like you’ve taken it as far as you can.

Growing up in rural England, there wasn’t much in the way of art that inspired me. For me, it was more about having the freedom to roam my environment. Being outside, connected with nature, instilled a sense of wonder that fuelled my creativity from an early age. My craft took shape at the Conservatory of Film & Theatre at Purchase College in New York, where I honed my skills and expanded my creative horizons.

For those seeking to extract the best from their teams and agencies, my advice is straightforward: be nice, be collaborative and most importantly have fun. In an industry fuelled by creativity, if you're not having fun, you're in the wrong place.