Creative thinking is the part of a PR’s DNA.  Behind every good public relations campaign is a creative concept that makes messages attractive and memorable.

Creative thinking that produces concepts and ideas is important in public relations because key messages have to break through the noise of a busy media environment and make an impact and create a call to action.

However, research shows that PR firms still struggle to prove their creative worth (The Holmes Report 2014).  PR agencies are ranked third after ad and digital agencies by clients in terms of their creative quality and 1 in 3 clients are unhappy with the quality of creative work being delivered by their agency.  But, clients say they are 42 per cent more likely to approach their PR agency for big ideas than a year ago – so that’s a positive.

Creativity can come from anywhere though, not just from an agency such as Clareville, as the recent results of the recent TV channel Gold poll shows. Twitter users were challenged to write their own jokes to liven up the usual seasonal offerings after research revealed most people find cracker gags outdated.

Top 10 best alternative cracker gags

 1. What will be missing from Take That’s Christmas stocking this year? An Orange.

2. How does Luis Suarez like his Christmas dinner? Bite-sized.

3. What do the royal family play at Christmas instead of musical chairs? Game Of Thrones.

4. What did the snowman say to the aggressive carrot? “Get out of my face”.

5. Why is Christmas a busy time for David Cameron? He’s got two parties to organise.

6. What’s the difference between Bono and Santa? Santa gives you things you want.

7. Why won’t Santa visit Nigel Farage? Because he only comes if you sleep, not if Ukip.

8. Why are snowmen rubbish at cricket? They’re always bowling snow-balls.

9. I got a Ukip advent calendar. It’s rubbish, all the doors keep slamming shut.

10. Why is The Great British Bake-Off like the nativity? Because the Star is in the Yeast.

Happy Christmas everybody!