It seems that lately, when it comes to media and the marketing industry in general, creativity is all I hear about. Whether it’s about getting consumers to co-create or just exposing them to creativity, the latter has become more important than ever for a campaign to stand out. I should know, I just graduated from a marketing master’s degree that has the word “creativity” in it.

The rise of social media and mobile marketing has opened doors for brands to explore creativity. It is thus no surprise that brands have increasingly been positioning themselves as creative and artistic.

For Absolut Vodka, a brand that is reputed for inspiring people to connect with the arts since the 80s, creativity is a no-brainer. Their recent campaign promoting the new limited edition bottle Absolut Glimmer has taken its mission to the next level by involving social media platforms. Absolut asks fans to co-create by letting the brand know what makes them special. Artists hired by Absolut then went out and “wrote the word with light.”

Red Bull, a long-time champion of street art has recently launched “Red Bull Street Art View,” using Google Street View to showcase street art all over the globe. People are invited to tag their favourite street art and share it with friends to help build a global street art collection.

Technology has fostered a renaissance of older types of art and creativity. Indeed, there has been a growing public appreciation for street art, which was once looked down upon. Campaigns like “Red Bull Street View” have brought this art medium to a unified global audience. Filmmaker Jon Reiss has recently launched “Bomb It app,” a mobile app providing street art fans with a community platform through which they can share photos of art they discover.

As technology fuels the growing public appreciation of all things graffiti, we might start to see many more creative campaigns in this space.