Start reasonably small. That’s one of the best approaches Beth LaGuardia Cooper recommends when setting out to build a culture of innovation in your company. The thing people on your team want more than anything else is a forum where they provide ideas, share feedback and are a part of the conversation.
LaGuardia Cooper, CMO of Advantage Media, reserves a day each quarter designed for members of her team to stop what they’re doing and either innovate together, or step outside the box to observe or participate in innovation in action. Maybe hold an internal innovation competition, where the winner receives funding for a proof-of-concept test. Each participant could provide a problem to solve, a solution to test and a ROI analysis that includes resourcing and the process required to get to the proof-of-concept.
“The key is to embrace ideation, let team members independently run experiments within defined guardrails and publicly celebrate them. It doesn’t matter whether or not the test is successful, as long as valuable learnings result.”
Fostering a culture of innovation—an environment where creativity thrives and bold ideas take shape—creates a foundation for long-term success and fulfillment. By workshopping the value of continuous learning, you’re helping your team stay ahead of the curve.
When LaGuardia Cooper maps out the ideal culture of innovation, the platform includes a place where everyone’s ideas are solicited and weighed equally. For example, innovative cultures hold ideation meetings where everyone can offer their ideas. There are no “sacred cows” or dismissive statements such as, “This is the way we’ve always done it.”
Teams, spaces and celebrations are intentionally designed to remind people that innovation is highly regarded. At Advantage Media, and in other workplaces she has been, LaGuardia Cooper has used public praise or awards for team members who showcase successful innovation, innovation labs physically located in the office or task forces that are assembled to test out viable ideas that come from anyone in the organization.
“I believe in starting vision and strategic planning cadences with an open ideation session, ideally incorporating the full team for live brainstorming,” Cooper says. “The best ideas often come from those on the front lines. A test-and-learn culture has to permeate every area of the business. Your team should have a constant eye on technology best practices, including what forward-leaning organizations you follow are doing to stay ahead. Follow visionaries in your space and beyond who talk about shifting paradigms, not just best practices.”
Creativity + Process = Innovation
One of the main principles every leadership team should stress is that the cultures not willing to embrace and test innovative foundations eventually will be the ones left behind. More than any other factor, creativity flourishes when people feel empowered to share their ideas without fear of criticism.
That’s why when it comes to technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), Aaron Henry stresses to his team that cross-functional collaboration in areas like this enhance both ideation and workflow.
“I want my team to step outside marketing echo chambers and draw inspiration from global tech, entertainment and cultural trends,” says Henry, founder and Managing Director at Foundeast. “We are always bringing fresh perspectives to our work. Innovation stagnates without continuous learning. I push my team to stay ahead by investing in training, encouraging attendance at events across different industries and supporting a culture of knowledge-sharing.”
Foundeast, an international marketing firm that supports Fortune 100 brands in the U.S. and Southeast Asia, has earned a reputation for dissecting real- world campaigns—what worked, what didn’t—and applying those lessons to its own strategies. “We are always ensuring that we are learning from these real-world experiences and avoiding pitfalls,” Henry says. “Remember, structure provides clarity, but too much of it can kill creativity. I leave room for experimentation by allowing our team to test bold ideas within a flexible framework. If an idea helps meet our goals, we integrate it into our playbook—if it doesn’t, we pivot quickly.”
For the past 15-plus years, Marie Hoffman served as expert in translating complex technology concepts into actionable marketing strategies. Today, as the Head of Marketing at Reality Defender, she is helping the pioneering deepfake detection company innovate marketing efforts. One of the most successful strategies involves cross-functional ideation sessions, where bringing in varying perspectives from product, sales and even customers has proved vital.
“We use structured brainstorming techniques like, ‘How might we,’ exercises and reverse thinking,” Hoffman says. “I’ve found that creativity flourishes when we step outside our marketing bubble and make time for inspiration through regular exposure to adjacent industries and technologies. Continuous learning is the foundation of innovation. We implement a peer-to-peer knowledge sharing program where team members present new trends, tools, or case studies monthly. I allocate a budget specifically for learning experiences beyond traditional training — this includes conference attendance, relevant subscriptions, and time for experimentation with new platforms.”
One of the backbones of her process is enabling flexibility, not restricting it. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure. We establish clear frameworks for core marketing functions—campaign development, content creation, measurement and beyond — but build in deliberate space for iteration and creative exploration. Our processes include explicit ‘innovation checkpoints’ where we pause to question if we’re approaching problems in the most creative way possible.”
In the end, the process works when you start by modeling the behavior you want to see. Demonstrate vulnerability. Celebrate learning from failures. Champion bold thinking. “You have to create psychological safety so your team feels comfortable sharing unconventional ideas,” Hoffman says. “Most importantly, connect innovation directly to business outcomes so it’s viewed as strategic rather than superficial. Innovation thrives when it’s recognized as essential to growth, not just a nice-to-have.”
The journey toward a culture of innovation isn’t about implementing grand initiatives, but by nurturing an environment where curiosity thrives, failure is embraced as learning and diverse perspectives are actively sought out. By focusing on these fundamental elements, brands can transform how they approach challenges and unlock creative potential that delivers meaningful results.
