We caught up with Wayne Deakin who is speaking at The Changemakers Conference Scotland on 29 October in Edinburgh.
With AI and automation reshaping the creative process, where do you think human creativity still holds the greatest value?
AI moves fast. It accelerates everything. But speed without soul is dangerous and can be bland and homogenous. When everything is optimized, everything starts to sound the same. Real creativity isn’t logical, is it? It’s messy, it twists and turns, it surprises.It’s the moment something impossible suddenly makes sense. AI can be efficient and awesome. But it can’t make you really laugh, cry, or fall in love with an idea. That spark, the magic is something that still belongs to us. That’s human. Originality and true creation still lives in us. And that’s the one place AI can’t touch.
We caught up with Wayne Deakin who is speaking at The Changemakers Conference Scotland on 29 October in Edinburgh.
You’ve led creative teams across the world — what differences have you observed in how cultures approach creativity and innovation?
Working with creative teams around the world, I’ve seen how cultures shape the way ideas are born. Some push boundaries loud and bold. Others build with quiet craft and nuance. Some move fast, experimenting. Others go deep, perfecting. But everywhere, the spark is the same: people light up when their ideas matter. The style may change but experience has help me learn the instinct to create doesn’t.
For marketers navigating constant change, what habits or mindsets help sustain creativity and curiosity over the long term?
The world won’t slow down, in fact its going to speed up even more and be more messy , so the way to stay creative isn’t to hold on tighter, it’s to stay open. Surfing and being a creative taught me that you cant fit massive shifting forces at play and you need to know how to adapt and use them to your advantage. For me, three things matter most:
1. Stay curious, not certain. Keep asking questions - especially when you think you know the answer.
2. Look sideways. Feed your mind beyond marketing and your industry. Art, music, tech, fashion, food - the best ideas come from unexpected places.
3. Protect your quiet. Noise kills famous ideas. Space and stillness fuel them.
Mindset beats tools, budgets, or rules everytime. If you keep learning, stay humble and agile, creativity doesn’t fade - it grows.
Tickets are still available at The Changemakers Scotland Conference on 29 October - book here.
