Martha Bartlett Piland, owner of MB Piland Advertising+Marketing, shows off TRANSFORMOTIONTM in a Box, which holds unique items used in a series of exercises that induce teamwork, new ideas and creativity.
Creating a company based on a simple idea can be difficult. Creating a company that is creative enough to remain relevant and strategize additional avenues for future growth is far more difficult. Martha Bartlett Piland seems to have found the answer for how to do both. The offices of MB Piland Advertising+Marketing, located in the Westboro Mart area, exude creativity. Bright colors everywhere, paintings on the wall, quirky furniture, and other eclectic items remind the office of where they’ve been along their journey. Companies often find it difficult to foster creativity in the work environment. Martha, who often sees the world a little differently than others, tries to share her vision with everyone around her. “We hear from people all the time, ‘I wish I was more creative,’ ‘you’re so creative,’ or ‘I wish I could be a fly on the wall in your office to hear you brainstorm,’” Martha said. “Many people want to be creative, but they have no way of figuring out how to do that.” So, she and her team created a way to teach people how to look at ways to do things that aren’t conventional. MB Piland introduced TRANSFORMOTIONTM in a Box in mid-2017. Each box contains items meant to employ a multi-sensory approach to thinking. “It’s like a personal trainer in a box,” Martha said. “Get the creative juices
24
FALL 2018
Photo by DAVID VINCENT
ADAPTING TO CREATIVITY MB PILAND ADVERTISING+MARKETING
flowing, then maybe better ideas can emerge for the business.” At first glance, TRANSFORMOTION may just look like a box with cool stuff inside, but in reality, it is a series of activities to encourage creative inspiration. Some boxes may have Pop Rocks (the candy), chopsticks, a piece of twine, and maybe a balloon, but each of these things are a part of a development exercise to induce thinking in ways that are not commonly utilized. TRANSFORMOTION can be used by individuals or purchased in larger quantities to be used in corporate retreats or to get teamwork flowing and new ideas being shared. TRANSFORMOTION also allowed MB Piland to reach clients who were outside of the normal advertising and marketing arena. “I think that there’s only so much of us to go around, but we can still help
TK Business Magazine
people be more creative and think more strategically with this product because we don’t have to personally take them through the exercises,” Martha said. Martha and her team gather together, along with close friends, to pack the boxes for all of the orders. “I have a great big, wall-length bulletin board in my office and I am always thinking about ideas for the next box,” Martha says of getting new ideas for the upcoming delivery. TRANSFORMOTION in a Box, filled with playlists, unusual items and several developmental activities, teaches people to view the world from various angles. “We all fall into ruts. We eat at the same places for lunch, we do the same workout, we may always insist on having meetings a certain way—and that may be the problem,” Martha said. “It’s time for a TRANSFORMOTION.” TK