We talked to senior marketing executives from dozens of top brands to find out more about this question. We asked them for examples of creative marketing that went beyond ads and helped the business in a real way. Their stories, along with the five larger trends they show, show what it means to be a creative marketer in the modern world.

"Customer-centric" is a phrase that everyone likes to use. But too often, this means that campaigns need to be better aimed. Today's customers aren't just buyers; they're also creators  slope game who come up with content and ideas and face problems along with you. For marketing to be creative, you have to work with customers from the start to combine their experiences with your efforts to grow your business.

For example, Intuit's marketing team spends time in the homes and offices of self-employed people to learn more about their lives. Through this study, they found a problem with keeping track of gas mileage. Based on these marketing insights, Intuit added a new feature to its app that uses location data, Google maps, and the user's calendar to automatically track mileage and make year-end tax planning easier.