I’ve never encountered a business owner who does not have some kind of gripe with creative marketing firms. (Granted, there are a lot of flaky people out there delivering questionably valuable marketing services of all sorts.)
At the same time, I’ve never known a creative person who does not complain about clients. It goes both ways.
So if we all want to be more successful, both parties need to be openminded and empathetic. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
It takes a thick skin to keep working on the creative side of the marketing business.
After 30-plus years working will all sorts of clients on all sorts of branding projects and campaigns, my skin’s as thick as a coat of armor.
Most arrows bounce off, but there are still a few situations/outcomes that sting a bit.
For instance, when years of hard work, great ideas, and exceptional execution get thrown out the window. Just because.
Sometimes it’s because there’s a new Sheriff in town. I’ve seen this a lot… a new GM or CEO comes in and tosses out every bit of work that was done under the previous regime.
There’s usually no thinking behind the move. No data that proves the existing work wasn’t converting. No strategic plan that says, “we’ve decided to move in an entirely different direction, and here it is.”
It’s just one person’s opinion — and maybe some ego-driven territorial muscle flexing.
If you’re going to tear something down, you better have a tangible plan for building it back again.
I’ve seen entire photo shoots thrown out because the new boss doesn’t like the looks of one of the models.
I’ve seen entire websites scrapped because of one color in the palate, or one misconstrued H2 subhead.
I’ve seen companies embark on complete rebranding efforts, just because the new GM didn’t like a particular font.
That’s frustrating.
I don’t think many business owners appreciate the cost of that type of wholesale change. They don’t grasp the scope of work involved in starting over from scratch. It’s not just an executional exercise, it often entails a whole new strategy.
So it’s a tough pill to swallow when a new decision maker decides to UNdo all the good stuff I’ve done.
But that’s the job.
That’s the reality of life in a professional service firm specializing in something as SUBjective as brand advertising.
Another scenario that’s disheartening to me is when clients can’t muster the guts to simply say, “No, that’s not it. I think you missed it. Let’s try again.”
I’m not perfect. My team’s not perfect. Sometimes we swing and we miss. Sometimes our home-run ideas are just not in line with what the client had in mind.
I actually had one client who told me “it’s just too creative for us.”
Yikes. But you know what? That’s fine!
Failure is part of the creative process. Give us a little more time and we’ll conjure up something a little less “creative” but a little more likable.
That’s how we got the thick skin. There’s always more ideas… The well here is deep.
But it’s annoying when, instead of sticking with the process, providing input, and letting the pros go back to the drawing board, the client gets cold feet and just bails on the entire campaign.
It’s like forfeiting the game after one strikeout in the first inning. Don’t do that. Just keep your team in the game.
If you’re working with a creative team or an agency, here’s what you need to do to successfully manage their creative efforts…
• Be absolutely clear about the strategy behind any assignment you hand out to a creative marketing firm or in-house team.
And don’t be too married to it. Sometimes you won’t realize that your strategy is lacking until the creative work starts showing up.
If the strategy is off, it’s not the agency’s fault that the creative product is also off target. It should be a two-step process… agree on the strategy first, and then the creative should fit the brief.
Sometimes the strategy is solid, but the execution just lacks the creative juice it needs to succeed.
Other times, the creativity is there, but it’s misguided and irrelevant due to a crappy strategy.
So be clear about your expectations for strategy work. In most cases, that falls on your shoulders as the client.
The best defense against bad marketing decisions is a solid, well-articulated brand strategy. When you have that nailed down, and on paper, it keeps everyone moving in the right direction.
So there are a lot fewer false starts and missteps. The creative should be aligned with the strategy.
• Be ready to provide feedback, early and often.
Stay in close communications all the way from the first briefing to the final approval of the creative work. Force it, if you have to.
If you’re not getting work you’re excited about from your marketing team or agency, there are two things to examine… the strategy, and the execution.
Usually if your creative marketing firm misses it completely, the root cause is a lack of clarity. The brief provided by the client simply isn’t providing the right direction. Or the creative team did not take the time to truly grasp the situation.
Maybe they got ahead of themselves and plowed forward, without taking enough time to really examine the underlying strategy.
Here’s a sure sign you’re working with a creative brief that’s unclear… They say they need more time because they’re going to test 986 different “creatives” to see which one works best.
If they can’t narrow it down more than that you’re going to have trouble. They obviously have no handle on the real problem, or the messaging strategy. They’re just throwing darts.
If you’d like a little more clarity about your brand strategy and/or your creative execution, contact me here.
