Creativity that looks good, builds your brand, and contributes to your bottom line is truly fantastic. Unfortunately, many times the creative product falls short of expectations, and here are a few reasons why:
Not enough ‘thinking time’ before commissioning the project
Often, many projects result from reactive rather than proactive thinking, and the pre-planning tends to reflect this – if there’s any done at all. Instead of considering the problem and how to remedy it, we love to press the ‘go’ button and start doing things. The resulting creative looks excellent; the writing is crisp, the execution clever, and everybody’s thrilled with it.
The only problem? The results are rubbish.
If you don’t know upfront who that target audience is, what you need to say and what outcome you want, this is what often happens. Spend some time on the briefing process. Answer the aforementioned questions. Be clear about what actions you want the viewer to take. Don’t skip this stage – it guides the creative team, and it’s what you’ll measure the work by later on.
Art for art’s sake is a waste of the client’s money.
Never confuse fine art with commercial art. Clients really don’t like it. If the execution requires Ryan Reynolds as talent, a shoot in the Maldives, and the final product exceeds all expectations, the client will be thrilled. If it bombs, the client relationship will likely do the same soon after. Great creative doesn’t need to cost the earth; most people understand that ‘to make a dollar, you need to spend a dollar’. But spending lots of dollars with one eye on the advertising and design awards won’t do anybody any favours in the long run.
Why have a dog and bark yourself?
When engaging creative services, you are buying experience and expertise. So why not make the most of it? If you’ve taken the time to consider your expectations and write a good brief (point one), and the creative provider isn’t given to creative financial incontinence (point two), you should expect a final product that does the job you require far better than you could do yourself. Even with ChatGPT?
Surprisingly, endless copy changes, alternative image suggestions and layout modifications usually only dilute the creative effort. Creatives expect constructive feedback and welcome questions and queries – they may not do cartwheels, but it goes with the territory. Sometimes, some omissions or mistakes need pointing out. But endlessly changing things to suit your idea of how it should look seems like a waste of everybody’s time and money.
Good creativity is a collaborative effort. Clients are happiest when they get what they need, and creatives work best when treated as value-adding partners in a clearly defined process. If that sounds good to you, call us, and we can talk about how we can produce creative ideas that don’t just look good – they’ll build your brand and your business.
