Kudos! You’re the client and you’ve hired an agency with visionary leadership, rock star creative, and strategic brilliance. You’re confident in your choice, full of hope, and eager to see new creative ideas that will light your world on fire … in a good way. Or, you’ve been working with your agency for a while and the creative isn’t fresh like it used to be. You’re frustrated, you want things to work out but you wonder if it’s time to make a change. What you might not realize is that your ability to communicate, motivate, and inspire plays a crucial role in the outcome.
Here are 5 must do’s to get breakout creative:
1. Share Insights and Information
While your team should know what questions to ask and how to synthesize valuable business, industry, and customer insights, only you have access to your company’s existing research and competitive data, strategy documents, and sales metrics. As an insider, you have an intimate understanding of your services, products, and customer mindset. Sharing these knowledge assets will help the team understand your business and develop well-informed strategies, recommendations, and creative.
2. Give Your Agency Access to Stakeholders
Treasures that deepen insight and spark creative ideas are often discovered when your agency hears from key stakeholders. Surprising ideas emerge when your CEO shares his or her perspective, salespeople discuss their customers and sales challenges, doctors, nurses, and scientists talk about their work and passions, and when customers describe their experience with your brand. As an added benefit, your stakeholders will buy in more fully and feel more valued and heard. And, along the way, you might even identify a new opportunity to improve your process, product, or service.
3. Review and Agree on the Creative Brief
After your agency has gathered all the juicy tidbits and developed an overall strategy and BEFORE the creative work begins, discuss and agree upon a creative brief – the most important strategy document for the creative process. This one-page document boils everything down to a “single-minded proposition” or “key message”. It helps focus the team and the development of ideas and it serves as a guidepost that keeps everyone on track. Without one, you risk communicating a wrong, meaningless, or unfocused message while wasting valuable time and money.
4. Be Objective
This is tough for everyone. We all have our personal likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to color and design. I know there are certain color palettes that just don’t appeal to me, so before I react and make a judgment, I have to remind myself that I’m not the audience, client, or designer. Of course, you have to love the work but when it comes to personal taste, take a pause. Ask yourself if it’s in alignment with the voice, look, and feel of your brand, if it delivers your key message in a way that will stand out and grab attention, if it will make your target audience think and feel something powerful, and if it’s unique and impactful enough to be remembered.
5. Show Your Appreciation Through Words, Action, and Respect
Agency creatives are passionate about their work and the act of creating. One of the most powerful things you can do to motivate, excite, and engage your agency is to show your appreciation through words, action, and respect. Return phone calls and emails promptly. Do what you say you’re going to do. And keep the agency informed. Follow the golden rule and your agency will not only love you for it, they will work harder on your behalf.
I’ve been honored to work with many smart, respectful, and appreciative clients who have had a positive effect on my life and my work. If you choose to do the same for your agency, I promise it will come back to you tenfold. Your agency is your partner and its success is your success.
