Creative is NOT a Department

Hi all -

Here's an article from Tony Mikes from the Second Wind Network, which is a nationwide network of ad agencies. We're a member of this organization, so we're privy to some pretty good stuff from time to time. I like this article and would like to put it into practice at a much higher level here. It's definitely something to strive for.

Later,

Garret


Creative Is NOT a Department

Last week I did an in-house seminar for one of our members. During a discussion of the agency’s core strengths, one of the account supervisors said to me that she felt the agency would be a lot better if the creative department could actually meet a deadline and bring forth more economical solutions to client’s problems. Just as I was about to answer, a thought occurred to me… as enlightened a thought as I’ve had in the past few years.

“Creative” is not a department. Creative is an agency way of life in the 21st century.

In a recent survey of Second Wind member’s clients, we asked, “What do you want from your agency?” Overwhelmingly, they said, “Ideas. We can do almost anything for ourselves these days what with Google, gaggles of vendors and corporate buying power. What we can’t seem to produce within our corporate culture is ideas.” You see, clients really want creative from agencies. Any agency that believes “creative” is just another department risks losing the ability to satisfy their clients.

How do you turn your department-oriented agency into one big creative entity? It’s easy. Just follow these steps.

1. Meet regularly to discuss the agency’s work. I know one agency that has a corkboard at the rear of the agency and tacks up recently completed work, where anyone can write on the piece and comment about it. At the end of the month they have a meeting to discuss the marked-up work. This is a great incentive for better work.
   
   
2. As you develop your agency’s mission and vision, make sure you include points about being a creative organization.
   
   
3. Don’t limit your creative vision to considering artwork and copywriting as the only creative products in your agency. I sincerely believe there is a tremendous amount of creativity today in media planning, strategic planning and research.
   
   
4. Make a big deal when the agency wins creative awards -- for agency staff and clients. Awards serve almost no practical purpose other than to make your employees and your clients feel good.
   
   
5. Along the same lines, be active in submitting work to the proper creative awards competitions. Nothing succeeds like success.
   
   
6. Make the creative brief sacred in your agency. If everyone knows that your agency will produce a first-class creative brief, your creative product will be better and your staff will have a creative flag to salute. The brief is a very important part of success in the best agencies.
   
   
7. Learn how to brainstorm. The one key is encouragement. In a great brainstorming session, there are no bad ideas, only ideas we don’t accept at the time. If you want to inspire a creative culture in your agency, you’ve got to involve the whole team.
   
   
8. Make your environment creative. What does it hurt to decorate the agency in a creative way? Colors, posters, banners, open space and collaborative areas all inspire your entire organization to be creative, not just the few people in the creative department.

One important caveat: under no circumstances should you add to the natural antipathy that occurs between creative and account service. This single-handedly undermines the philosophy of the whole organization being creative. In fact, as an agency principal, you can help the individuals in these areas see the humor in their differences and use that to the creative advantage of the entire agency.

What’s the benefit of this? In a future where ideas become our only asset, every agency has to become a more creative entity. Get busy getting creative.