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I always enjoy when internal or agency creatives are involved in my projects and wish I saw more of them, more often. They\u2019re usually present for qualitative concept testing \u2013 a challenge I\u2019ll talk about later \u2013 but seldom around for the critical first step of brand positioning.<\/p>\n
The best strategists are fluid in leveraging the both the right (creative\/emotional) and left (rational\/linear) sides of their brains. Having named my company The Right Brain Studio, I\u2019m probably more left brain than I like to admit. But the jolt of energy I get when sparring with smart, agile, original thinkers gets puts the right side of my brain into turbo mode. The positioning concepts I develop after these interactions seem to be far sharper and more memorable, clearly reflecting the heightened electricity of the initial brainstorming.<\/p>\n
Even more valuable, creatives are far more likely to fully embrace a strategic brief when they\u2019ve got skin in the game.<\/p>\n
Client-side marketing people, usually well-organized left-brain thinkers, should consider this piece of right brain advice. Business schools teach us that marketing is a linear process. We identify a business objective, research the target, formulate a marketing strategy and have at executions. But marketing remains more of an art than a science, one that should never designate creative tasks exclusively to a so-called creative department.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re all creatives. \u00a0The more we can think like creative people and the more we can bring creativity to the front-end of our challenges, the more likely we\u2019ll be to generate truly singular, emotionally engaging brand strategies.<\/p>\n
In addition to working with creatives from client agencies on positioning and innovation initiatives, I like to bring in people who write books, movies & TV shows, musicians, songwriters, artists, and others from non-marketing creative pursuits. They don\u2019t think in terms of strategy. They just come up with ideas from the gut.<\/p>\n
I trust them. They\u2019re successful because their intuition is aligned with the popular culture. And they seem to \u201cget it\u201d instantly, zeroing in on the core emotional benefits of the offering. It\u2019s our job to work backwards from their executional ideas or observations and ask ourselves what it implies for strategy.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s an example. In a brainstorming session for a fast-food company, I started by asking the group what first came to mind when thinking about the brand.<\/p>\n
\u201cCar sex,\u201d someone said. \u201cNot just sex, but sex in the back seat of a car. It\u2019s a cheap thrill.\u201d<\/p>\n
From there we were able to tap into the nature of teen rebellion and the need for 16 to 21-year-olds to establish their own identities \u2013 and own their own brands. It resulted in a strategy we called \u201cCheap Thrills, No Apologies,\u201d spawning innovative new products and a successful brand positioning that\u2019s endured.<\/p>\n
While working with agency creative people in qualitative research projects dedicated to \u201crunning new communications by some consumers\u201d is also important, it’s always a challenge. Focus groups draw great disdain as a method to explore creative work, often for good reason.<\/p>\n
We shouldn\u2019t be looking for \u201cwinners\u201d and \u201closers.\u201d And I feel strongly that most creative decisions should be left to the experts, the skilled creative people we put our trust in when we hired them, and not armchair MBA\u2019s who think they know better.<\/p>\n
As a strategist, and in my prior roles in management both the client and agency sides, I feel that our focus should be on one question and one question only. Does the execution bring to life the strategy outlined in the creative brief?<\/p>\n
Even with that intent, the process can get thorny. How many art directors have we seen pacing the back room of a facility (or the online equivalent), whining that \u201cthese consumers are stupid! They don\u2019t get my work?\u201d<\/p>\n
Misguided, but understandable from the perspective of any creative person. I can tell you first-hand that it\u2019s not pleasant to have your work rejected.<\/p>\n
We can\u2019t be tempted to respond to that art director, \u201cThe fact they don\u2019t get it means your work sucks.\u201d Even if it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n
The best advice I ever received on dealing with creatives came from a grad school professor, an advertising copywriter himself. \u201cWhatever you do, say three nice things first.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not just self-serving psychological sleight-of-hand. It gives us a pause between the trigger (\u201cthis work sucks!\u201d) and your response that will pay off in at least two ways. First, an uncomfortable situation won\u2019t get worse. No shouting matches will ensue. More important, there probably is something good to say about the effort. Rather than starting in with critical judgment, it allows us to ask questions about how the creative work came to be in the first place. \u201cWhat were your motivations behind that campaign? What were you trying to communicate? How did you want people to feel after seeing the ad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Asking good questions, as opposed to criticism, opens a dialogue that will help everyone evolve their thinking and build consensus. As in most discussions or negotiations, putting others in defensive mode rarely works. The better approach is to put yourself in the creative person\u2019s shoes and approach the discussion with respect and true curiosity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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