A post by Elaine Fogel over at the Daily Fix got me thinking about creative vs. creativity.
In her post, Elaine referenced a recent study by the Association of National Advertisers, which pointed out some of the top issues for marketers. Of particular interest to me:
??Advertising creative that achieves business results.?
A couple of points about this:
1. Advertising creative ?? if you??re going to go that route ?? should absolutely 100% set out to achieve business results. Creative teams don??t generally understand that their work is supposed to sell products ?? and not just win awards.
2. My second point, though, is why I??m writing. I think it??s time to scrap the whole notion of a creative department. Goodbye, farewell.
Having a creative department does two things:
Big Fat Effect #1: It creates an us-vs.-them mindset
It defines that there??s a section within an agency where creative ideas MUST come from ?? and this creates an us-vs.-them mindset. Creatives begin to have thoughts like: ??How dare an account person suggest a creative idea. Stick to what you do best and we??ll stick to what we do best.?
Of course, this is fear. And it stems from the need to validate your position and worth within the agency. Because, at an agency, it??s well known ?? there are creatives and then there??s everyone else. So, naturally, only creatives should do what creatives do.
Big Fat Effect #2: It limits creative thinking and idea generation
The rest of the team is intimidated by BFE #1 and walks gingerly around the creative team. They??re afraid to ask them anything, let alone suggest an idea, which results in them not caring enough about the product to protect it or fight for it. That??s when account people end up becoming in-house secretaries for the clients.
For companies looking for an agency, I’m of the mindset that “Creativity that achieves business results” trumps “Advertising creative that achieves business results”.
What does this mean?
It means that creativity is a mindset that should encompass every branch of the marketing tree - from customer service, promotions, P.R., distribution, production, etc. So staff your business with creative thinkers ?? people who can make a difference to your bottom line by taking a different approach to what they do. And hire an agency that does the same.
It’s a must to be creative in every facet of the operation, not just when it comes to advertising or marketing. And that means cultivating an environment that welcomes creative inclusion. Internally. And at your agency as well.
In some cases, it even means opening up to creative ideas from outside your organization ?? but that??s a post for another day. (Or just go out and buy this book or read The Church of the Customer.)
Where do you stand on creative vs. creativity?
Related stuff:
? Other thoughts on the ANA study: The Experience Economist, Article Snatch Blog, Jaffe Juice.
? Read this article, titled “Customer-Focused Creativity“. Note that is was written in 2000, but talks a lot about elements of customer service that we’re talking more and more about today.
? UPDATE: Real quick addition. This article in the Arizona Republic titled “Ad agencies evolve to meet challenges” is a dead-on reflection of this post.
April 1st, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Mark:
I have not worked in an agency environment so I cannot speak to the mindset you describe there. In companies I often find the “everyone is a cook in my kitchen” mindset. Without exception, everyone feels that they could come up with better logos, writing, and ads than the marketing or communications department. So it sounds like the exact opposite is happening.
Looking at the issue from that perspective, I would say that few understand that although we all posses creativity, creative work that sells is an art and a science. And listening to those who are getting paid to do that might pay off in the long run.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:17 pm
I agree that creative work that sells is an art and science. So is creative work that wins awards. The trick is to find an effective way to sell first and win awards second. (Winning an award for advertising effectiveness would be even better!)
Too many creatives go into a project to win awards first, thinking that selling something would be a nice side effect.
Obviously, this isn’t the name of the game.
April 4th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Mark,
This post got me thinking about one of the best places I ever worked. It was a medium-market radio station where, because of the ownership and management, we didn’t define differentiate between creative and account management.
When it came to producing material in-house, those of us who were on-air and in copywriting simply wouldn’t consider moving ahead without the account rep involved. And vice versa. The clients were unbelievably happy with the results, the station’s revenues grew, and we actually turned down opportunities for awards and recognition. That part was short-sited in terms of furthering individual careers, but no one still seems to care.
What I now realize is that we were totally focused on business results for the client and the station. The fact that we continuously achieved them brought enough satisfaction to take care of our intrinsic needs.
While this isn’t an agency example, the principle is still the same. If you want a lot of cooperation around creative output and business results, don’t start putting people into boxes that spawn an us vs. them culture.
Really enjoyed this topic, Mark.