Hey Creatives, Let's Get Creative

About six years ago I found myself in a heated debate with one of my clients. I’d just presented a new round of work that wasn’t being received the way I’d hoped. In a spirit of mutual frustration, we volleyed shots back and forth. Finally, as a last ditch effort to persuade her to approve the work, I dropped the classic “I’m struggling to keep the creatives happy on your account” bomb.

Kaboom!

Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar, this admonition is designed to leverage the happiness level of the creative department to pressure the client into forfeiting their opinions and judgement on any issue.

It’s a surefire threat because the creatives are the official barometer of what’s culturally relevant. They contain the very essence of viral success. They are the music makers and the dreamers of the dreams. All must bow down in their presence. The last thing any brand would want to do is violate their enthusiasm. The result of which would be certain doom.

This theory has only one, tiny problem. It’s not really true.

Since when does the quality of a service industry rely on the happiness level of the one rendering the service?

While it may be true that mood can affect performance, nobody forgives a derelict plumber who fails to fix a leak just because he wasn’t happy with the situation. And, like it or not, we (creatives in advertising) are no different than plumbers.

Every job has a source of satisfaction. For creatives, it’s typically things like famous brands, huge budgets, total creative freedom, glamorous award shows, fancy hotels, lavish productions and pedestal positions.

Now contrast that with the reality of our business today. Increased demand for effectiveness. Reduced budgets and timelines. Exploded media landscape. Mixed agency rosters. And democratized creativity and production.

No longer a perfect match made in heaven.

A few years ago I ran creative on the Domino’s Pizza account at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. We had received approval on a body of work but soon found ourselves facing several revisions. And despite my best efforts, I could not get the client to see my side of the issue.

I decided to bring in the big guns. I took my frustration to my boss, Andrew Keller. I anticipated his response. He was going to immediately pick up the phone, dial the client and give them hell. I couldn’t wait to hear him explain how their requested revisions were cutting us off at the knees, ruining the concept and, most importantly affecting the happiness level of myself and the creative team. It was going to be awesome.

Well, none of that happened. 

Instead, he told me something that, from that point forward, completely changed the way I approached this business as a creative.

“The sooner you learn to enjoy solving problems, the sooner you’ll be happy in this business.”

He wasn’t referring to the cliche kind of “problem solving” touted in mission statements and pitch responses.  He was talking about the real, day-to-day grind type of problems; the stuff that happens beyond the client brief.

The constant stream of revisions. The inevitable re-brief. The focus group curveballs. The legal issues. The impractical timelines. The production snafus. The ever-changing social platform guidelines. The impossible delivery dates. The internal melt downs. The continued legal issues. The woman who was awesome during callbacks but suddenly can’t perform on set. The wrenches, landmines and fire drills. In short, all of the things that make a creative want to repeatedly punch themselves in the face.

So wait. Let’s get this straight. The key to me being happy and valuable as a creative in this industry relies on my ability to embrace and love these nightmares? But these things suck. They are the reason I look like I’m in my late 40s when I’m still in my 30s. And besides, aren’t these the types of issues that account people get paid to deal with?

It all depends on how you define creativity.

Creativity in advertising is often thought of as a perceptible skill such as graphic design or copywriting. A creative is someone who can shoot a beautiful film, design an incredible mobile application or write a hilarious headline.

This is both true and outdated. Yes, you must have the skills of the trade. But these skills are no longer exclusive to the ad guys. The reality is, the ability to create buzz worthy content has become democratized. Armed with the tools to produce, publish and share, everyone has a seat at the pop culture table. In fact, these days, the majority of big internet content moments come from the mob, not the mad men.

Now, I’m not saying that as a creative in advertising, we’re all hosed. I’m not saying we’re no longer relevant. In fact, quite the contrary. I believe creatives in advertising are more needed and relevant today than any time in history.

But not just any kind of creative. Specifically, the kind that Andrew taught me about years ago. The kind who love solving problems. The kind who aren’t just artists and poets. The kind who embrace strategy, client relations and the minutia of business models. The kind who don’t segregate themselves into a “creative department.” The kind who fully understand their value as an individual in this new world of marketing.

Everyone likes to talk about how the agency model is broken, TV is dead, we’re all going out of business and everybody is going to die! None of these things matter. The reality is, it’s not the model, it’s the mindset that needs to catch up with the times.

Today’s brands require a different kind of creativity from agencies. It’s intelligence mixed with agility. It’s part art, but a bigger part science. It’s not creativity as in painting a picture. It’s creativity as in dismantling a bomb. It’s not Van Gogh. It’s MacGyver.

They don’t need being creative. They need getting creative.

We’ve all seen the movies where the characters find themselves in an impossible predicament. Where the woman is trapped in the burning building. Where there’s only one second left on the clock. Where the merger is in peril.

Spoiler alert! They all live happily ever after. How? They got creative.

A quick glance at the industry reveals several areas where we need to get creative.

We need to get creative with our production approach. We can’t keep doing it the way we’ve always done it. It’s too slow and too expensive. We need to make video that’s twice as awesome in half the time for half the cost. This is not a bad thing. This is awesome. It means we can be more exploratory in our approach. It means we get more hands on. Ultimately, it means we get to make more.

We need to get creative with revisions. As long as we’re a service industry, there will be no getting around client opinions and feedback. We can dig our heels in and “fight.” Or we can believe that our ability to get awesome work produced relies completely on our ability to go back to the drawing board and come up with an even better idea.

We need to get creative with collaboration. It’s important to understand that other creative companies are not a threat. And that collaboration can often open up new avenues you wouldn’t have discovered on your own.

We need to get creative with timelines. The reality is, there’s always enough time to deliver. It just takes the right attitude to accept the challenge and get creative about it. It’s funny to me how much time we’ll spend “pushing back” on timelines when we could be using that time to just solve the problem.

We need to get creative with... (the list goes on). 

The approach of getting creative isn't just about job satisfaction. Today, it’s also about job security. Creatives need to be valuable now more than ever. And that value lies in their ability to embrace and solve all of the insane pitfalls that consistently reside between points A and Z. Or in other words, to get creative.

That’s the service brands pay us for. They pay us to get results. They pay us to solve all of the problems, not create them. The kid from Sweden with the viral video he shot on his phone can’t do that.

So what does this mindset mean for creatives?

First, it means correctly defining exactly what it is that you do. You get paid (handsomely, most likely) to solve brand’s marketing challenges.

Yes, you are a brilliant script writer or graphic designer. And that’s great. But that’s not what you do. That’s one of many ways you execute what you do. But it’s not what you do. (At least during billable hours.)

You use your creative way of thinking, your knowledge of media and your grasp of popular culture to make brands successful. Just like a plumber uses his experience and knowledge of plumbing mechanics to stop your faucet from leaking. Sure, he may be particularly skilled with the monkey wrench. But he’s not a monkey wrench operator. That’s not what he does. He fixes leaks. Sometimes he uses a monkey wrench.

Okay, enough plumber analogies. Total overkill. 

Now is the time to shift our perspectives. Now is the time to really understand what it is that we do. Not to limit us, but to open ourselves up to a whole new world of possibilities and ways to value today and moving forward.

Let’s stop leaning on account people to do the client stuff. And waiting for the planners to create the brief. These are all problems that need creativity to solve. That’s our job. And we're really great at it. 

Let’s stop focusing on the brick wall that stands between our idea and its production. Let’s start seeing the tiny crack of momentum we can use to brilliantly sidestep and keep things moving forward. We're creative. We have the ability to find opportunity amidst the wettest of blankets. 

Let’s stop resisting collaboration with other creative companies because we feel threatened. Let’s start realizing that we have more than a monkey wrench. And a lot of these other companies have capabilities that we don’t have. Ego and confidence are two completely different things. 

Let’s realize that we are really good at what we do. We aren’t one-hit-viral-wonders. We can consistently return to the drawing board only to return with better ideas. Every time. We are constant students. We aren't specialists in any one medium. We have the luxury of seeing the big media picture at all times. We know how things connect. If embraced fully, this is extremely valuable.

Like most creatives in advertising, I got into this business because I realized I could get paid to do what I loved - be creative. But the longer I’ve been in the industry and the more I’ve come to really understand its realities and challenges, I’ve discovered that it’s not about being creative. It’s about embracing the idea of getting creative.

I've learned to embrace the problems. I've grown to desire the thrill that comes from coming up with last-minute solutions. I've felt the value of being the type of creative the client always wants in the room because of my appetite for momentum and optimism. I've seen a lack of creative devastation because I've learned the drawing board will always produce again if I believe it will. 

In short. I've learned to really be happy in this business. 

So the next time your brilliant idea gets T-boned by something out of left field. Get excited, because it’s now your time to really shine.