Part of an RCG account executive’s job is to help our clients help the writers and designers at RCG develop great creative. What is great creative? It’s on strategy. It connects with the audience. It influences how they think and feel about your product or service. And, when it’s really great, it causes them to act. It’s also important to remember that great creative can sometimes make you a little uncomfortable. That’s when it’s most important to be open-minded. After all, one of the reasons you hire an agency is to provide an objective outside voice … a different perspective on what makes what you’re offering so desirable. So, with that in mind, here are a few tips for helping an agency create great work for you.
1. Define success. Outline your goals. An agency’s ability to help you meet goals depends, in part, on your ability to clearly communicate them.
2. Agree on a strategy, budget and schedule. Agencies hear a lot of “I need it yesterday,” but they also often see that there always seems to be time to do it over. Give your agency time upfront to draft a creative brief, give you a proper estimate and set up a timeline. Critically reviewing those documents gives you a chance to confirm that everyone is on the same page before the creative work begins. That way, you’ll get on-target executions the first time around — saving you time and money.
3. Respect the emotional commitment it takes to do great creative. When creative people present their work, it’s hard for them to detach their emotions. Your feedback is critical, but how you provide feedback makes a big difference in how they’ll respond and the emotional commitment they’ll put into revisions and future work. With that in mind:
- If you think it’s great – say what you love about it and why.
- If you think it’s got potential – start with what you like about it, then suggest what you believe may make it better.
- If it’s just not your favorite – find something positive to say about it before itemizing its negatives asking for a rework
4. Finally, share your results. The information will help us make the next project or campaign even stronger.