Well, I've returned from my posting hiatus, and I have a question for the my readers (whomever you are).
I've been asked to answer a brief, and i'd be very grateful if the 'masses' could provide any insights - I have my own thoughts, but please add your own:
"How can Account Management, Planning and Creative work better together to both develop and sell big communications ideas?"
Breaking the question down, i'd say it's actually two questions:
- How can we improve efficiency?
- How can we ensure that 'big ideas' are allowed to flourish/be sold?
Assume the agency in question is part of a big network.
I have my own ideas about this, but i'm going to wait and see what others think before responding.
Thanks in advance.
6 comments:
"Breaking the question down, i'd say it's actually two questions:
How can we improve efficiency?
How can we ensure that 'big ideas' are allowed to flourish/be sold?"
I'm not sure it's really about efficiency - lots of little silos doing their own job. Isn't it the overlap that makes it work? Lots of conversations and lots of ideas. The more talk, the more chance to expose something interesting- or something dumb for that matter. This isn't really possible if every time an enthusiastic account exec has the cheek to suggest an idea, they get booted out of the room to finish the contact report.
Which begins to answer Will's second point - ideas 'flourish' and grow through lots of input. This includes the client who knows their business better than anyone. An enthusiatic team that believes in what they're proposing (and each has had a stake in it) is far more persuasive than one that's been banished to respective corners to do their job-espescially when the person that is supposed to approve the work has had a big part of it's development in the first place...
On another note, isn't the question itself quite revealing? Why isn't it asking about the media people and the other agencies too?
I added a brief note to Andrews blog post on this... I shall expand later. :)
Andrew is quite right. Big ideas flourish when they don't care who had them. And they come about and grow in places where true collaboration exists. Where titles are forgotten and people brief each other and brainstorm together regardless of role.
The idea of departments, especially a creative department is arcane. We work and live in a creative business and the whole lot of us make up the creative department - client included.
When we all act "small" and take personal responsibility for delivering great work, then we'll erase convention, nurture fantastic ideas and create true business advantage for our clients.
Will, I've answered here: http://noisydecentgraphics.typepad.com/design/2006/08/long_overdue_an.html
I agree with Elizabeth's concept of 'creative',ideas can come from anyone, planners should aim to sift through, develop and evaluate - I think it's imp to involve the creative team right from the start.. and EVERYONE should be involved in the brainstorming: so everyone plays a role in creating good advertising!
I would answer the question with something simple:
Respect the fact that you have to work together to get good stuff done.
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