Get the best from your design team every time
Feed them cake of course!
We find we produce our best work when we know as much about the brand as our client and can work in a positive, trusting and stimulating atmosphere.
‘Big Stick’ is passionate about design and here is our ‘insider view’ on how to the best from your design agency every time.
Do you see your agency as an evil combatant?
Seeing the agency as an expensive parasite, a liability, not to be trusted, is unlikely to result
in producing great creative work together. It is likely however to result in alot of frustration for both parties!
Is your design agency falling short?
•Same old ideas
•Not what you needed
•No ‘big’ idea
•Nightmare to deal with
•Loads of rewrites
•Not driving the business?
Does your agency surprise and excite you?
Working in a team with your design agency you can achieve startling results.
Does your agency surpass expectations?
Hit a chord with the target audience
Challenge the consumers beliefs/preconceptions
Convey an emotional benefit for your brand
Get your brand noticed
Get your business promoted!
Drive the business
So how do you achieve this?
Begin with the development of a creative brief that summarises the product and consumer learning
in a comprehensive and stimulating manner. (see startle principal below)
Better work is done with trust not fear
Creatives don’t write great ideas for a ‘company’ they do them for YOU and they want you to take risks for them
To do that you must know and respect your designer and let them get to know and respect you
Ensure there is degree of in depth contact with consumers that will greater the insight necessary to turn the strategic benefits into a compelling proposition
It‘s good to get excited, fight for an idea you believe in and champion it internally
Be Brave together
Don’t be afraid of new ideas. People eventually end up with the type of creativity they deserve.
If an idea the designer presents scares you that’s good! At least the consumer wont’ say “Ahh same old thing!”
Working as a team
It always pays dividends to help creatives understand what you are looking for by sharing with them the type of work you admire.
Show or discuss samples of your favourite work.
See and discuss your agency’s work for other clients
Good client service, great creative
Good clients abandon the Us v’s them position. There is mutual arespect fand a dsire to work as a team. You are willing to risk more, treach higher for someone who tursts your talane and intentions.
Are you a good client?
Of course getting the most from your agency is one thing choosing the right design agency to team up with is another.
Big Stick is committed to producing effective creative campaigns for clients as passionate about great creative work as they are.
So if you feel brave enough to take risks to produce startling creative work with real customer insight why not give Big Stick a call…
The “Startle” principal
Strategy must be clear and concise
Trust developed between you and your design team
Agency brief- clear and inspiring
Release and challenge your design team
Take risks /look to say yes
Liase and critique the work focussing on key points from the brief
Execute the work for production
Strategy-
What is the product/service
What are its basic benefits?
The reason why
The character
What is important?
Benefit based
Distinctive
Simple and decisive
Concise/Clear
Not prescriptive
Trust your creatives
See the portfolio
Socialise
Visit the agency
Discuss business issues
Discuss movies, music, books etc
Agency Brief
Project description
Target audience
Copy strategy
key thought
Insight
Mandatories inc timing
Be stimulating not executional or prescriptive
Release creative force
Set the goal
Brief the creative
Trust your team
Don’t do the creative bit!
Take risks
Better work is done with trust not fear
You shouldn’t want the safe option –it won’t be memorable enough!
To get success , expect theg occasional pif fall
Cahmapion your agency nternlly
Liaise well
When reieowing creative proposals ;
Understand, Evaluate, Communicate
What is your gut reaetcion ?
Is it on strategy?
Does it deliver , the big picture selling idea, Drama?
Execute the work
Focus on the big ideas until you agree
Feedback on body copy clearly and avoid ‘rolling’ amends
Don’t get distracted by execution
Don’t over analyse
Be brave together
Deserve and get great design work
Feedback and analyse results
Start next project together!
Creatives take their work personally and very seriously and so they should. If you work as a team with them you will undoubtedly get better work
And they will be your best sales person!
