Things aren’t always what they seem, especially when you head up an in-house creative team. Like those mission-critical projects that aren’t related to any mission in particular or, for that matter, terribly critical. Or when you deliver a final-cut video only to learn there’s an entirely different set of approvers that need to weigh in on it. (Good times.)
The fate of the free world doesn’t depend on your project, and you acting like it does won’t make things go any faster. Trust me, I know. I used to be the one running around with his hair on fire (even after I lost my hair; not in a fire, BTW), urging people to pick up the pace in order to meet/beat deadlines, and generally making a damn spectacle of myself in the process.
There’s a lot of information out there about how to build a great brand. And by ‘a lot,’ I mean, as my mother would say, a shisselful. There’s stuff about emotional branding, social branding, visual branding and ethnic branding… brand naming, brand marketing, brand positioning, brand strategy, brand tracking and brand management.
It seems like internal creative groups are enjoying a resurgence these days, with more companies making the decision to hire designers and writers to handle their marcomms workload. But that’s not to say those internal teams don’t need external help. Whether it’s to fill resource gaps during peak times or to provide some specialized set of skills, there’s always a need for great creative partners. Choosing them, though, that’s the tough part.
Day in and day out, commercial designers work with people who don't have a direct connection to or background in design, including strategists, writers, account people and, most of all, clients. That can make it challenging to convey the value of good work and to sell in new ideas.
There's a widely held belief in the advertising industry that a huge divide exists between commercial creative artists who work for agencies and those employed directly by corporate brands. Agency people are thought to be squarely on the side where talent flourishes and expands, while the in-house side is where talent goes to die. Well, I've worked on both sides of the divide. Spoiler alert: What really separates the two sides is not much. And the differences are often the opposite of what many believe.
I started working as a creative a couple of decades ago at a time when business felt very different. There was a different dynamic between clients and their agencies and technology meant something different entirely. But perhaps the most different aspect about creative work at that time was the way some people approached it.
There’s some terrific content out there on what great in-house creative is all about: Articles, blogs and seminars on everything from improving collaboration among/between teams to inspiring greater innovation. Most of it’s very informative, and all of it’s well-intentioned. The truth is, however, not everyone’s inclined towards sharing insights and enlightening others.