Care & Feeding of a Marketing Team

(Okay, so I said a really long time ago that I would write the companion post to my "Care & Feeding of a Creative Team". What can I say--it was the holidays and long sessions on the Wii with my family somehow took precedence.)

This post is for all Creative professionals (including executives).

In our quest to be hyper-creative, we often forget the symbiotic relationship we have with our Marketing brethren and sistern. We need them to make the requests and secure the budgets that, in turn, give us something to turn into "great creative". Or to put it more metaphorically, without them, we are the trees falling in the forest and no one is listening.

Way too many times, I've seen an adversarial relationship grow between the marketing and creative teams. I've spoken on how the Creative teams perceive this in the other post, here I want to concentrate on the Marketing side of things.

In my experience, Marketers are highly overworked and usually underpaid. (Sound familiar?) In the Technology sector (with a few notable exceptions), they are the ugly stepchildren to the prodigal Engineering and/or Product Development teams. In fact, one company was not a Technology company with no Marketing department but, rather, a Technology company that was anti-Marketing. You literally were discounted if part of the Marketing organization. That's tough!

Now here's my take on it (and it will probably be controversial since I do love technology). In a world of commodities, the great differentiator is Marketing and Branding. It's not going to be a better technology because that can always be bested in the purest, most fundamental sense. Someone will always be faster, cheaper, quicker and a little more clever with the feature set. We have multiple examples of lesser technologies that succeeded in the market despite their drawbacks due to better marketing combined with first-mover advantage. (And I have first-hand experience in this as a die-hard Betamax owner.)

Great marketing is what is going to set certain companies and products apart, all things being equal. Technologies can and will be replaced-- things get bigger or smaller-- things run faster or more efficiently-- today's Ajax is tomorrow's frames. Technology will continue to make our lives better and marketing will make us understand why (and more importantly, why we should care).

To get back to the primary purpose of this article, there is a great way to treat your Marketing team. It's the same way you want to be treated. They also want to feel valued and an integral part of the creative development process. Invite them in to brainstorm, pick their brains for all of the data and insights they possess, ask (and listen to) their opinions. If you disagree, tell them why and have a rational explanation. No one wants to be contradicted by the expert solely on the principle that they are the expert.

So what do you need to do? Take these simple steps to cement a phenomenal relationship with the Marketing team.

1. Align Your Goals:
Every organization goes through a goal setting period. At the very least it's annual--more often quarterly. Take the initiative to find out the goals your Marketing team is signing up for and share them. Essentially, you're telling the Marketing team that you're signing up for the same success or failure they are. Nothing brings people closer together than shared goals.

2. Listen Before You Speak
Hear what they have to say before you start trying to creatively solve their problems. You will get the chance to solve their problems later using your unique blend of creativity, chutzpah and common sense, but for now listen to them. You may just hear that one piece of seminal information that drives a far superior creative execution.

3. Help Them Help You
You know what you need to deliver outstanding creative (and if you don't, that's a whole other post). Let them know what you need. And not in that "You have no idea how to write a great creative brief, do you" way. It's not that they want to hold information back from you, they genuinely may not know what you need. Don't be afraid to ask in a mutually respectful manner. Remember that following #1 means you're on the same team.

4. Break Bread With Them
In my experience, marketers always know the best places to eat, the best wines to drink, and usually throw the best office parties. You may say it's a cliché but I've found it to be a profound truth. Besides, it's much harder to rip apart a creative solution from someone who has eagerly agred to be a part of the team's success and is your friend as well. That doesn't mean they will not tell you when your work is subpar, they will just be much more helpful about it.

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Care & Feeding of a Creative Team

This post is for marketers and managers of creative teams (including executives).

While there have been those that think a Creative team should be treated no differently than any other team, I do not believe this to be true. This would indicate that all people are motivated by the same things. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Creatives are motivated by the type of work they are doing: is it relevant, is it challenging, is it cool, is it respected. If the work is not some or all of these things, then they will lose interest and motivation. You will continue to get the production output from them but they will not be giving you their best work because it will not seem possible in your corporate setting. They will become hands while their minds check out.

Also of importance are the surroundings. Does this environment seem like a creative environment? Cube farms are not conducive to great creative work. They stifle interaction and collaboration. Give your Creative team the freedom to determine their surroundings--it will stimulate their creativity and raise the level of the work. Once, in the midst of a corporate cube reshuffling, I protested our new creative team surroundings because the area was dark and dingy. While some executives thought me mad, they quickly realized the seriousness of my contention. It's already weird enough for a decidedly creative person to be in a corporate environment, allowing freedom in their surroundings goes a long way to create a healthy, productive atmosphere.

Finally, respect for their discipline and contribution is paramount. Creatives need to know that they are valued. Treating them as a commodity or a executional necessity is the surest way to ensure turnover that I can think of. Yet, if you turn that around and make them aware of the contribution they are delivering to the business, they will thrive. And you will get phenomenal creative work. This means taking pains to ensure they are recognized as an integral part of the team. I cannot tell you how often I've seen huge recognition efforts (awards and thank-yous at company meetings) include everyone but the creative personnel. That took what could have been a great day and turned it into a challenging one.

Remember: in almost all cases, the first impression your customer has of your brand was developed by your Creative team. They crafted the words and pictures that creates that initial customer experience. How well this is done relies, in large part, on the quality and temperament of your Creative team. If their minds and hearts are tuned correctly, the work and brand will reflect this.

You will pay particular attention that I have not mentioned compensation. This is deliberate. Not that compensation is not important to your Creative team, it is--it's just that it's not top of mind. I have led creative teams that were well compensated yet not recognized and they were not happy teams. Given the choice, they will prioritize importance, contribution and relevance over cash.

If you keep these motivational and driving factors in mind, your Creative team will flourish and prosper. Of this, I am positive.

Come back soon for my new companion post, "Care & Feeding of a Marketing Team".

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The Importance of a Creative Brief

This post is directed to marketers but of value to creatives.

One of the first questions I'm always asked is: do we need to write a creative brief?

For many, this simple task seems like a burdensome chore. But there is nothing more instrumental in getting a great final creative product than writing and agreeing on a good creative brief. Notice, I stressed the word "good".
The Creative Brief (and it deserves the capitals) at its barest tells the creative what needs to be created and, more importantly, why it needs to be created. Without that information up front the ability for the project to come off the rails increases exponentially.

It becomes this simple, if you can answer these questions in your Creative Brief, then your final creative product will answer them as well.

1. Who is the creative for?

(Also known as the target audience. Please don't say "everyone" or "all of our users". An unfocused target will guarantee unfocused and ineffective creative.)

2. What do you want them to know or think?

(After interacting with your creative what is the one thing you want the target to know or think? You only get one! If you have a robust marketing plan, you should have other opportunities in your communication continuum to address your target. You should not need to tell them everything all at once.)

3. What do you want them to do?

(Also known as the "call to action". I can assure you that if you have no idea what you want the target to do after interacting with your creative, they won't either. I'm constantly amazed at how little thought is given to this. And a personal pet peeve is the answer, "We don't need them to do anything. This is an awareness campaign.")

There will also be the inevitable process questions around: budget, timelines, sign-offs, etc. but I leave those to the project manager-types whose boats get floated by that sort of stuff. (Don't get me wrong, a great project manager is worth more than their weight in gold!)

There are a few rules to getting a phenomenal Creative Brief:

First, it's called a brief for a reason. Keep it brief. Tell the creatives everything they need to know but don't use the Creative Brief as an opportunity to show your boss how much you know about everything. Creatives do not have the longest attention span (myself included) if the brief becomes wordy or MBA-speak. Keep it short and sweet.

Second, really think about what you're writing. I know this seems self-evident but you would be amazed at how often I've looked at Creative Briefs only to see boilerplate answers that read more like a succession of PowerPoint slides. Put some real thought into it and the Creatives will put some real effort into your project.

Third, have the confidence in your creative team to allow them to surprise you. We all know what we expect. But the death of a creative team is to constantly deliver what the in-house marketing team expects. Worse yet, to be corralled by that marketing team into those expectations. I always loved to hear after a presentation, "Well, that wasn't what I was expecting." Then I know the creative team had done it's job. Be open to something new, unusual and unexpected. That's how breakthroughs are achieved.

Finally, you're all on the same team. If you treat your Creative Team as an extension of your own team, they'll behave that way. And expect from them what you'd expect from any team member--a thorough understanding of the business and a hearty contribution.

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Being "Creative" in a Corporate Environment

The word "creative" can mean many different things in a corporation. Most people are trying their damnedest to be as creative as possible and most are not unless you include animation in PowerPoint.

The "creative" we're discussing is the type that can make the rest of the company think you're the weird artsy guy (or girl) that hangs out worrying about things like fonts, RGB values, and pixel-by-pixel alignment. Creativity in a more traditional art-based sense.

This type of creativity is your biggest asset (as if you weren't already aware of that) and, at the same time, your biggest weakness. It makes you different from the others and you like that. They're not so sure.

So to be successful in that corporate environment, do something different from your norm--learn the business. This is important enough that I'll say it again--learn the business. Most creatives take a perfunctory swipe at understanding their business by learning just enough to enable them to develop good design. That's not enough and will cement the stereo-typical ideal of a creative person as someone "special" with a talent that is necessary but not critical. Go farther.

Understand what motivates the rest of the company. Grasp the meaning of the numbers. Yes, numbers. See how you acquire customers, keep them and interact with them. Know what a P&L is and the model your business employs. And, for god's sake, use whatever it is your company does. This isn't a "nice-to-have", it's a "must-do".

Beyond being a heckuva lot more saavy, you'll be a lot more "creative".

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