A SHOT IN THE DARK
Creativity – as a marketable skill, is very difficult to define in terms of value. Great ideas, as I've previously posted, are very subjective to the individual and also largely specific for the market in which they apply. However, in terms of assessing business-related creativity, the only real way to measure success in a commercial realm, is to register a direct correlation between the work generated and the money rolling in from sales uplift.
Creating a marketing scheme, to increase the sales of a product, is in itself, a difficult concept. Luckily, every product will have its USP (unique selling point) to focus the big idea upon – and it's how we, as creatives, bolster the USP through advertising, that we get a measurable sales uplift. Increase in sales revenue minus money spent on creativity, equals extra profits won. So if we take the previous sales as a comparison to work out the percentage of profits gained in relation to it, we can more clearly ascertain the value of the creative work.
This simple profits-as-a-percentage equation works well when valuing creative input but works effectively only when the product has already been established with the consumer. So identifying the USP becomes the definitive variable for measuring any sales increase where the creative has acted as catalyst for promoting it. Therefore, without a strong USP, no matter how inspirational or creative we get – when offering is poor, there will be no significant uplift in sales and therefore, no successful outcome from the creative endeavours. In marketing terms, this situation is more commonly termed as 'flogging a dead horse'. Making a decision to get involved with a client when we can see there's a problem with their product – essentially knowing the final outcome will bear no fruit – this is the creative's dilemma.
Rolling It In Glitter
We can tell when a business is in trouble because it's when they call in the creative 'guru' to dig them out of a hole. For a creative person like myself, this accolade can be as much a curse as it is a gift. When the work is working, we're the guru - but all too often, we're not seen that way at all. We market ourselves as a creative resource, not as magicians. Unfortunately, companies today are finding the global market a lot tougher to succeed in and for lack of inspiration, have become all too reliant on the creative silver bullet.
As far as the role of a creative individual goes, all the business management tend to know about our role, is that we're tasked with 'creating things'. Generally, this means making something marketable which they want to sell to make a healthy profit from. We basically make sh*t look good. We have enough sense to know when something is going to work or not and at times it may be staring us in the face, yet business leaders can be blinkered when it comes to the truth. They'd sooner deceive themselves than admit when it's clearly not the delivery which is lacking, but the actual product itself.
Charging Into Oblivion
Was it ego, mis-information or denial of the facts causing Custer to charge in the face of certain defeat? Likely all three factors played a part. It's been shown where bad decisions are made even by the most well informed – because we tend to distort the facts to suit the answer we need. So, as obvious as it may seem looking in from an outsiders perspective, when the data becomes the be-and-end-all measure for success, the duff product gathering dust can be overlooked entirely. Figures and charts will be the gauge of success and because this info comes from the company employees tasked with 'sales', it's in their interest to make targets look achievable. Creating the opportunities for these sales bods, are the new business arm of the business and it's these folk who have to create new prospects by 'jazzing-up' the offering. On the surface, everything looks good for the pending battle...
Answering The Call
As a contractor, you get an untainted impression every place you go. You gain a knack for sussing out a situation. So we can tell when the sales are failing at a new place of work. There's an atmosphere in the offices – an almost tangible nervousness hanging in the air which can be sliced through with a scalpel. Meeting with the new business team, you can feel the pressure of expectation and see the desperation written on their tired faces.
Barely masking strained smiles, their seagull eyes tell a different tale as they profess to tell us about taking 'a new direction', delivering a 'fresh' feel in their communications and how working closely with creatives, are seeking something 'amazing' to bring in the beans. There's never any specifics about what fresh or amazing feels or looks like – they have no clue. These are the sales Person's magic buzz words and the only way they can tell good from bad is by meeting their sales targets – or not. You know you're in for a ride and it's whether you want to take the money or take a hike, because going along with a role such as this, can make or break a creative's confidence.
Creative cavalry can be seen as the hero solution or just another reckless expense, further contributing to the company's demise. It can weigh heavily on the soul when unexpectedly, you're told the budget isn't there to keep using your services. They're breaking up with you and even the same language is used. Sure, it's their failure – not yours they say, but feels like it at the time. But this needn't be the way if the job is approached in the right way.
Something I've failed to address in the past, is where the requests for creativity have originated from. There's little point trying to please a sales representative who's down on their KPI's. Not unless, there's been a clear move for addressing the sales strategy. The business leaders need to be involved with the planning process from the top down. Because, if the same offering has been rolled out every time and received no sales – it doesn't matter how much glitter you cover the proverbial turd in, because the sales figures will be the same – insignificant at best – and it's no reflection on the creative work. We just need to lay the ground before we commence.
The Creative Pitch
Before diving straight in, consider putting in some caveats at the beginning of a contract. The business should have to answer a few questions and agree to some terms.
Some of the things to consider are these:
– Who's in charge
Find out who has ultimate say. Multiple stake holders involved in a creative idea, will all want to contribute their tuppenny bit's worth. This will make you go around in circles and crazy in the process.
– Ownership of the creative
You've been pulled in as the creative silver bullet – so there needs to be someone holding the gun. If there's no creative director to hand, make sure there's another director who can pull the trigger – otherwise, take the gun into your own hands and make it aware to everyone involved, that you know how to use it effectively.
– Attractive offer on price
If you're pulled in as a creative get-out-of-jail saviour, the money being outlaid needs to reflect in the quality of your offering. We always tend to throw money at solutions when we can't solve them ourselves easily. You'll know exactly how this feels. How many expensive guilty purchases have you splashed out for on Christmas eve as the shutters are coming down? Same thing goes for broken boiler or leaky toilet – we always pay above and beyond to make the issue go away. But if the gift is ill-matched, toilet still leaks or the heating fails on Christmas day – there will be resentment at the person who was once held up as being the hero. So put in a high offer at first, but bring down the price so they feel like you're a bargain at the price – that way, if the presentation isn't won or the sales figures barely budge – you may still be asked back again.
After the war has been fought, you, as the gun for hire, will be free to either stay on gallantly for the next battle if so requested, or ride on for another fight elsewhere, essentially unscathed, whether there's been a massacre at the hands of fate or a glorious victory against all the odds.
