Creatives love to find a problem.
Moan about it.
And then come up with ways to fix it.
Problem-solving’s a huge part of the job. It’s what answering a brief is really all about, but that same power can be used for much more.
Whenever any of my creatives found an issue we’d talk it thorough and I’d ask them what they thought the answer could be.
It didn’t matter what the problem was. Whether around a brief, strategy, timings, production, budget, feedback, even an agency process or other gripe around the way things were working.
Because creatives are used to coming up with a lot of different ideas we’d usual find a good solution.
Meaning we could go back out into the agency with an answer rather than a problem.
Which is much better than just complaining something isn’t right, and making it someone else’s job to solve.
Creatives are amazing at looking at things from a different angle and seeing changes, improvements or workarounds.
That skill should be used beyond the work.
In most agencies it’s the account team and management side, the ‘business’ people who are tasked with fixing the business.
Instead try creating small working groups, including creatives.. Treat all problems as a working brief. Whether that’s ‘better briefings’, ‘how to introduce AI well’, ‘more efficient processes’ or anything else.
The industry’s changing a lot, and agency’s are facing more challenges than ever.
Creatives might help you to see and find better, more creative, answers.
So creatives try thinking beyond your briefs. And agencies try letting them.
