What is best for the client?
The answer is paramount. It’s my job to have the answer. Or at least a strong thoughtful opinion. Or several. And then to present it in way which resonates and causes the desired response for the client.
Creating a concept within a framework best suited to a clients needs is that which matters most. It’s where the focus should stay trained in this business. It’s not as simple as just doing what the client wants or what the latest sought after technique in award shows is. Hold on – it might, in rare cases, not even be the work. It might be time. Or money. Or politics. It might be something the client hates! It might be something that would be unfathomable in the “creative sphere”, yet is exactly what’s best for the client. Sometimes good enough is just that.
“That’s heresy! Burn him on the printer!”
Really? Well, sometimes it’s not in the clients best interest to fret back and forth over shaving two frames off a scene when nobody is going to know the difference. Or to dilly dally around trying to match a PMS chip to perfection when the difference is ultimately negligible, but the cost in doing so isn’t. Now if the client is a Flower Company and color integrity is what’s best, then sweat that PMS chip out till it’s perfect. The point is to do the best work possible within the scope of the bigger picture. Just remember, in the end, concept is king. A smart idea is a powerful thing and can stand on it’s own with or without increased production value. A weak idea is a weak idea. Don’t waste time polishing a turd.
Most of the time though, what’s best is the work. And sometimes good enough isn’t and the task at hand is to knock it out of the yard. Well, getting there isn’t easy. For me anyway. It means listening. Thinking. Questioning. Dreaming. It means being honest. To yourself, to the client, to the audience and to ideas in particular. It means saying “No” sometimes when “Yes” is what a client wants to hear. It also means revisiting the sketchbook for another approach when a client says “No”. It calls for collaboration and screams for originality. What’s best is usually lurking nearby when the client and the creatives are both saying “Yes”, yet even then there are no guarantees. What’s best is often so obvious you can’t see it when it’s right in front of you. What’s best often looks so simple it’s as if it didn’t take any doing at all. And everyone thought of it! What’s best hangs out at the intersection of Smart and Effective. But you can’t just punch the creative brief into a GPS unit and expect to get there. It takes a lot of work. Even if it comes to you quickly. There’s intuition and intellect involved when it’s done right. A little luck never hurt either.
It’s probably going to take a path less traveled or never traveled to locate what’s best. Which means at some point in time someone will need to sign off on something inherently risky. Something that might fail. Though the probability of failure is far less than the risk averse would have you believe. What’s best for a client is a great idea. Great ideas can come from great account service insight. From superior analytic analysis. Great ideas need confident and decisive Marketing Directors. Or whomever makes the final call.
Great ideas shouldn’t be over thought. Focus groups have their place, but their feedback positive or negative is not gospel. Not by a long shot. It’s just feedback from an out-of-context setting. Same with web analytics that show x and y trending this way, but can’t begin to measure the magic brewing simultaneously on the Z axis. It’s not math. It’s art. Committees aren’t helpful despite their good intentions, they often mutate ideas with flavor into a bland sustenance. Like a fragile animal, what’s best will often grow meek and sickly if touched by too many hands that don’t know where to touch. “It’s only a small change.” Right, but… 4, 5, 6 small changes later and the overall change starts to get significant and often damaging. Some changes can be helpful. Additive. Welcome! Especially when there is thoughtful purpose behind them. It’s the non-sensical order-taking kind which are idea killers and steal wind from the creative sails.
It’s amazing how many people talk about “thinking outside the box” and “taking chances” then freeze when the time comes to take a leap of faith and say “Yes. Go!”. Yet this risky something, good or bad, will likely move the needle simply because it stands out. If you’re not a little worried about putting it out there it’s probably not worth putting out to begin with. As a former instructor used to say “Don’t claw your way to the middle!”. Doing the safe thing doesn’t work very well and it’s not much fun to work on. And where’s the fun in that?
The fun. Ah the fun. People want to be entertained. And nowadays to be included in the creative process itself. Not lectured to. Or sold to. This stuff should be fun. Fun to make. Fun to watch. Fun to interact with. It doesn’t have to be funny, but it has to be smart and effective. It has to pull me in and move me. Move me to smile. Or laugh. Or think. Or call right now! The thing is, for it to be fun and entertaining Clients have to let go of the reins a little bit and try not take their product or service so seriously. So literally. Fun and literal aren’t usually bunkmates. Relax. The goal is to do what’s best for you! There has to be some faith and trust. If not, then hire someone else or do it yourself.
The reality is that it doesn’t always work this way. At least in my experience. It varies from place to place and job to job. And – it’s cool. This is not the rant of a malcontent. It’s a hope and an ideal of the creative process born from passion. For caring about the work and what’s best for the client. A desire to work in a place or for a client where it’s encouraged to shake the reins and take a new path. And to do so with other like minded people. Who are talented and friendly. Some agencies and clients understand this better than others. They do function in this manner, more or less, and it’s not surprising to me whatsoever that they routinely do the best work, achieve the most dramatic results and seem to have the most fun doing it.
If you’re one of them, my hat is off to you. Congratulations! If you’re hiring or looking for some creative help, I’d really like to work with you. It sounds like fun. And fun is what’s best for me.