Creative: Conduct a Creative Symphony

Remember when Macs were supposed to make our lives easier? The world of rubber cement, dull blades, plugged up Rapidographs, and cut-and-paste was gone. Voilá! With a computer we could print out a single sheet of paper and a whole catalog page was “camera-ready.” In a few weeks, a new catalog was ready to mail.

Fast-forward to the present, and advertising can be created and placed in front of our customers literally minutes after being finalized — all done electronically without a single sheet of paper. But has life gotten any easier?

Although we’ve become accustomed to creating art more easily, technology provides opportunities to do things in more complicated ways. Now all of us have to manage a “multichannel” world. To compete, we must be where consumers seek us. Their expectations are that we’re everywhere, and are but one entity, not three: print, retail, e-commerce. To do this effectively, we must be consistent in our message, whether it’s branding or promotion.

So how do we keep it all connected?

HAVE a plan. As we dive into the creation of marketing material, we become so absorbed in the “doing” that we’re vulnerable to striking a dissonant chord. This can happen when working without a good plan, a schedule to follow or when deadlines aren’t honored. Start by answering some key questions:

• What are we putting in front of consumers and when?
• Did they get an e-mail today after they received a catalog yesterday?
• Will they be visiting our Web site tomorrow?
• What are they seeing?
• Is there consistency in each channel’s message?
• Are we reinforcing our efforts or diluting them?

Having a clear and simple grid that outlines the contact strategy helps manage this process. Keep this as simple as possible; it’s a snapshot of how the orchestra needs to play. Columns across can represent weeks in the year. Each row can represent a separate channel. With a single page view, we can easily understand and manage the marketing events and accompanying messages and visuals for each project.

SET a schedule and honor it. A good plan won’t happen without a realistic schedule. Schedules have to account for overlapping projects using the same resources. The plan helps keep an eye on priorities and objectives; shows where bottlenecks may occur; and allows us to schedule designers, studios, freelancers and other resources accordingly.

A schedule means nothing if it isn’t honored. This is where good production management shows its value. The importance of meeting in-home dates is why press deadlines and go-live dates can’t move. Don’t shortchange the process by letting minideadlines slip. When time falls short, so does the ability to produce quality creative work.

DEVELOP talent. It’s vital to find good talent and develop young novices. As technology has ramped up and revolutionized our jobs, many in catalog creative became instant graphic artists because the computer made design instantaneous.

There was a time when finding talented graphic artists was difficult. Many had the skill, but few had the talent to design well. Determine how to distinguish between these as both play a role on the team. Learn to use the skilled in pushing work out the door. Make the talented most influential in directing the photography and design execution — as well as developing younger talent and exploring new ideas.

It can take years to establish a well-composed team. Always search for new players and new talent. Talk to vendors and other colleagues. Ask new hires who they know. Question freelancers about who they’ve worked with. Even ask your next-door neighbor!

We’re fortunate to have a freelance culture in the creative industry that allows us to use talent when we need it or want to try someone new.

EDUCATE and communicate. As we develop and engage these artistic resources, we must be sure they understand the brand and its impact on the creative execution. Too often the brand look is dictated by an art director’s particular taste, and not necessarily by what the brand should be.

Education requires solid and consistent communication. Once you determine a brand identity, disseminate it throughout the organization as well as the creative team. It’s the team leader’s job to ensure each member understands it.

This is where brand books, “look” books, style guides or any kind of documentation become invaluable. Distribute, share, discuss, critique or however it works within your company’s culture — just do it. Without this foundation, creative teams can take divergent paths, which dilutes or confuses the brand message to customers. Be sure everyone reads from the same sheet music.

ALL eyes on the conductor. Communication works better with a smaller team. Put a common person in charge to manage communication among larger groups — particularly if there are separate teams working separate channels within one brand — typically the creative director who reviews everything prior to being released. A “brand cop” ensures style of design, use of graphics, approach in lighting for photography and voice of copy is consistent with the brand personality.

But all these creative elements are a moving target, and the left hand doesn’t always know what the right hand is doing. Just as a conductor must ensure each section of the orchestra is in tempo with the next, we must make sure all the players are aware of each others’ efforts. When schedules become tight, we forego the process to meet deadlines and thus compromise our usual methods of sharing information. Pictures convey information in a fraction of a second; use visual means to quickly communicate what you’re accomplishing.

SHOW and tell. During photography, have everyone view electronic galleries on a daily basis. Links can be e-mailed to other creative team players easily, who’ll not only use the new imagery, but also be influenced and inspired while creating work in other channels.

Post where everyone can see the most recent covers, latest e-mails, homepage refreshes, sample store signage or any other artwork. Post these as soon as possible so others can see what’s in development.

Display, where all can see, what’s been done: covers, Web pages, e-mails, signage — as soon as it’s approved. That is, don’t wait until it’s published. This gives everyone an opportunity to see how (and if) multiple parts can work in concert. If one artist creates a new graphic that another channel can use, or if one team takes a direction that helps (or hurts) the brand’s personality, it’s an opportunity to review, adjust and strengthen your efforts.

Take control of the process, don’t allow the process to control you. As conductors of talented artists, we have an opportunity to create beautiful visual music in multiple channels.

Jean O. Giesmann is executive creative director of Professional Cutlery Direct, a cataloger of kitchen goods, and former NEMOA president. Reach her at (203) 871-1000 or jeano@cutlery.com.