In welcoming Black, David Case, MD, said that while creativity is one of the most over-used words in the advertising and marketing industry, the ability to be creative resides is all of us – whether we're in advertising, plumbing, building or whatever field.
Case said, however, that creativity grows and develops the more it is cultivated “especially when there is talent involved and this is what I'm passionate about. Making sure an agency is creative and creativity is cultivated”.
”What we do in this business - and I mean ‘we' as all the people working in an agency - is put the sharp end onto marketing plans that sell brands. Using all our skills for planning, copywriting, art direction and intuition we try to make our ideas so sharp that they enter arrow-like and easily into the consumer's mind so that they, in turn, react favourably towards brands,” he added.
“This means that client service, media and creative must understand each other and respect each other. And it needs one simple thing that seems, at times, very difficult to carry out. We have to “communicate” with each other,” says Case.
“Everyone must know what is going on and why and be part of it. For example, while a client service person in conversation with a client might be listening for information on delivery and budget, a creative will be listening out for what the client thinks makes his brand tick and he'll also want to build up trust with that client. Two ‘Takes' out of one meeting that can be discussed and used creatively to the agencies' advantage,” he says.
Naturally, the “communication” theme has to be carried out on all levels throughout a company, and this goes for the writing of good briefs, making sure traffic going through the art department does not get clogged up and so on.
“So, it is very important that a creative director is proactive in this sense and is in the thick of things so that only good work gets out and not bad. It is all about ‘communication'. We are in the communication business so let's do it,” Case says.
He says that having working in a number of agencies he has been convinced on the importance of communication and a spirit of creativity is in fact simply common sense and good business sense.
“Agencies that embrace it can go up to another level and those that don't, go down to another level! And it is not so difficult to achieve if the organisation encourages and looks for the best in its people - believe there is gold there and you'll find gold. Some of the most outstandingly successful companies in the world practice this, Google and Microsoft to name but two,” says Case.
