Related Posts
Do anyone know about any HR ops vacancy?
Bowl Leader
Additional Posts in Creatives
Coach
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
Sign Up to see all discussions
- Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
- Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
- Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
"" is an unusual email domain. If correct, please proceed to the next step
Messaging rates may apply
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Share
Embed this post
Copy and paste embed code on your site
Preview
Download the
Fishbowl app
Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile
Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl
Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl
Messaging rates may apply
Top agencies are creatively led, meaning that though account and strategy are integral, they do not have the final say. Creative does. And the creative management goes to bat almost every time if the client has issues That’s how Weiden, Droga (mostly but it’s been changing) Goodby and BBDO operate
There’s 2 schools on this. But I’d say you’re doing production wrong.
Preserving the original idea is a trap. It means the work will only be as good as it was to begin with. Great work grows and gets better throughout production. It changes. For the better By the director. By other creatives. By actors. And yes by account teams and clients. If you embrace those changes as ways to make work better and sacrifice your ego of preserving the original form it can grow into something beyond what it began with.
And if you do that right, then the times when you DO fight because someone’s change is making it worse will be respected. Because they just won’t be your ego protecting your (probably flawed) original vision. It’s done in a spirit of what’s best for the work today
Agencies founded by creatives are celebrated for a reason and are often monetarily successful due to their ability to break through the clutter and actually sell products to consumers. Sure, every agency wants more clients/ billings and make creative concessions to do so, but Account driven agencies are often driven by fear and merely take orders from the client like waiters which any agency can do. It’s the creative that sets them apart. And how Weiden for one, can afford to pay their creatives higher than average salaries
Agree with everything that’s being said here as an Account Guy who’s worked at both Creatively led agencies and those that are not. Creatively led agencies are more respected by Clients BECAUSE they have strong opinions about the work and can usually articulate why a given suggestion from someone will or won’t make the work better. It’s when you get the ‘Because I’m the Creative Director’ that shit goes South
@72Sunny — You are correct in that production is an evolving process and very much a team effort, however, fighting is what you do when you’re not at a creatively led agency. Sure I’ve had to make some concessions for clients and at times it’s a tad frustrating but it’s never been miserable for me.
ACD1 nailed it! 👍👍👍
Listen to strategy when they brief it, your CDs as you write it, production as they make it, and the client when they might kill it.
Above all two things: always listen to your heart, and never, ever listen to account.
Bypass them, work around them.
The client matters. They don’t.
What was said above is true. CDs should listen to everyone but at the end of the day their opinion is the one that should matter the most on creative. They’re the expert, right? This often does not happen at Account led agencies.
The best agencies also get to work with the best vendors. Their flourishes are better.
Also should mention they have better processes. Good processes leave fewer chances for mistakes and bad inputs.
That’s very interesting. And true at my agency.
The other school is fight everyone, be miserable, and be upset with the final outcome anyway. Except for when it works. Which it does. Sometimes. But it’s always miserable
Couldn’t agree more @MD1. 👍
Luckily I’ve never had to work with that type of CD, though I know they unfortunately exist.
I anticipated I’d get a response exactly like 72’s and initially wrote a follow up reply stating that there’s a difference between making the creative better during production and making it worse because people don’t understand the concept. It seems like there are times when everyone wants to put their fingerprints it or want to add a style that isn’t necessary or a joke that distracts from the idea. I usually know I’m right when we get to the edit and everyone’s like, “Maybe we should’ve got that shot,” or, “That performance isn’t working, is it.” Yeah, no shit!
What I have seen is that agency’s choose to make this a battle field. They either put the director at odds or don’t communicate. Then of course agency’s often pick ‘difficult’ directors pay them an insane amount of money, get abused and wonder,I guess, what happened. This should be a collaborative process but someone somewhere said, ‘no, let’s make it as difficult as possible, because otherwise people would see how easy it really is’