An insider's view of creative agency - principles, agency roles, big ideas, brainstorming, beliefs. Part of Saatchi Circle - online advertising academy - http://in.thecamp.me/camp/Saatchi-Circle/4Z2SvK0B/campcollections * ad agency self-promos are used in the presentation

1. THE
CREATIVEAGENCY
An insider’s take

2. PRINCIPLES

3. If you have ideas,you should try
working in advertising. In fact every
person in the world has ideas, but most
of the time people just:
‣ don’t believe their ideas have worth
‣ don’t fight enough for their ideas.
If you want to be successful in
advertising,you have to believe in
yourideas and fight forthem.
*ad agencies self-promo

4. Zag,when others Zig is the motto of one of
the most creative agencies in the world -
BBH.
The fact is - being against the norm is the
natural state of most creative people.They
are just wired to brake stereotypes and
cliches.And that’s what makes them so
effective in problem solving.The question is:
how do you make a bunch of unconventional
thinkers follow the agency’s vision?
The answer is simple: you don’t. If your vision
is good enough, people would follow it
naturally.And when everyone believes in the
vision, Nothing is Impossible.

5. Advertising offers unlimited
possibilities to make your ideas
happen.You just have to want it
and - what is most important -
do it.
Advertising (as well as History) is
full of big things that happened
only because someone decided to
put action first and leave the “is-
that-possible” for later.

6. We often get boring briefs that we have to
transform into meaningful communication.
One way to still get big ideas out of a brief that
seems uninspiring is to question everything.
Kids do this all the time.They are full of WHYs
and SO WHATs.Try and do this until you find
something interesting to work with.
The minimum you should find out:
1/ what is that you want to achieve (your goals)
2/ a valuable truth for the product/service that
you want to share with others.
Only then you could start thinking.

7. Advertising will make your brain work
faster and harder that anything else.
Everyday.All day.
And it has no workingtime.
Ideas could come from everywhere,
anytime - on the way home, in the
bathroom (pretty often), when you
sleep…you just have to write them
down as soon as possible.

8. Ideas have no age.
The same applies for people
working in advertising.
We don’t care how old are you.
What we care about is:
‣ are you devoted or apathetic?
‣ are you a doer or a grump?

9. In advertising you often have to make
decisions even when you are not sure
what’s right.
You have to trust your inner voice and
convince both your colleagues and your
client.
To do that you need courage and
persistence.
And yes,you need balls.
Not golf ones.

10. Think Big!
Cliché, but still true.As Leo Burnett
said:
“When you reach for the stars you
may not quite get one, but you
won't come up with a handful of
mud either.”

11. Stayhungry,stayfoolish!
The moment you think you know everything is
the moment you know nothing.
In advertising knowing is useful, but what is
really indispensable is learning how to forget
everything and start every task with a clear
mind. Like kids do.
And if there comes a moment, when you are
not hungry for new ideas anymore,you’d
better change the industry.
There are so many quieter jobs out there.

12. Character is a must - you are
supposed to break dogmas and
overstep limits.
It’s absolutely ok to be individualist
and fight for your ideas.
The thing is your best ideas won’t be
yours, but the product of good old
teamwork.
That’s why you have to be both true
to yourself and a team player
respecting and trustingyourteam.

13. Advertising is a hell.
At least for those don’t like multitasking,
dynamics, strange colleagues, crazy
deadlines and a constantly transforming
environment.
For the rest of us,the above is just another
day full ofpossibilities.
Hello, day!

14. ROLES INADVERTISING

15. ACCOUNTS:
These guys are the connection between
agency and client.
Multitaskers, collaborators and fierce
guardians of good ideas.

16. Theyhavethe whole picture - client’s
business, competitors, market changes,
consumer behaviour, what people love and
what they hate…

17. They have allthe answers: on creative,
business and even personal matters.
That’s why they are here.

18. They understandthe business side of
everything.And they are passionate
about it.
That’s why clients trust them when they
present concepts, strategies or ideas.

19. Theyareverygood with numbers. In a
creative way.

20. STRATEGISTS:
They give the strategic foundation on which
ideas develop.They know people and what
makes them tick.They understand the
client’s business.

21. The time of one-size-fits-all has gone.At
least in advertising.
We need to find the way to connect with
every single person.And this is the role of
the strategy planner - to know and respect
the differences ofeach social group and
everyperson.

22. Strategy planners look forthe hidden
meaning. That’s why they ask lots and lots
and lots of questions.
They know how to talk with people and how
to feel with them.
They understand their clients’ business and
they never stop reading and learning.
They dig for human insights that could
unlock the client’s business problems.
They give every brief the direction that
would guide the creatives to the big idea.

23. DIGITALS:
They collaborate with creative teams to
create and deliver digital and content-
driven campaigns.

24. They stay on top of technology changes to
ensure clients are always ahead of the curve
on digital and social.
They understand the human side of
technologies.

25. Theyare passionate about creative
technology stuff.
They help, educate, inspire and lead
the process, when digital technologies
are involved.

26. COPYWRITERS:
Thinkers first, writers second.
They use words to shape concepts.They
use storytelling to make ideas matter to
people.

27. A word play is their favourite one.

28. They tell engaging stories.The more real
they get,the better.
They read a lot.They read everything.
They always have the last word.

29. DESIGNERS:
They think in pictures.
Together with copywriters they create ideas
and concepts.They design, and take care of
the art direction of all visual elements.

30. Theirimagination is wild.And contagious.

31. They convey abstract thoughts in a simple
yet powerful way.
They make sure ideas are told in a visually
captivating way.

32. They have style and theypay
attentionto details.
They easily visualise even the most
difficult assignment.

33. THE BIG IDEA

34. ‣ Based on interesting and real human
insights
‣ Simple, most of the time
‣ Unexpected
‣ Reveals a surprising point of view
‣ Lets you have fun with it

35. THE BRAINSTORMING

36. Brainstorming or searching for
ideas in a team session is the most
widely used method for idea
generating in an advertising
agency.
To do it,you need a dedicated
team, a cosy place, a motivating
brief and something to eat (a drink
or two might be involved too).And
you need to follow some rules.

37. ‣ No criticising during a
discussion.
‣ Everyone participates.
‣ The faster,the better (long
sessions kill creativity).
‣ First you go for quantity.Then
you refine for quality.
‣ Crazy ideas are super welcome.
‣ Short discussions, more time
to share ideas.
‣ Upgrade each other’s ideas (you
start, another one adds
something, someone else wraps it
up).
‣ Energy generates energy.
‣ Write down everything. Ideas
tend to evaporate quickly.
‣ Make a selection right after the
brainstorming or leave it for the
next day.
‣ Never forget the brief.

38. BELIEFS

39. *ad agencies self-promo

45. ANDTHE MOST
IMPORTANT…