Creative teams cite volume, variety, and velocity as their top challenges
On March 13, 2018 InSource and inMotionNow released the 2018 In-House Creative Management Report, which compiled survey results from over 400 marketers and creatives, as well as insights from industry thought leaders.
The report distills the survey results into 5 key findings. The third key finding of the report is that volume and speed of work are the top challenges facing creative teams today. When asked to rank their top challenges on a scale of 1 to 5, where the greater the number the greater the challenge, the top two ranked challenges were the Speed at which creative teams are expected to work, and the Volume of demand for creative work, which both scored a 4.2. The two second highest scoring challenges, both with a ranking of 3.8, were Being seen as a strategic contributor to meeting organizational goals and Increasing variety of marketing channels that need creative.
Ramsay Rawson, Senior Manager, Imaging and Production at Hudson’s Bay Company shared his thoughts on how creative teams can rise to meet these challenges. Rawson outlined a three-pronged approach to managing the content deluge: planning, process, and post-campaign review.
When it comes to planning, Rawson highlights how taking the time in advance of content creation, like a photo shoot, to plan out everything that will be needed to complete the creative content, and to think through all the different ways a set of creative assets can be used will help the creative team get the most “bang for the buck” and maximize the mileage of each asset.
In terms of process, Rawson emphasizes the importance of the creative brief:
“Defining and sticking to a creative process is paramount. In creative work, there is no bigger hinge than the creative brief. We worked really hard to develop a unified creative brief that articulates the purpose of the campaign, details the creative assets that will be required, and secures the endorsement of all involved before proceeding.”
Finally, Rawson highlights that post campaign-review is necessary to allow the team to come together and have a candid discussion about the work and areas for improvement.