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"How
many creatives does it take to change a lightbulb?"
"None; there's nothing wrong with it and I'm not changing it."
Sometimes, when the magic has gone out of your relationship with
creative staff and freelancers, it's not because they don't love
you anymore, or because all graphic designers and copywriters have
been placed on this earth to punish you. Sick creative relationships
CAN be cured.
Herewith, common warning signs of "Sick Creative" and
how to treat them.
1. Avoidance
Symptoms: Creatives don't call you, they don't return your calls,
e-mails or smoke signals.
Possible causes: They're overloaded with work (not just yours) and
behind schedule; you've made a big demand, such as a radical scheduling
change; the creative is "percolating," but has nothing
to show you as of yet.
Never say: "I'm getting very frustrated (fed-up, furious) with
this situation and I need to talk to you NOW."
Try this: Leave a detailed phone message, reiterated in an e-mail
or memo, delineating exactly what it is you need to know and the
latest date you need to know it. (I.e. "I realize this is short
notice, but we would like the comps to be ready a week ahead of
schedule so that we can present them at our sales meeting. If this
is not possible, what is the earliest we can expect them? Would
you please let me know by tomorrow at 5 p.m. either way? Thanks.")
2. Overuse of Jargon
Symptoms: Creative answers your questions in non-informational sound
bites: "Everything's copacetic; we're rockin' and rollin'."
Possible causes: Overwhelm and nervousness; in "percolation"
mode; they don't have a clue; or, you've foisted your problems off
your desk and onto theirs without a life preserver.
Never say: "We need to get this thing out, my boss is on my
case. Can you fax me something now so I'll know where we're at?"
Better: "Do you have everything you need to proceed with the
assignment? What can I do to help this go as smoothly as possible?"
3. 'Tude
Symptoms: Formerly pleasant and professional demeanor has morphed
into defensive snarling.
Possible causes: Terms of the job have changed a lot since its inception;
inadequate or late compensation; you've been uncommunicative, or
disrespectful.
Never say: "You know, we can get somebody else to do this if
you're not happy."
Try this: "I feel a strain in our working relationship; can
we talk about it and figure out what we need to do to get back on
track with each other and get this job done to everyone's satisfaction?"
4. Neediness
Symptoms: Creative requires too much hand-holding; you begin to
shudder involuntarily whenever the phone rings.
Possible causes: You've been critical; creative doesn't have enough
information and the deadline is fast approaching; you have not established
clear boundaries in your working relationship.
Try this: "From where I sit we don't need to check in with
each other so often; I trust you with this assignment and I know
you'll do a good job."
Or: "This is not a good time, I tend to have a lot of meetings
in the afternoon. Let's check in with each other once a day, say
around 10:00 AM?"
Or: "Please send me an e-mail with a list of your concerns
and I'll address them as soon as I can."
What if the "cures" don't work?
Say you work with a writer, a designer, or a team that does beautiful
work, garners great response, but drives you nuts. Is it worth it
to continue the relationship? In order to answer that question,
you have to consider the nature of the business, and the nature
of the creative beast.
In direct marketing, creativity sells product using methods that
are measurable and duplicable. Direct marketing is nothing if not
personal ... and creativity makes all of your ground work that much
more personal, bringing it all home to your customers in ways they'll
relate to. If you've found a creative approach, and a creative talent,
that conveys the spirit of your company and its products or services,
you have struck gold.
Realize that to be creative, you have to be a little "different."
As a writer, I sometimes behave out of the box as well. So do most
of the art directors with whom I work.
Creatives can be infuriating, I admit. We can have big, fragile
egos. We take our work personally. Many of us tend towards casual
demeanor, dress, and communication, favor alternative workstyles
(feet up on the desk, crossword puzzle breaks), and keep strange
hours.
So is it worth it? Your needs, your temperament, and whether or
not you have the time and energy to put into curing (or living with)
a problematical creative situation will determine the answer.
One art director I know prefers to work late at night, then likes
to call me at 11 p.m., when I'm half asleep, to ask questions (Warning
signal 4, Neediness). I have never succeeded in breaking her of
this crazy-making habit. She also can't stand it when I get crabby
or bossy with her, which happens often (Warning signal 3, 'Tude).
On the other hand, there are a couple of awards on my wall for pieces
I wrote and she designed, and a control package we worked on together
that's in it's fourth year of unbeatability. Bottom line: as long
as we do not work together exclusively, our partnership can be very
fruitful and even pleasant.
In another situation, an art director only returned my calls when
she knew I wasn't available so that she could speak to my machine.
She left messages telling me when to call her back but she was not
there when I did. (Warning signal 1, Avoidance.) She told me things
were in the mail that were not, that jobs were completed when they
weren't. She did not respond to my attempts to communicate in a
more timely and professional manner. This was a sick creative situation
that could not be healed. As the joke about the psychiatrist and
the lightbulb goes, first the lightbulb has to want to change.
I have worked with wonderful design studios and in creative marketing
departments filled with talented, professional people, but even
in these milieus, there can be communication problems, usually brought
on by pressure from above. When the account rep calls me about needing
to get rockin' and rollin' (Warning signal 2, Jargon), rather than
get nervous myself, I know it's time for us to put our heads together
and come up with some practical solutions to help the job get done
faster.
As one ad executive says, "In my experience, most creatives
are wonderful, delightful people who will go to the wall to help
you complete a project that makes money for you. The more positive
the relationships, the better it is for everyone." This creative
agrees.
_____________________________________________
Carol L. Skolnick is a freelance writer, copywriter, and creative
marketing
consultant.
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