Totally in love with this hysterical post, I Client, by Creative Beef. All BDA’s might think their clients are douche bags, but guess what, us Clients think all you agency people are absolute morons. Just a few of my favorite bullet points from the article:
- – “I love when you come to meetings in t-shirts and board shorts. It’s like I’m listening to a bunch of my teenage son’s friends.” THANK YOU. Didn’t anyone ever tell you to dress like the other people in a meeting? If your client wears a suit, so should you or at the very least dress business like!
- – “Hey Young Creative! Thanks for acting like you know way more than me about my industry. I’ve only spent the last 25 years crawling my way up the corporate ladder. I’ve survived recessions, layoffs, new owners, etc. But your four years at Art Center make you far more qualified than me.” Again, THANK YOU. Yes, there is a chance that I may know slightly more about my industry than you.
- – And last but not least, “Hey Art Director, remember how much you bitched about that sunburst I made you put on that magazine ad? You even had your Creative Director call me and try to get me to change my mind. So what was the result of my horrible idea? Did sales plummet? Did our company go out of business? Did customers stay away in droves because our advertising was so ugly? No they fucking didn’t.” That’s right, most of your “award worthy” creative ideas SUCK. I could give two shits about winning awards; I’m a tad more concerned with driving revenue.
agree with first 2 not last 1. having been on both sides of the fence if there is ONE thing I’ve learned it’s that people who actually have art/design related backgrounds should comment on art/design.
when clients and even account service people at agencies try to art direct we have problems. it’s no different than if say an art director were to guide the client on a marketing mix analysis plan or a fiscal year business plan
Since I wrote it, I obviously disagree. For the most part, Creatives are so worried about making things look “pretty” that they forget the pertinent parts of the ad. You know, those crazy things that might actually encourage consumers to buy your product; ’cause at the end of the day, the Client’s goal is always going to be to make money.
Well, it would have to go back to the brief. Show me an actual really well written brief from the client that is actually used through out the project and I’ll show you my deed to the Brooklyn Bridge.
The problem often comes down to poor communication when delivering feedback. For example, how many times have we heard MAKE THE LOGO bigger instead of “I don’t think our branding is coming through strong enough, can you look at that?”
Just like agencies get dinged for being too tactical, clients are guilty of the same thing when providing feedback. Too often they provide the solution instead of offering the challenge.
I’d like to think that we pay agencies/partners because they offer an expertise. It’s no different than a mechanic. When I drop my car off I don’t say give me new brakes (because the symptom is a squeaky noise when I brake). Instead I say, hey, when I brake the car makes a squeaky noise. Oddly enough the brakes were fine, but too much brake dust had collected so they needed to be cleaned. Instead of paying $1,000 I paid $120.00.
You sir, are no longer talking about *creative* issues, you are talking about *communication* issues. So, the question becomes, whose responsibility is it to establish clear lines of communication? The Agency or the Client? In your first example, you blame the Client. But, who says the AE has to keep their mouth shut and just “make the logo bigger”? Why can’t s/he issue the challenge and plant the seed in the Client’s head that there are other ways to make the branding stronger? THEN, it would be up to the Creative’s to prove the point.
As a secondary point, maybe it’s time Agencies start establishing clearer lines of communication within their own teams. Then, your brief and creative would reflect what the client asked for in the first place.