A View From Above

Over the past month I have been working at one of London's top creative agencies working on a project for a brand within a highly saturated market. This is one of the more challenging accounts within a global agency for the reason that if you try to colour too far outside of the lines, it could spell trouble and look like a mess, but if you hold back even slightly, there is a chance the brand will suffer.

Before I dive in, let me share with you my bird’s eye view over Adland I got while soaring through the sky, as super heroes do from time to time.

The Account Man: From a junior executive to a regional director, you are the middle man between the agency and the client. Your job is to ensure the brief is met, in terms if cost efficiency, timeliness, and to be sure the ideas you're presenting are not only inline with the agencies mantra but also to the grounds by which you won the pitch.

Creatives: It might seem easy to paint creatives with the same dark brush. While their job is to generate disruptive ideas that engage the consumer on a profound level, they are far from the stereotype. Creatives can come from a range of non-traditional backgrounds as long as they deliver those magical ideas which resonate within our subconscious.

Planners: A planner's objective it to speak on behalf of the consumer. Strategies come from the insight which great creative follows. A planner’s duties are to look at a brief’s objective and then take the pulse of the people. A great planner will be able to recognize the problem within the market and develop a stratagem for the campaign. As a planner, if you can’t simply describe something, it means you don’t understand it well enough.

All three of the above must act as one team if the idea is to create a long lasting relationship. This cohesion is absolutely vital when working within a saturated market. Take for example refrigerators, diapers and detergent. All three are diverse products and they are equally vital towards every household. So how is it possible to create that meaningful relationship?

That is the million dollar question. The key is to build the connection from a foundation of emotions. What will stop me from buying the product which is on promotion is how relevant each of the different brands is to my life. If a brand can communicate relevancy outside of its function, while staying true to the segment in which it performs, then you and your team might find yourself to be a million dollars richer!