What Is The Difference Between A Creative Director In Brand Communications, Digital Marketing & Customer Experience?
During my recent time out of work I’ve had plenty of time for a forensic introspection as to what I do for a living and what I have to do to survive as a multi-disciplined, multi-faceted creative lead.
It has always been tough out there. As a Creative Director on a day-to-day basis you’re always under the spotlight, being scrutinised. Some of it is necessary. Some of it feels contrary and unwarranted to the point of it becoming as arduous as spine straightening.
For me, the largest elephant in the room across the integrated spectrum has always been archetypal narratives of breadth versus depth, generalist versus specialist and the strongest kick backs being delivered by deep technical authorities within each vertical.
‘Jack of all trades’: A person who is skilled in many different areas. ‘Master of none’: An opinion implying that a person is not very good at doing any of them. As with the concept of compound interest in finance, what if the opposite of this idiom was actually the truth with regards to polymathy?
By it’s nature, there isn’t really a single vertical discipline of integration to become a specialist of. Faced with that paradox, the rich life of a broadly experienced creative may also be a vulnerable one, say if you’re looking at life through Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule.
I believe standing at the crossroads of disciplines enables you a sort of four dimensional understanding where certain senses, from several unique areas, combine to create relevant insight and action within another category. They cross-pollinate in my honest opinion. They improve the quality of your decision making.
Let’s just look at the fundamentals of the role of Creative Director.
From my ten years industry experience at this level, the role of a Creative Director has three main categories of responsibility; 1. People Skills 2. Direction and 3. Organisational Skills.
1. People Skills — Being a coach
There are two dimensions to coaching people. There is an inclusiveness required and there is the nurturing aspect. Both sides require the cultivation of respect and not the engendering of fear. Treating all people with respect, from wallflowers to mavericks brings a healthy balance to the creative culture and power of a team. With emotional maturity you have to educate, empower, mentor and motivate others into exploration or self expression — to do uncomfortable things and break new ground. You also have to collaborate well with cross-functional teams, know when to give guidance and support, when to step back allowing others to lead and when to roll your sleeves up and pitch in to help get it done. Give credit where it’s due. Say thank you. It is not only internal teams but also external creative partners who may need your guidance and support.
2. Direction — Creative leader
How we think, how we act and what we care about as a team are the three dimensions to providing direction and shaping both the work and the creative team itself. Ultimately provide thought leadership at every level. Be passionate but be professional with it. Know yourself and lead by example. Have ethics, morals and standards, especially on quality assurance and hard graft. Encourage the courage to care. Be firm but fair. Make sure everybody appreciates the value and power of ideas. Inspire curiosity, courage and imagination. Encourage your team to find the right solutions regardless of medium, channel or platform. Try to make sure everything coming out of the studio has relevance, validity and purpose. Do things together that have a positive impact on the world. Do great work that works and makes people think. Be accountable for both your mistakes and your bad decisions. You will make plenty of them. In terms of your successes, stay grounded. Again provide merit and rewards with gratitude to your team.
3. Organisation — Manager
There are two dimensions here; Communication or articulation is key but also simplification through planning. Firstly, communicate to deliver clarity both to your internal teams, your external creative partners and your clients. Communicate effectively to deliver clarity, understanding, excitement, alignment and buy-in from teams and brand partners. Bring them all excitement, alignment and buy in. Listen to the challenges, objectives and opportunities. There is the day-to-day focus on delivery and growth. Have a methodology. Build effective creative strategies, ideas and approaches. Keep it simple stupid. Simplify process, ideas and deliverables. Write the briefs that deliver against creative, cultural and commercial objectives. Shape the creative department from creative culture, process and output. Articulate and inform project plans and validate budgets. Avoid scope creep. Be clear on what the team need to do and give them enough time to do it. Have the emotional maturity and ability to adopt different communication and management styles to deliver the best results. On top of all this be a great presenter, negotiator and engaging orator.
Know yourself, especially your strengths
1. Honesty
Presenting yourself in a genuine way and act sincerely. Keep promises and commitments. Have genuine interactions with others and build trusting relationships.
2. Humour
Enjoy a laugh and make others laugh. Try to bring a lighter side to difficult situations or make the ordinary more lively. Put others at ease in difficult situations and use your humour with sensitivity.
3. Love
Be close to other people and care about them. Express warmth and caring for those who matter most to you. Be a compassionate listener.
4. Curiosity
Be open to new experiences. Find new subjects and topics fascinating. Explore the world so as to build knowledge and better understanding. Ask questions. Hold the mirror up and take stock.
5. Gratitude
Express thankfulness directly to people when you feel gratitude for an act of kindness. Be grateful in general for your life, your relationships and the level of health you have. Count your blessings regularly and reflect on how you’ve lived.
As mentioned at the top of this article, it can be excruciating performing this level of introspection but after kicking the tyres while on furlough, at 48 years old, I am finally clear on my five strengths. I recommend taking the time to understand what yours are and I hope mine serve to maintain my relevance across the integrated spectrum.
If you are looking for a senior creative for help and support across Brand Communications, Digital Marketing or Customer Experience please do get in touch.
My name is Stuart Wilson and I’m The CD Whisperer — Answers built on listening. This is my portfolio: https://www.cdwhisperer.com/
Contact me on email: stuwilson@mac.com Or call me: +447754712789 — A huge thank you goes to Tyler Lastovich https://unsplash.com/@lastly for sharing the above image on Unsplash.
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