Creative Strategy and the Business of Design

1. Creativity thrives on strategic understanding.

In a nutshell, I can say to you: the material in this book will sometimes make you feel like a creative person in a math class—it’ll take some time and effort to grasp.

Bridging the gap. Creative professionals often find themselves at a disadvantage when lacking a solid understanding of business and marketing principles. Integrating left-brained strategic thinking with right-brained creativity leads to more relevant and effective work. This integration helps creatives understand the "why" behind the "what," enabling them to develop solutions that align with business objectives.

From art to design. The key difference between art and design/advertising lies in their purpose. Art is a personal expression, while design and advertising are art with a commercial purpose. Understanding this distinction allows creatives to focus their efforts on achieving specific business goals rather than simply creating aesthetically pleasing work.

Evolving expectations. Clients increasingly expect creatives to be strategic partners, not just executors. This requires creatives to learn the language of business, understand marketing metrics, and contribute to the overall strategic direction of a project. This shift elevates the value of creative contributions and strengthens client relationships.

2. Know your target intimately.

Your design, packaging, or creative concept should be so on target that women responding to your website for birth control should have no idea if it was designed by a man.

Beyond demographics. Truly understanding your target goes beyond basic demographics. It requires delving into their psychographics (interests, attitudes, and opinions) and behaviors to understand their motivations and values. This deep understanding allows you to create messaging that resonates with them on a personal level.

Speak their language. Effective communication requires speaking to your target in a way that they understand and relate to. This means using the right tone, vocabulary, and cultural references to avoid alienating or patronizing them. The goal is to create a connection that feels authentic and genuine.

Relevance equals response. In a world saturated with marketing messages, relevance is key to cutting through the clutter. By understanding your target's needs, values, and media consumption habits, you can deliver messaging that is not only beautiful but also highly effective in driving desired actions.

3. Features tell, benefits sell, values connect.

That’s why features are fine, but benefits are better. And values rule.

Tangible vs. intangible. Features are the tangible attributes of a product or service, while benefits are the intangible advantages they provide to the consumer. While features can be informative, benefits are what truly motivate a purchase.

Emotional connection. Values represent the underlying emotional needs and desires that drive consumer behavior. By connecting your brand to the values that resonate with your target audience, you can create a deeper and more meaningful relationship.

Mountain Dew example. Mountain Dew successfully connects with its young, energetic male audience by associating its energy-boosting caffeine content with the value of extreme exhilaration. This connection is reinforced through advertising that features extreme sports and pounding music, creating a brand image that resonates with its target audience's values.

4. The Creative Strategy Framework brings order to chaos.

The framework uses four columns to help you organize the elements involved in developing creative work and focus on seeing the threads that exist between creativity and strategy.

Organizing information. The Creative Strategy Framework is a tool for organizing and extracting insights from the vast amount of information involved in developing creative work. It helps creatives focus on the connections between creativity and strategy.

Four key elements:

• Target: Clearly defined target audience segments
• Facts: Relevant information about the brand, product, or service
• Feature/Benefit: Tangible features and their corresponding benefits
• Message/Objective: Key messaging points or business objectives

Strategic threads. By organizing information into these four categories, the framework allows you to identify "threads" or connections between them. These threads can then be used to inspire creative concepts, write briefs, and develop strategic recommendations.

5. Positioning is strategic, not tactical.

This statement will allow clarity in direction by precisely defining the chemistry between the brand and target.

Defining the brand's place. A positioning statement is a succinct articulation of the target audience, brand, business category, point of difference, and reason to believe. It serves as a strategic foundation for all marketing and communication efforts.

Key components:

• Target: Who are you trying to reach?
• Brand: What is the name of your product or service?
• Category: What business are you in?
• Point of Difference: What makes you unique?
• Reason to Believe: Why should customers believe your claims?

Guiding creative development. A well-crafted positioning statement provides clarity and direction for creative teams, ensuring that their work is aligned with the overall brand strategy. It also helps to justify creative decisions and defend them against subjective criticism.

6. Channel selection aligns brand and target.

The reason you design a print campaign should be that your target reads periodicals in paper format.

Media habits matter. Choosing the right communication channels is crucial for reaching your target audience. This requires understanding their media consumption habits and preferences.

Beyond traditional channels. In today's fragmented media landscape, it's important to consider a wide range of channels, including social media, mobile, and out-of-home. The key is to choose the channels that are most relevant to your target audience and align with your brand's values.

Integrating across touchpoints. A unified brand experience requires integrating messaging across multiple touchpoints. This means ensuring that your brand's identity, tone, and values are consistently communicated in all channels.

7. Scenario analysis illuminates risks and rewards.

Scenario analysis is important because if your client is a market leader on the basis of the strength of their product, but sales are suggesting that consumers are also valuing aesthetics nowadays, you could advise on the risks and rewards of going with Rhombus over Rhinoceros.

Evaluating options. Scenario analysis is a way to anticipate and think through the impact of each option you recommend to your client. It allows you to present options with a clear understanding of their potential risks and rewards.

Beyond creative choices. Scenario analysis goes beyond simply presenting different creative executions. It involves analyzing the strategic implications of each option and how they align with the client's business objectives.

Informed decisions. By providing a clear and objective analysis of the risks and rewards, scenario analysis empowers clients to make informed decisions that are in the best interest of their brand.

8. A solid brief is your creative map.

There is only one reason for anyone to write a brief or engage in briefing a creative team, and that is to help make their advertising better (and easier to create) than it would be if they were left to their own devices.

Guiding the creative process. A creative brief is a document that provides the creative team with the information and direction they need to develop effective solutions. It serves as a roadmap for the creative process, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

Key questions a brief should answer:

• What are we selling?
• What is the assignment?
• What is the background?
• Whom are we selling to?
• What is the one main benefit of this product?
• What are the reasons to believe?
• What barriers to purchase do we need to overcome?
• What is the net takeaway?
• What is the brand position?
• What is the desired response?
• What is the timing?

Clarity and focus. A well-written brief provides clarity and focus, allowing the creative team to develop solutions that are on brand, on strategy, and on message. It also helps to avoid scope creep and ensure that the project stays on track.

9. Presentation skills amplify your ideas.

I believe that if we can improve the communication within the creative process, we can improve the creative product.

Beyond the work itself. Effective presentation skills are crucial for selling your creative ideas. A well-crafted presentation can amplify the impact of your work and increase the likelihood of getting buy-in from clients and stakeholders.

Key elements of a successful presentation:

• Establish your position and credibility
• Know your audience and their goals
• Master the setup by providing context and framing the problem
• Structure your presentation logically and clearly
• Let the work speak for itself
• Interpret feedback constructively

Passion and conviction. Presenting your ideas with passion and conviction can be contagious. When you believe in your work, it's easier to convince others to believe in it as well.

10. Embrace lifelong learning and adaptability.

As our field evolves, I see the opportunity for smart creatives to become partners with business and marketing practitioners.

Constant evolution. The creative field is constantly evolving, with new technologies, platforms, and trends emerging all the time. To stay relevant, it's essential to embrace lifelong learning and adapt to change.

Key skills for the future:

• Writing: Articulating ideas clearly and persuasively
• Analysis: Developing sound strategies from research
• Synthesis: Creating relevant and compelling executions

Beyond technical skills. While technical skills are important, they are not enough. To truly thrive in the creative field, you need to develop strong critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.

11. Overcome fear with action and self-belief.

The moral of this story is: try so you can fail and then succeed.

Action conquers fear. Fear can be a major obstacle to success in the creative field. The best way to overcome fear is to take action, even if it's just a small step.

Key strategies for managing fear:

• Focus on the quality of your work, not on getting the job
• Use your skills to create quality concepts and beautiful executions
• Engage in guerrilla networking to build relationships
• Remember that grades don't matter as much as your skills and portfolio

Self-belief is essential. Believing in yourself and your abilities is crucial for overcoming fear and achieving your goals. Surround yourself with supportive people and celebrate your successes, no matter how small.

12. Relevant portfolio pieces showcase your skills.

Portfolios are like cartons of milk; they have expiration dates.

Showcase your best work. Your portfolio is your calling card. It should showcase your best and most relevant work, demonstrating your skills and abilities to potential employers and clients.

Keep it fresh. Portfolios are like cartons of milk; they have expiration dates. It's important to keep your portfolio up-to-date with your latest and greatest work.

The assignments:

• Brand Analysis and Action Plan: Revitalize a fading brand.
• Complete Rebrand and Visual Identity: Craft a cohesive identity for a construction company.
• Sports Team Brand: Connect a team to its community.
• Broadway Play Campaign: Design a logo and poster for "Double Sided."

Last updated: April 17, 2025