The creative hustle: Have you got what it takes?

The creative department can make or break an agency’s reputation. What they deliver is what the client will love or hate, and one small error in a presentation or a pitch can send clients reeling out the door.

It’s not unlike a factory

While every single department in the agency is needed to ensure the company operates like a well-oiled machine, the creatives are the veritable manufacturing plant or production line.

Many young design or copywriting students think being involved in this department is glamorous, but it’s more hustling than high-flying. They mistakenly believe a creative life is one that allows them to spend their time creating exciting campaigns that show off their talents and thrill the masses. When, in fact, it’s the paying client who’s pulling the strings.

The creative’s talent is used to deliver what they’ve decided their target market would enjoy. Sometimes, it is exciting – even wild. But sometimes, it’s not and the late-night push to meet a deadline feels more of a chore than a rewarding race to the finish.

However, assembling the nuts and bolts of what feels like a dry deathtrap for your ideas could be a winning project. After all, advertising campaigns are not only measured by how smart the copy is or how beautiful the design elements are.

Excellent campaigns considered worthy of accolade have accounted for many different components, and not all of them are 'sexy'. For instance, writing the copy for a debt collection agency could potentially bore you to death, but, if the campaign delivers a strong brand image, is targeting the right audience at the right time, has clear goals, has been tested and monitored, and the budget has been used smartly, then it could be a winner. Whether the creative team is excited by the work or not.

So, is the creative hustle for you?

You might have an eye for design and a knack for strong narratives but you need to be open-minded about the type of brands and products you could find yourself working on. Your feelings about the client don’t matter. Your delivery on the work does.

Remember, every single business in the world needs a strong marketing strategy. If you happen to land up working on a client you have strong negative feelings about, and you can’t get out of it, you still need to deliver the best work you can. Getting over your personal feelings shows professionalism. This is paramount to your career trajectory.

The creative department needs soldiers and the training will nail you

When you start out in your career, you will begin at the bottom. Your internship will be arduous and the expectations are high. To move up a rung on the ladder, you have to prove your worth. But you can only do that if you are able to convince your team leader to give you a chance. You need experience before you can claim that you’re worthy of this work – we’re talking years and years.

In both design and copywriting you need to have earned your stripes for a number of years before you’re allowed the title of 'senior'. What’s more, once you get to senior level as a writer or designer you’re expected to have had a lot of additional experience in your neighbouring fields.

Senior copywriters should by now have an idea of design work, and vice versa. Many senior designers and writers find themselves interested in a creative director’s role. This is a great goal, but the road ahead is long and winding. A creative director must have an all-seeing eye over the entire department. They need experience that will give them the wherewithal to plan all the aspects of the creative brief, oversee the entire process, and offer guidance to the various teams.

The reward is in the process

A strong creative department has an ever-changing rhythm. The pace is fast and perfection is expected. Even retainer clients can suddenly shift focus and your creative process will change.

Agencies need to always remain relevant. This means most are future-proofing their offering constantly. The creative department will be expected to deliver regardless of how challenging the promise to the client may be. This has been witnessed repeatedly in the closing of the gap between SEO and creatives. 

The upsurge of mobile has created shockwaves through many creative departments and voice search has recently shifted the goalposts again. If you want to be a creative, you need to do so much more than earn a qualification. You need to stick your fingers into every piece of the pie to gain a sound understanding of why what you do matters.

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