So, in true Planner fashion, I figured I'd try to inspire you by sharing some t
1. Bad Fruit Inspires No One
Anyone can draw a bowl of fruit. Or a bowl of multi-colored lumps that kind of resemble fruit. But the ability to paint fruit that makes people go "Damn girl! Look at that apple!" is going to require some vision, and most of all, creativity of your own. I remember a group of fellow Planners being asked if they thought they were creative, and was horrified when they all vehemently denied being creative, like they were being accused of being Trump supporters. How can we inspire people to be creative if we're not creative ourselves? And how can you possibly think of creative solutions to problems if you run from the moniker? Fine, you're not bearded or tattooed enough to be a copywriter, that's okay. Embrace whatever your creativity is--Lego sculptures, little knitted cat sweaters, Burning Man costumes that knock tutus off--just please don't say you aren't creative because you aren't a 'Creative.' The first person you need to inspire is yourself, not a Creative. If you're handing off a strategy that doesn't inspire you to do at least three bad ads, don't expect it to inspire a team And bonus, you get more respect from Creatives if you can speak their language, even if it's the halting and code switchy. So embrace your creativity, you nasty nectarine, you.
2. Presentation is 50% of the Artwork
I once finished a watercolor that I was especially proud of and began to tack it up on the wall with mismatched, bright green and pink thumbtacks (ever so classy). My boyfriend, who is also an artist, nearly fainted. Okay, that isn't true. He hyperventilated and ran to stop me while weeping about the desecration of art. I have found that how you present your piece is just as important as the piece itself, particularly when you're entry-level and people are prone to be hard on your ideas. Gone are the days of jotting down a thought on a Manhattan-soaked cocktail napkin and dropping the Don Draper mic. We live in an increasingly visual world. If your idea isn't presented in a beautifully crafted, visually compelling story, you may never get someone to actually stop and take it seriously. Don't discredit the importance of the presentation of a deck, a briefing, or a brief. Even if it's notes, even if it's a draft. Your big idea deserves a nice frame in a beautifully curated gallery. Metaphorically speaking. No one wants to go to a museum with creative briefs on the wall. If you do, go seek help.
3. Something Can Be Beautifully Painted, But If It Has Bad Proportions/Perspective, It's Still Going to Look Bad
Your Creative team can be the best in the business, but if you give them a shoddy strategy, a nice coat of paint won't save it. Planners are vital in putting down the first lines, and if your perspective is off or you drew the arms too tiny on your Target audience, sooner or later, it will become apparent. Everyone remembers Potato Jesus right? That's the fault of a bad Planner. Be prepared to call bull-shit on yourself, and don't settle for a good enough strategy. It makes more work for your Creatives, or gets lesser-work from them. On the same note, spitting out stats or being technically (read: analytically) perfect doesn't mean being inspiring. Isn't being a Planner so nuanced and interesting? Yes, yes it is.
4. Art is Born of Constraint and Dies of Freedom
If you want to see the look of terror and angst awash on a Creative's face, tell them a project is blue sky, or give them the broadest strategy line you can think of. Oh, try, "The sales event is starting now," or maybe "Everyone goes shopping." Mmm, deliciously specific. Early in my career I used to worry about boxing a Creative team in, but more times than not the frustration would come in there not being enough parameters, not there being too many. Our brains work better when we're solving a specific problem. If I ask you to end homelessness, we're going to have a much harder time than if I ask how we can help homeless people in your neighborhood get jobs with local businesses.
5. Everyone is a Critic
I'm sure this is a pet-peeve of every artist, everywhere, but I hate when I'm in stage one of a piece and some one floats over my shoulder to say they don't like the color, or some other comment that induces me to throw my arms over it and shout "I'M NOT DONE YET!" That's what your Creative team is battling with for every idea, in every stage, all their careers, from everyone. It's all too easy for any one of us to stroll over and say that's not quite right, or I'm not in love with it. If you do this, expect stink-eye. That doesn't mean don't have an opinion, or to be afraid to tell Creatives that rapping-penguins-farting-rainbows won't sell financial services. Just remember that you aren't the only critic on someones masterpiece, and be thoughtful on how you can add, not subtract from their work.
6. Study the Greats to Learn the Basics
One way a lot of us artist-types got to be artist-types was by copying the greats. Tracing Norman Rockwell. Trying to copy a comic book cell. And by jove, it works in advertising, too! I would often try to replicate the kick-ass decks or succinct briefs of my Planning Directors to better understand what was working, and how they thought. It's good practice early in your career. Just don't lose your voice in the process; whatever your special sauce is, bring it to the picnic.
7. A Simple Subject Can Be Breathtaking With the Right Interpretation
So there's this painting of a tree. Nothing too crazy about this tree, no giant bird on it, it's not wearing a top hat or sexy pants or anything. Just a tree. Kinda' dead looking. But the artist--Lawren Harris for the arbor curious--painted it with such intention it blew my socks off. Your strategy doesn't have to be endlessly complex to be good; often the most beautiful insights are deceptively simple. Try to find the beauty in the simplicitree (yep, that happened). Knowing how to make a sock-knocking-off-tree over just another boring old oak is the artistic mastery of Planning.
8. A Style is a Consequence of Being an Artist, Not the Goal
This little nugget came to me from my college art professor. The sun was streaming in the studio loft in Florence where we were all painting on large canvas. Tubes of oil paint were rolled up to drain every last pigment, all scattered about the floor. Church bells rang in the distance, endlessly echoing off centuries old facades. I was probably wearing a scarf. "Marsha!" I moaned, throwing myself over an easel, "I don't know what my style is yet! What kind of artist am I?" Boom, Marsha dropped that wisdom. I've heard Planners say that they are more data-anayltic, or more qualitative, or more Account or more Creative. What you are or how you do is going to be determined by the type of work you do. Don't worry yourself with what you are--do the work that captures what you want to be.
Well, that's the list. In the end, the world of advertising and fine art really aren't so different...rich benefactors commissioning pieces, artists drinking like there's no tomorrow and everyone is starving. At least, that's what the stampede for free food from left-over meetings leads me to believe. Much like art, even natural talent takes hard-work and mentorship to be great. Study and practice, but also observe and experiment. Even if you aren't an "artist" your work in Strategic Planning will be your masterpiece, so treat it as such.
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Also if all this art metaphor has made you curious to check out my non-strategy work, shimmy on over to Amazon to see a book I wrote and illustrated called Frank n' Goat, or my clay-sketch collaboration on Instagram, which was recently featured by Buzzfeed for transforming your feed into art. I'm an advertiser, you knew this was coming.
