Brand images. Today’s topic is about importance of trusting the process and trusting professionals you invite to be part of the team whether for a one time engagement or a long run, while building your brand – your company’s image and way the “story” and message of your company is being communicated for years to come. A VERY important topic in a world that increasingly lives fed by visuals whether it is social media account, any kind of media advertising, or feedback loop with your targeted consumers.
Today I am talking about how to tap into the creative pool of creative professionals that your company needs to make and succeed in the next stage of company/business development. I am talking about what you must look for and look out for to ensure your company’s and business’s success.
I am elaborating on the way the creatives think and how it can be possible for you as a business owner to create a working alliance with creative individuals – the necessary part of longevity of your brand’s success.
When you ready to present your company, brand, product to the world, the idea is to create images that not only show the product, but create images that represent your company’s values. More often than not in subliminal way. Inviting others to explore the “story” we want to tell by hinting in brand image on subconscious or known values the target audience subscribes to, knowingly or not.
Yes knowing your target audience is important. Marketing part of your business will need to know statistics like age range, geographic location and so on of the targeted consumer group in order to create outreach to a specific targeted group of people – consumers.
However to appeal to your customers you need to think creatively. Think about what your target audience values are. What is important to them as people. The true creative process of finding and defining these values, just like a creative process leading to the final brand imagery isn’t precisely linear or logical in common sense. There are things you should think about, but the process also includes focusing on the task of finding definitions from “Bird’s” eye view so to speak before narrowing down for a closer look. People like creative directors, art directors, even some photographers are very skilled thinking in such a way. Every project at task is an exercise and continuing practice in such a way of thinking.
Unlike typical corporate type of work where every person is responsible for one type of task at hand, completing the logical chain of delivery of the desired result, creative type of person can only accomplish long lasting on point result and not an immediate to the eye goal at task, when they are able to not only think focusing on details, but also think abstract. It is imperative for a creative to venture out in other types of activities furthering one’s mind and consciousness. Dabbling in other creative activities, being open to new experiences, point of view, knowledge. All that works the creative “muscle” and allows a creative to tap into layers of creative process unknown to people who work only with a logical chain of command.
If you are thinking long term for your company and product, whether you want to expand in the future with new services or products or want to sell soon established company – brand and sell it for a hefty profit that will result from selling a brand with better projected growth, you must employ a creative team or individual that is able to tap into the abstract type of thinking and pull out the necessary for success inspiration for creating long lasting brand imagery that will “speak” to targeted consumer beyond “today” focus, and rather will “speak” to them in a long run, again and again.
Think of Apple brand. It wasn’t about a specific product, it was presenting products that go in line with the brand’s message “think differently” and offering tools that can be used as an extension of an individual’s activity, individual who is or would like to “think differently” – “out of the box” – “out of majority of people’s comfort zone”. In a way that’s a great path for a company to not only speak to the target group but by growing, become a tribe that will invite others that want to be “thinking differently”, offering tools that potentially can help them become those kind of people. See where I am going with it ? THAT is a brand message that will stand strong for years to come.
Your brand message DELIVERY – the way you tell a “story” – the way you communicate that “story” will likely will shift a little this way or another, and so it must with changing landscape of the world and practices, you need a creative team that is able to catch the flow and make the best of it.
Your chances of hiring that specific type of creative are higher if you do your homework and see that the creative you are hiring is well versed in variety of mediums and styles that he/she produces. That shows they are more focused on the idea and message to be communicated rather than specific style that only speaks to a specific audience. They are not “married” and stiff to a certain idea of thinking except the one that is open to seeing more than majority does and thus able to change the way the brand message is communicated in an authentic to the targeted audience way.
Now it is absolutely ok to hire creative individuals that stick to only one style for specific kind of imagery that you know you want. If you know what you want. Often however, without practice in that specific realm of creative thinking ( and you don’t have to when you are the visionary business operative side of the company ) you aren’t able to really SEE ( it comes from my experience as a creative professional and that is where Lack of that understanding of a creative process by another party – you as a client might become a touchy subject and an object of heated discussions) – It rarely works in a long term. After completion of the “now” project you are still left in a lurch of “what’s next”. That happens when you hire a professional that only works in a specific visual style and / or if you don’t already have a solid creative proven to work as a team in-house creative team and/or if you don’t trust the creative process I am talking about of the individuals you employ. Your courage to self educate and trust the creative process of your team and /or creative professionals you employ is imperative to symbiotic work between the teams that make up your business and ultimately brings the best desired results.
If you are at the beginning of the formation of the creative team, finding individuals that are already well versed in conceptual thinking using variety of media, those that learn quick, led by the ability to understand the bigger picture, while honing skills in variety of specific mediums, will result in a firmer standing brand that pivots with times while becoming more and more successful.
There are risks involved ( sometime “misfires” are possible when creative and operational teams working together are being formed and are learning to work together ), however if you choose to see the value in such individuals and their values are aligned with yours you are on a way to creating a solid long lasting business and brand that will withstand times of testing.
In today’s world we all expect immediate results, results delivery times of which shortens every day with the way tech evolves and markets are pressing on us to deliver faster and more on “point “. However, despite the deadlines an ample time must be allocated for the creative process to flow. It’s worth the “wait”.
Some of us creatives are best productive surrounded by team that understands that. We are driven to deliver on time and on point but we must be allowed freedom to not find that “point” but let this “point” find us. That requires a FINE process of creativity at its best I am talking about here.
If that sounds unfamiliar ask any creative successful professional about the process of creating and you will See THAT is the only way a true prolific, successful creative result can be achieved. Born out of that state of mind and type of creative process are the brands that stand the challenge of times and fluctuating markets.
If done right, it works every single time.
In a way for most creative professionals focused on delivery of a singular style of image, not skilled in this type of creative process I elaborate on in this post, it’s like trying to catch fox tail in a dark room. For those that are, like me, skilled and practiced in a true creative process that allows ( both time and monetary investment wise) – it IS embracing the lack of immediate “visibility” of the way the message can be communicated and trusting one’s intuition fueled by knowledge and skill set we have honed and allowing the ideas and solutions come to us. They always do. THAT is a true way to employ the creativity that will establish your company’s brand image for years to come.
Do your homework. Trust the process. Don’t ignore your gut. Employ people that you connect with and trust their talent in contributing to your vision.
