I don’t usually blog about personal things. I usually post about personal stuff on Facebook. But this is one of those few times that the personal and professional are one.

Over the last couple years my professional direction has changed slightly. No longer just writing copy for ads and social media, I began editing and then shooting video. Which isn’t all that crazy since during the time I was working in Los Angeles I was directing commercials as well as freelance copywriting.

It was inevitable that this transition was coming from copywriter to writer/director. And with the rapid rise of web content and shrinking advertising budgets there’s no better time to embrace the change with my full attention, passion, and on my own terms.

I’ll be blogging about what exactly this means over the next week.

When I first started in the ad business I couldn’t decide if I was an artist, a craftsman, or a hack. Now I’ve come to realize that I’m all of those at the same time, maybe even on the same day. It may be a creative business, but business it is and sometimes in business you’re expected to fill roles. And if you don’t own the shop there’s not much point in arguing about it.

The irony is no one wants to work with a hack. And no one want to work with a prima donna either. Although they’ll never say it, what they want is  to work with someone who is both. Or which ever one they’re needed to be at any given time.

Fighting for work is admired and rewarded. But giving up the fight is also rewarded, just not admired. Just make sure you do them at the right time or you’ll be rewarded with a severance check.

How do you know when to fight? Think like you own the place you are responsible for both payroll and the professional reputation of the firm. Would you still be arguing the size of the logo? If yes, dig in. Producing great work takes combat skills. But knowing when to use them ensures you’ll survive to use them when it counts.

Part of the creative’s job these days is to develop ways to encourage sharing a new campaign. It’s no longer enough to create brilliant creative that connects with the audience. Now, creative needs to be so powerful that it encourages “engagement” and “sharing.”

Read the rest here.

As a writer and creative person, inspiration is something I’m supposed to know a lot about. I shouldn’t need your help, because I’m inspired to write witty, interesting things all the time, right? Certainly I’ve got a direct line to the muse? Unfortunately, there’s no bat phone for writers.

Article continues here on agency blog.

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about what the future’s creative department should look like and who it should be headed by. Do traditional shops need to get rid of their old guard and make way for leaders and practitioners steeped in the traditions of the digital shops?

Surely they need to get rid of dated thinking. Kick out folks who can’t code, tag, and develop an app. And there’s no one who understands how to make use of the new tools available than someone with a digital background. Right?

But what about all that brand stuff? Is a techno creative really better equipped to communicate the client’s brand story than someone who’s been focused on it their entire career? Aren’t the truly great communicators capable of doing their job in more than old-school traditional media?

Digital creatives are getting dinged for lack of branding and planning experience. While traditional creatives apparently can’t grasp the internet. But are either of these characterizations fair?

I think people are getting too caught up on resumes and not focused enough on real skills. For example, I work at a traditional agency yet the majority of the work I do lives online. Some of the work I do is even social media marketing — imagine that. Does this make me a traditional creative or a digital creative. I suspect in the eyes of many recruiters who can’t get past a resume it makes me a traditionalist. But I just see myself as being current.

Marketers need professionals that can tell their story and engage their customers in all media. Be it on Twitter or on a billboard. And that is best done by a media neutral creative, working off a media neutral brief, for a media neutral media buy.

I don’t think the best creative comes from a digital or a traditional background. What is important is their grasp of  today’s tool, the future, and the client’s business.

Fact of life, junior creative: not every client is going to buy your great work. Some will just wear you down until what finally runs is just bad. Why? Politics, bad taste, stupidity, or just plain arrogance. And in a good economy, great agencies fire them. But most agencies have clients that are there just to keep the lights on. Usually,  juniors get stuck working on them while the senior people work on the fun stuff.

But most clients will buy decent work, at least on occasion. And a lot of it has to do with how it’s presented, defended, and the steps that are taken once an impasse is met.

Presenting: Some people do better selling work by practicing. Others take improv classes. And some use salesman’s tricks. Then there are the personality sellers, a rare breed of agency rainmaker that can force the work through just by using their charm – you can often find these guys selling bad work just because they hate losing. I try to connect on a personal level and let the client know that I’m being honest and that I have their concerns in mind. I find this strategy almost always works better for existing clients.

Defending: Most people will try to use the rhetorical skills of a lawyer. But my most powerful tool is listening. Just listen to what they have to say. Don’t be quick to refute and make sure they’ve finished talking before you offer up a critique of their thinking. A lot of times they just need to work through things in their mind. And just by keeping your mouth shut you can sell a great idea. I used to work with an awesome media director who later became a client. He uses his body language to get the other guy to talk first and allow him to win the negotiation every time.

It’s good to keep in mind that clients aren’t paid to have taste. (That’s actually your creative director’s job.) Their job is to drive incremental sales for the company. So qualitative arguments will often loose. A particularly blunt boss once reminded me, “this isn’t fucking Cannes, Jimmy.” No it wasn’t. And “artistic” arguments were never going to win the day. If you have to argue with them do it using their terms and goals, never yours.

Next steps: Don’t agree to any specific changes at the meeting. Take good notes (or make sure your AE is) and let them know you’re going to look at all of their suggestions and you’ll be coming back with solutions.

Bogusky calls these “change moments” and says to embrace them and make them positive.

If they’re insisting on something bad, try and figure out why. Most people have reasons why they’re suggesting something – although they don’t always share them unless they’re asked. Getting answers may feel like pulling teeth because some clients don’t want to share their motives — they’re not always positive. This can be hard. If it weren’t, every agency professional would be doing great work and the award annuals would be much thicker.

Unfortunately, sometimes you have to move on because the client refuse to buy anything good. After all, they’re paying. But that’s not your decision, it’s your creative directors. If you do punt, don’t give up on selling something good. Find something else to work on pro-bono or take on a side client to crank out some good stuff for the award shows yourself.

Pick two and only two sides

Today fast enough is the new good enough.

Fortunately, this will change and clients will start by asking for quality again, in addition to cheap and fast. The cyclical nature of business will cause them to demand memorable and even entertaining work again.

Do you have a plan for this eventual turn back toward quality? Are you still trying to do the best you can with every project? Or have you been consumed by the apathy bug and just trying to get the project out the door on time? The worst situation you can find yourself in is focused only on fast and cheap when your clients want good again. So ask your self on the next rush job – is this as good as it can be, or is just cheap and fast enough?