Commoditised creativity - a dangerous slope

The truth is that clients can't do what we can (sorry to burst anyone's bubble). The problem that we, as agencies around the globe, face is that clients are facing tighter budgets with higher deliverables. The expectations placed on our clients by their reporting lines, are immense.

The drive to bring down the costs, sometimes leads to decisions being made that may prove incorrect later on.

Competition

We also face the fact that today it is relatively easy to set-up a design business. All one needs, on face value anyway, is a good computer, some decent software and away you go. Creative ability falls to the computer, with prepopulated design templates being the order of the day. The number of design "businesses" has exploded over the past few years, simply as a result of this notion that anyone can be a designer. Much in the same way that digital SLR cameras have created over a billion "professional photographers" - well in their minds anyway.

Ironically, it is this belief that is beginning to cause the decline of margins and overall budgets, being allocated to the important aspect of marketing and design. The worst phenomenon though, that is a direct consequence of this belief is that the overall level of creativity is beginning to drop.

Now before I am accused of siding only with the client, taking a stab at independent designers or a bit of both, lets unpack a bit more...

Great creativity need not cost the earth (I have long held this belief), but having just one person responsible for competing all of your design is simply not a solution. Having just one person completing this vital task will lead to repetitive design that becomes bland. This in turn will lead to your brand losing its space within the consumer landscape.

We hold the position that you need several people working on a brand. This team dynamic creates a platform for "creative conflict". This is a term we use to drive ideas. We like the idea of multiple executions with different angles. This delivers better overall creativity at the end of the day. This team dynamic does have a cost though and there is no way of getting away from this.

Observation

The increase in smaller businesses has had some positive effects on overall pricing. Great design, today, is more readily available and at pricing that is far more palatable.

The slippery slope though that is fast emerging, is that this approach has led to an increasing number of businesses who are willing to risk their brand reputation in favour of cost. This is a dangerous slope to be on and one that could see the design world imitating the print world. Printing around the globe has commoditised itself to death, granted with the help of technology. Printers simply are not able to command the pricing of old and many have closed their doors.

Be wise with your advertising decision making. You don't necessarily have to spend millions to achieve great marketing and advertising results. You do however need to have a team involved in your brand to ensure that you steer clear of creative repetition.