FIRE UP your creative team

	DON'T BURN THEM OUT

Be sure to keep a watchful eye on your production schedules. There's always the temptation to let the creative standards slip or to say “it's good enough” just to get the work out the door. And then it happens a second time. And a third. Once you get in this rut you'll eventually find that your department is producing a lot of work, but none of it is really exemplary any more.

It's the path to certain creative death. And the first ones to leave for greener pastures will be your best creative people. To avoid this, you may need to fight for more time in your schedule. Or you might have to demand more people if you need increased manpower to maintain your creative standards. It's helpful to develop a team of freelancers who you can occasionally call on to take some of the workload off your staff.

And when someone's gone beyond the call of duty and done something really terrific, reward him or her for the initiative and hard work. What do you do? Refer to the paper you had your new employee fill out on his/her first day of work. If you know that the employee's favorite band is coming to town, you might spring for a few tickets as a thank-you.

The idea is to reward people not with an “employee-of-the-month parking space,” but with something they'll really value. If you can't afford two tickets to a concert, consider a gift certificate to a place you know the employee will like — a favorite restaurant or store, for instance.

	BE PART OF THE TEAM

Your production schedule may require the occasional “all-nighter” or even “all-weekender.” That's not always a bad thing, as it gives people the chance to reach for that “little extra” and push themselves a bit harder. When they're done, they'll almost be elated that they pulled off the project or projects.

But you should be there with them: The captain doesn't desert the bridge of the ship in the storm. If they're in the office late, you stay late, too — even if you're not directly involved in the project. If they're in on a weekend, drop in to check on them. Make sure you pop for food, too.

Show up at input meetings when the information is being passed from marketing or merchandising to your creative folks. It shows that you take their work seriously.

You'll see if the creative hand-offs are going smoothly. And you'll know if your people are getting beat up at presentations. I've noticed everyone perks up and gets just a bit more serious when the creative director attends a briefing or presentation.

Try to make sure the input your team gets is as good as it can possibly be. Designers should be able to leave the meeting with enough accurate information to produce a great piece of work. If you attend enough input meetings and voice your concern that maybe the input isn't all that it's cracked up to be, you'll usually see it slowly get better.

	USE (AND ABUSE) YOUR COMPETITORS

It's common for marketing people to analyze the competition. They study competitive offers, products and even creative presentations. They try to figure out what the competition is doing and why. But the creative department is often left out in the cold. If you get your creatives involved in looking at the competition, you'll instantly see a more positive outlook.

Take a couple of hours every few months and put the competition's work up in a conference room. Then go over their work with your department. Dissect it. And encourage opinions from your staff. What are they doing really well? Where do you think they're missing the boat? What could we learn from them? And what could they learn from us?

In dissecting the competition, you'll indirectly dissect your own work, too. And it's more than likely your copywriters and designers will come up with some fresh approaches to your projects. They'll be better informed, and better-informed creatives translates to better-performing creative work.

	SHARE THE RESULTS

Make sure your creative staff feels important. Let them know that they're not there just to crank out ads or mailers or e-mails or catalogs, but that they're an integral part of the company.

Let your staff know how their pieces pulled — how the catalog, Website, or e-mail campaign they slaved over did — product by product. It imparts ownership and also touches the competitive streak within all of us.

	EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES

Designers, art directors and writers seldom get to go to conferences. They're usually back at the office while the manager-types get to attend. When I was just starting out in the business, I was fortunate to be sent to a conference. The experience changed my life: Not only did I pick up a lot of creative tips, I also learned a lot about other aspects of our industry.

The lesson? Try to get your creative folks to conferences and seminars as often as possible. It breaks their routine and gives their energy level a shot in the arm. Point out the sessions you think they should go to, and encourage them to attend any awards ceremonies. They'll get an idea of what others in their industry are producing and will likely feel challenged to raise their level of work to compete with the award-winners.

You can't afford to send people to a conference? Bring in outside speakers or workshop leaders to inject enthusiasm into your group. And vary your speakers from a direct marketing guru to a photographer or illustrator to perhaps a well-known graphic designer. They don't all have to be multichannel-marketing related.

One time, I brought in some members of a local dance troupe. I worried no one would be interested. But it really recharged the department's batteries. Did they use what they learned about modern dance? Not directly. But, it sure raised the energy level and enthusiasm. You could almost feel the creative juices in the whole department flowing!
— KK

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Kevin Kotowski is president of Olson/Kotowski, a multichannel marketing and communications agency in Torrance, CA.