The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Creative Works

How to sell an ad in 20 steps

Author

By David Milligan-Croft, Creative Director / Strategist / Writer

July 27, 2010 | 2 min read

1. Go to see the client.

2. Ask him/her what the business objective is.

3. Ask him/her what the marketing objective is.

4. Ask him/her how the marketing objective will help solve the business objective.

5. Go back to the agency and discuss the problem with the senior team – account director, planner, media planner. (If they weren’t at the meeting with you.)

6. Do some research with the target audience.

7. Go to see the client and discuss your findings.

8. Brainstorm a strategy with the senior team.

9. Go to see the client and get their input on your thinking.

10. Write up a strategy.

11. Get the client to sign it off.

12. Write a creative brief.

13. Get the client’s input.

14. Get the client to sign off the creative brief.

15. Brief the creative team.

16. Show the client some initial ideas at a ‘tissue’ meeting. (Scamps only.) To get their input/feedback.

17. Share feedback with account/creative team.

18. Continue creative development.

19. Present creative work based on: client’s marketing objective (that will help the business objective), consumer insight, signed off strategy, signed off creative brief, creative routes already discussed with client.

20. Open the bubbly.

The point being? Involve your client all the way through the process. That way they take ownership of the work too. And they don’t get any nasty surprises.

If, for any reason, the client blows the work out, you didn’t follow one of these simple steps.

Or, your client isn’t senior enough and doesn’t have the authority to sign off your work and it’s been sent ‘upstairs’ to someone who hasn’t been involved in the process. Then you need to get your CEO to have a word in the shell-like of their CEO about a potential communication breakdown.

Or the client just thinks he/she knows best and doesn’t value the agency’s expertise.

If that’s the case, fuck it, open the bubbly anyway. Your team deserve it. Actually, better make it Prosecco. We are in a recession.

Creative Works

More from Creative Works

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +