Upskilling creativity

It’s hardly surprising that creativity is valued more highly when competition is fierce or the market lacks activity. After all, creativity is key to raising brand awareness, not to mention differentiating brands.

It also follows that brands invest more in creativity at such times. Not just in creative concepts, strategy and outputs, but in improving the processes used to arrive at them – which now includes the use of generative AI.

Indeed many businesses are focused on evaluating the emerging tech and how this can be incorporated into creative workflows to make them more efficient. And to this end they are looking to boost the tech skills of their in-house teams, whether that be through the recruitment of new talent or by upskilling existing team members.

Are you in or are you out?

But in the bid to be more creative, more competitive and to gain the edge, is this their best and only option?

Well, it certainly isn’t the only approach. And while, as a creative agency owner, I am or likely will be considered biased, I don’t think it is the one that will result in the most fertile creative ground or produce the best creative work. It also won’t necessarily deliver the cost savings and level of efficiency that businesses are looking for. You only need to consider the mounting subscription costs of these new tools. Not to mention the cost involved in the ongoing training of teamsters to use them or in recruiting new talent with the latest desired skillset. And let us not forget that there are quite obvious and unrelenting ghosts in the machine that affect the quality and the consistency of the creative that AI tools produce.

Another option is to embrace a more collaborative approach and to work with a creative partner who can compliment and extend your in-house capabilities and core strengths. A partner who will work to resolve challenges without waiting to be prompted. One who can use and employ AI tools as appropriate and to best effect.

Bringing the outside in

Why wouldn’t you work with a creative collaborator? This isn’t exactly a rhetorical question. I appreciate the reservations that in-house teams can have about bringing in outside help.

Some teams, for instance, fear showing their inner workings to agencies. But true creative partners are firmly focused on co-creation. They won’t work in competition with you but as an extension of your team, enhancing your expertise and skills to produce richer creative results. Creative partners are a resource that should flex with you, that you can draw on a little or a lot as needed and your budget allows. They have extensive contact books and can access specialist skills when these are called for. What’s more, their independent perspective and cross-sector knowledge means that they can help to cross-pollinate ideas, approaches and techniques to help develop even smarter creative concepts and assets. Oh, and onboarding an agency needn’t be an issue either. With an agency that ‘gets you’, you might even find it a pleasure.

A catalyst for the best creative output

At NEO – The Business Creative Agency, ‘getting’ our clients is a matter of pride. We believe that the creative magic lies in what we do together. For us, collaboration is key and we want clients to consider us as part of their setup rather than a separate concern. We don’t want them to feel that the decision to partner with a creative agency or to bring their creative in-house is an either/or one. It’s why we are happy to be clients’ best kept secret and offer a white label service if required. We work with a range of clients in this way, adding our unique value to theirs to act as a catalyst for the best creative output: one that connects people with ideas.

So, with this in mind, why don’t we connect?

Mark Terry

[This content was originally posted on LinkedIn. Follow us on LinkedIn.]