August 5, 2022

Why Creative Agencies Don’t Work on ASAP Deadlines

Written by: Riley Fouts

Quicker does not always mean better. While some professions rely on fast turnarounds and speedy fixes, creative agencies tend to live by a different motto. The process of brainstorming, collaborating, deleting, revising, (repeating), etc.2 takes time and effort, and it’s an undertaking that rushing and scrambling will only make matters worse down the road. Here at Isla Luna, we rarely work on ASAP deadlines – along with a lot of other creative agencies – because we value… 

Personalization.

Our bespoke approach allows for tailored experiences for our clients depending on who they are, what they sell, their brand goals and more. We do not believe in a one-size-fits-all model that we can quickly and routinely refer back to. Process and strategy can be templated to a degree foundationally, but at the end of the day storytelling differs for every brand and business. Our recommendations to Aubre Winters vary greatly from our guidance to Fierce Jewelry Co. because they are two completely different brands with unique requests, product offerings and target markets. 

Quality.

We’ll take this over quantity any day! We would much rather develop one successful marketing campaign for one client – building connections, learning their brand, dedicating time and energy – rather than quickly creating hundreds of assets for hundreds of clients – that end up being mediocre and don’t fit their style or business goals. Not to mention, quality creative and strategic work takes time as well as trial and error. Although you can set aside time for a brainstorming session, ideas rarely appear on command or in a planned instance. Our last confession is that our concepts, designs, proposals are just about never thought up as finalized versions, and a lot of times they even grow into something completely different from where we started!

Collaboration.

We are always running things by each other, work-related or not 🙂 In our eyes, all decisions and considerations, big or small, are worthy of a different perspective before becoming reality. While it may take longer than a solo venture, bouncing ideas off of partners, clients, our team and board of experts opens doors to new angles, opportunities and an all-around stronger execution.

Cohesiveness.

Creative projects tend to be made up of many moving parts1, and aspects can be easily overlooked without enough time and attention to detail (which might happen with ASAP deadlines!). Whether it be as simple as drafting a social media post or as intricate as developing a complete rebranding, there are many different steps involved that require varying areas of expertise. The more time we allow ourselves to unify this process, the more satisfying the end result.

Bad Ideas.

Yes – you read that right! We can confidently admit that we cherish our best ideas just as much as we appreciate our “worthless” ones. Rarely do we ever start from square one with the perfect concept, but it’s more like weeding through all of our options until we arrive at one that holds potential! What also makes the creative process harder and longer is that the answers are endless and ambiguous. You can design the brand, create the website, organize the campaign, sketch the packaging however you want – there is never just one right answer but there are better ideas than others 😉

Slow and Steady Wins the Race.

All this is not to say we don’t set any deadlines for ourselves. Instead, we tend to favor smaller deadlines or those in which we allow ourselves enough time in our organized process to finish whatever creative project is at stake. We don’t beat ourselves up if we aren’t able to finish something in record time. Instead of chasing timelines, we chase brand opportunities and original, impactful work for the people and the planet. Because with time comes a more holistic sustainable approach, better quality, more intimate collaboration, utmost cohesiveness and zero bad ideas – all things to take your brand to the next level. 

If you are in need of expertise regarding your brand, website, campaign, packaging or the like, don’t hesitate to contact us! We are taking new clients starting early 2023!

Sources:

  1. https://www.business2community.com/marketing/question-creative-team-always-missing-deadlines-01806429 
  2. https://www.totalcommarketing.com/post/why-ad-agencies-sometimes-take-so-long 

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