Creative Leaders' Views on Managing Advertising Creativity

Abstract

The paper aims to increase understanding of effective creative process management in advertising agencies, which is valuable for advertising agencies that want to improve their service to and relationships with their clients. Responses pertaining to management of ad creation were analyzed from 120 interviews with agency creative leaders. Common themes include the importance of addressing creative challenges using flexible teams with shared responsibility for the development of big ideas and a fun, energy-charged environment that encourages risk taking and respectful conflict among driven and curious creators. The leaders had different opinions regarding the use of formulas and the independence of team members during ad creation, although the formula theme appeared less frequently as time progressed, which may suggest that it became less important as a source of differentiation between agencies. The results indicate that managers in an agency environment should avoid politics and complicated organizational hierarchies, embrace respectful conflict, and attract intrinsically motivated, naturally curious talent.

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