‘All we feel is panic’: Time to resurrect the creative project team

Last year I worked on a number of projects for global ad agencies. All of these fit into a similar pattern. I am among a cartel of creatives who tip up to a Zoom call to share ideas with the wider team, none of whom are properly introduced and who may be CDs, strategists, account people or students on work experience. As I’m an old hand, when the project leader asks who wants to go first, I jump in. I prefer to present when everyone is still fresh, and not be team four. Also, if there are any duplicate ideas and I go first, mine is seen as the original.

I’ll be honest, my pet hate is listening to other creative teams share their ideas. Their scripts, activations and OOH don’t help me. They may help the agency, but that is not great news for me. Unless we are on some kind of “permalance” contract, it’s unlikely freelance creatives have strong feelings for the client, the agency culture, or the vibe. We are guns for hire. Mercenaries who write for money. We are also competitors to one another, not collaborators. So when the CD loves another team’s idea, all we feel is panic, and the fear of not being asked back next week.

Just as the chronically shy often flinch at the thought of group brainstorms (or even sitting in open plan offices), presenting in front of six other creatives adds another level of stress. You not only panic at being judged by your peers, you are giving away IP to your competitors while showing them the tricks of your trade. Added to this, sitting through an unspecified amount of ideas from multiple teams is insanely time consuming. Given the rule that 90% of everything is crap, that’s a lot of slurry.

A process that is truly appalling for creatives must make financial sense, otherwise agencies wouldn’t endorse it. Right?