I had an interesting discussion with a senior Creative about propositions the other day, re how ‘creative’ they should be.
Since many clients prefer to sign off on a proposition before any creative work begins they have to be well written enough to engage and excite the client – but without going as far as a ‘line’ that Sod’s Law says the client will fall in love with and demand to see on all their ads -or nearly as bad demand that all future work reflects in a very literal way.
Too catchy and consumer-friendly and you leave the Creative Department without much wiggle room. Too academic or too dry and the client won’t sign it off. What’s a Planner to do?
It does of course depend on what the particular client is used to being presented with. If a Planner or strategist with a creative background has worked with them before then the client will have very different expectations than if an ‘agency planning system’ trained Planner has been fulfilling all their strategic needs to date.
It also depends on what else the proposition is needed for. If it’s eventually destined for a supermarket buyer sell-in presentation or presentation to the board then it needs to be a lot more easily digestible and memorable than if it’s just going to be seen by the agency team and your day-to-day client contact.
Propositions are still a vital creative springboard. It’s just that we need to remember they’re often destined for consumption by a much wider audience. But don’t get me started on clients who confuse ‘proposition’ with ‘list of product benefits’…
True. That’s when you should be at your best, the critical moment. But the brief will always be there as a point of reference. P
Good point Paul, but then there’s always the verbal briefing with Creative where you can get the ‘pure’ point across
A proposition should be inspiring & is written for a creative brief. Not a client, a trade sell in or anything else for that matter. I know what you’re saying Gemma in terms of client sign off, but tinkering with a carefully crafted set of inspiring words should not be their domain.