Necessary Evil

Good planning is a necessary evil in the creative agency environment. So much so that I briefly considered calling my business just that, for at least 60 seconds.

Why? Most creatives I’ve had the opportunity to work with focus on the creative concept, and rightly so. They need to focus on this in order to deliver a creative, compelling concept. That’s their job.

But clients want more than just compelling creative. Clients have superiors to answer to, just like the rest of us. They need measurement in order to justify and track their marketing dollars properly and calculate their return on investment. They need assurances that the campaign will be in market on time, and within their budget.

What about the Agency owners/directors. They have a stake in the campaign as well. Does this campaign have the potential to be award-winning, getting the agency well-deserved media attention? What is the profit going to be and when will the revenue come in? The bills have to be paid.

Oh and there’s the target market. Don’t forget about them. Are they going to see creative for a new product, communicated to them so that they understand the benefits and are compelled to buy? Will the creative speak to them? Care about them? Understand them? Provide a solution that makes their life easier?

So, how is a project supposed to meet the needs of all of these stakeholders? What’s included in the scope of the project? What isn’t? How will progress be reported? Who’s responsible for what? When’s it due? What’s the budget?

Creating a project charter for the campaign can properly document all these answers up front, so that everyone on the project team understands the raison d’etre. Once documented and agreed to by everyone on the project team, every decision that comes up in the course of the project can be made based on the goals laid out in the beginning. How does this choice help achieve the goals set?

By sitting down at the beginning of a campaign, and having a frank conversation with all parties, you can develop a project charter that will help guide the entire team to success.

For a great definition of what a project charter is and where to get more information and sample templates, see this article from BrightHub by Natasha Baker.