It’s all about the process

It’s all about the process. When I first started out I didn’t understand the process at all. I didn’t understand how it works. I had big ideas, maybe, but I didn’t understand what it means to be part of ― or lead ― a team. What it means to get feedback, face roadblocks, and find creative space within client guidelines. What it means to work, and refine, and rework. Essentially, I didn’t understand what it means to be part of a creative agency involved in a large scale, multi-team creative process.

From brief to delivery

So let me explain our creative process a bit, from brief to delivery. At Moskito Design we’re the point of contact for our clients. We see the brief, we plan the concept, and we plan how we manage and deliver everything.

Of course how much creativity goes into it depends on the campaign. Some have to be catchy. If they already know what the target and aim is, they give us some more context. With big campaigns like Christmas, we don’t usually have many indications. They tell us what they want to communicate and then it’s up to us how we do it. In that case, in the first phase there’s a lot of creative room.

The more generic the campaign is, the more target users we have to try to include in that campaign. We create some directions, like a general look and specific colors to be used throughout the campaign, and then we look for some images. We create an ideal version of the layout and then send that to the copywriters. Then, if it’s a longer campaign, we have to start breaking it down into separate phases, which can be very functional and buyer-oriented, like in the back-to-school campaigns, or more inspirational, as in seasonal campaigns.

When we’re putting together the proposal, the team is usually three of us plus the copywriter, particularly if we’re working on a very localized campaign. We usually put together three proposals. And we also have to think about off-site web-marketing, and for the last couple of years we’ve also been proposing social marketing campaigns and video. We’ll also propose partnerships with other brands, Youtubers, bloggers etc. And if the campaign is big enough, we’ll also propose offline marketing like bus takeovers and guerilla marketing campaigns. And now augmented reality proposals, like flyers with encoded video, and virtual reality.

But we don’t necessarily get to do all of these things. Some of these clients are so big, with so many customers. The question then becomes how many of their customers can actually access augmented or virtual reality with their devices? If you’re doing broad-based campaigns, it doesn’t make sense to invest in marketing channels that your customers aren’t using. So while you’ve always got to dream big, you’ve got to face reality, too.

And because the management of these client companies is really multilayered, with each layer having their own objectives from the campaign, often the proposal makes it past one layer only to get rejected, or at least significantly modified, by another.

In the end, the execution is the easiest part because you’ve gotten there with this series of refinements. We just export. Most of the time is spent in the feedback sessions ― that takes a lot of time and effort. Some campaigns go live with only two rounds of feedback. Some take 11, 12 or 20 steps. Sometimes the changes aren’t so big, but it can take a long time.

It’s a whole process of refinement, with less and less to chip away at each time until we get the right campaign.

Learning how to create proposals

In the last six years I’ve gotten much better at creating proposals for clients. In the past I used to give 3 proposals that were only slightly different. But you can’t just do three variations on the same masterpiece proposal. You’ve got to give them three really different things to cover as much ground as possible. Then you’ll know what direction they want to go in. The one thing you can bet on is that the one you love is not the one they choose. It’s not necessarily a matter of taste ― it’s just a sort of Murphy’s Law.

I think the key to communicating your idea to the client is not saying too much. The more you talk, the less you say. Give a bit of context to the idea, a few sentences to say what the concept is because maybe they don’t get it. They should get it, but maybe you have to explain a bit more at first. And then focus on the major differences between your different proposals. You’ve got to find a compromise between describing too much and just dumping it on their lap and saying, “there it is”.

In fact, if I could give some advice to my younger self I’d say to start working seriously on concepts and how to present it to people and how to make people like it. You can do great work but if you don’t know how to present it might as well not exist. You’re just wasting your time. You have to know how to show your work and how to make people like it. Maybe you just don’t understand that when you’re young. You don’t have to sell the thing you do, but you have to make it understandable to people.

What I miss about being small

I was the 4th person here at Moskito. We were all working in one room. I can remember the first time we got a project for one big client. It was the very first project we did for them. We had to create targeted banners with different creative versions. We had to do all the html, all the links. It was a lot of work and (Moskito Design founders) Giulia and Evelina couldn’t manage everything by themselves. They called me on Christmas Eve and asked me if I could come in and work on it in the morning. We delivered it, and that first project became our big break as an agency.

It’s hard to imagine continuing to grow at the same pace, but I’d love to keep growing. I’ve been here since almost the beginning, and I look around and think, “Hey, we’re doing great. Things are going good.” I’m proud to see it growing like a family growing. The only thing I miss about being small is the quiet! But now there’s a lot more stimulation. With more people there are more brains, more ideas, and even more funny stuff to share. It helps with everything. Because we’re not just sitting alone in a small room doing our stuff. We all help, all contribute. It’s like being in a big agency with a small-agency approach.

My best campaign

My best campaign is always the one I’m working on. At least that’s what I hope. And if not, the next one will be. You’ve always got to learn something new, and change. I suppose the perfect campaign would be one that requires no revisions, but I don’t think that’ll ever happen.

At Moskito Design we’re working to ensure that process makes perfect.