How to Provide Feedback to Creative Teams

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 Want to know how feedback can turn a good marketing campaign into a GREAT one? As a small business owner, you're often wearing many hats, and suddenly, you're expected to be an ad guy/gal pro, too. The secret? It's all in the art of creative feedback. After a lifetime in marketing, here's a tip from my experience: Feedback is a delicate dance. It's not just about what you say; it's how you say it. Let's dive in with a few tips: 🌟 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗹𝗲. A positive note can light up the room. "The energy in this design is infectious." can really set the stage. 🔍 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰. Swap "This isn't working" with "The message gets lost in the font size. Let's try bumping it up." 💡 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Engage the team with questions like "What inspired this approach?" or "How do you think this resonates with our target audience?" 📈 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁. Help the team understand the bigger picture. "This aligns well with our brand voice, but how can we make it more engaging?" 🗣 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. Encourage an open dialogue. "Let's brainstorm some ideas on how to enhance this further." 🔄 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽. Revisit the feedback after changes are made. "The revised version really pops! Can we apply the same treatment to our other materials?" Remember: - 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹, 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰. Think audience-first. - 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 "𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀" 𝗼𝗿 "𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿." Marketing isn't a one-size-fits-all. - 𝗩𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁. Offer clear direction, like "What if our call-to-action stood out more with a bolder color?" Now, tell me about your experience. How has your feedback transformed a project?                                                 ********************** 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰, our workshop on the power of personal and business branding. September 24 from 8:30 to noon CST at the Horizon Photography studio in the Noyes Cultural Arts Center in Evanston, IL. Follow Susan Tyson and Jennifer Schuman. Activate notifications (click the🔔 in the upper left of our profiles) to stay updated.                                                 ********************* 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗠𝗲: With over 40 years of experience in the marketing industry, I specialize in helping owners of small businesses to achieve their marketing goals with tailored solutions that drive growth and success.

The way you structure feedback can inspire change or defensiveness. This is my favorite recipe for feedback––and it's not the compliment sandwich. 🥪 Everyone talks about the importance of delivering feedback as soon as you see it. However, most managers get tongue-tied, even when they notice a pattern. Why? It's hard to bring up something in the right way, ESPECIALLY if it'll upset someone you care about and work with. It can feel easier to not bring it up at all. That's why this 4-step feedback format is a game-changer. Whether big or small, having a script keeps feedback clear and kind. Here's how it works: 🍽 Start with some table setting. It's helpful to know if your teammate is ready to receive feedback. You can say, "Are you in the head space to hear some feedback right now?" or "I have some thoughts on ways we can improve this process, are you open to hearing it?" 👀 Step 1: Action Noticed. Clearly state the action or behavior that you noticed. This could be a one-time behavior or a pattern. Calling this out can focus the conversation. For example, "I noticed that you've been coming to our team retros late." 📆 Step 2: Specific Situation. The best feedback is specific. Offering situations where this happened can ground the conversation beyond opinions. For example, "I’ve had to ping you for the last three retro meetings, usually after 10-15 min." ❤️🩹 Step 3: Impact of Behavior. This part explains the "why" behind you bringing this up. It helps show the impact of this behavior on processes or the rest of the team. "Our team really values your opinion and so we often delay our discussion for when you arrive." ⏯️ Step 4: Ask to Continue or Change Behavior. Finally, this request suggests next steps to take based on this feedback. You can also pose it as a question if you'd like to co-create a solution. For example, "What normally gets in the way for you? Would it be helpful to move this retro?" This format works great for praise and for constructive feedback. It's also a great habit that helps managers notice feedback they're sitting on or haven't actioned yet. Once a week, challenge yourself to format a piece of feedback! How do you format your feedback or praise? Let me know in the comments! #feedback #leadership #management #peopleops #hr #peopleexperience

How do you give creative feedback on work outside your area of expertise? As an ECD, I had art, design, copy, and production (and account service, and strategy) all report up to me. But I'm a copywriter by trade. And while I learned the difference between kerning and leading while surrounded by very talented designers at Apple, I'm not qualified to expound on color theory in any meaningful way. When I give feedback on design or art or UX, I approach it conceptually. I ask questions about why the team made their creative choices, and how those choices support the idea. I ask how the execution reflects the strategy, the communication, the brand, and the brief. And I can give direction based on that - the team can revise their work to align to the message as needed, but they still own the creative decisions. So even if you don’t know much about typefaces or grids or diagramming a sentence, you can still give useful feedback to the people who do. 

On Giving Creative Feedback Last week I was observing a creative meeting for a client and I was taken aback by the feedback the creative teams were getting from all and sundry in the room. *"This doesn't fit the marketing brief" *"I'm uncomfortable, and if I'm uncomfortable, the clients will be" and the 'winner' *"I don't like this" While any or all of these could be true, that does not make them relevant or effective pieces of creative feedback--especially since all of these were in the context of an execution or a visual treatment and NOT the IDEA. Here are five points to creative feedback that I believe are effective: 1. The feeling in the room should be open, free and inviting/safe. 2. At the beginning of the meeting, there should be a short statement about the creative brief and what everyone was working towards. (This should be a given and should have been agreed upon before the briefing. If there are people in the room that disagree, ask them to leave and round back up later. It's in no ones best interest to have 1, 3 or 12 teams sitting around while one or two people get caught up or, worst case, decide that they want to rehash a discussion because they didn't get their way the first time.) 3. I've always found it more effective when the creative teams start their walk-through with what their idea is and how their idea leapt from the brief. This should make it easy for everyone in the room to provide their feedback around the idea first, and then if they have comments about the execution, to give that feedback in the context of the idea and HOW. 4. This is key: feedback should be in the form of "HOW" they see an idea working, not IF it works or not. This type of feedback should set the stage for a discussion that includes the consumer and how they might make sense of it, how it should impact the marketing goal, etc and should result in ideas going forward that work in the way the agency wants. 5. And if there are deeper concerns about an execution, then those conversations are held with the creative director and they take it from there--now they might invite you in to have that conversation together with the team and planners especially should work towards that type of relationship. Reading back over this, I know it sounds stilted and process-oriented, but the goal should be that is natural, easy and open. I'd be interesting in hearing if there are other points to ponder... #creativeideas #creativefeedback #agencylife