You drive away, full of enthusiasm, until it dawns on you that you haven’t actually chosen a destination, mapped out the route, or checked for traffic. Before you know it, you’re driving around in circles, running out of fuel and patience, and wonder why you even set off in the first place.
“Who would do anything that ludicrous?” I hear you ask. While this scenario of course sounds absurd when applied to a road trip, it’s a surprisingly common approach in the world of creative work. Too often, organisations are keen to jump straight into the creative process without having a clear sense of direction. The result is a lot of effort, energy and money spent but little to show for it. While the creative output might be visually impressive, without a solid strategy underpinning it, that pretty picture essentially becomes meaningless.
Let’s explore why starting with a solid strategy is the key to truly effective creative…