The last amendment

Amends. A tricky topic that’s been known to ruffle feathers whether you generate, manage or review creative work.
 
When you work with words or pictures, you’ll be familiar with that sinking feeling when creative comes back covered in red pen or drowned in a sea of tracked changes. And as a client – whether you use agencies or an internal department – you’re lucky if you’ve never received creative work that’s left you first questioning your own sanity, before wondering what the creative team was thinking.

Yet active collaboration, constructive criticism and a relationship with the freedom to express opinions are absolutely vital if the project – be it advert, email, brochure or brand – is to work as hard as possible.
 
Why are amends good news?
A combination of tight timescales and a team that doesn’t really understand the brief can result in a project that just doesn’t cut it. That’s why the amends process is an integral part of making work ‘work harder’.

Carte blanche to amend, amend, amend? Far from it.  But a very good reason to take onboard other perspectives. As a writer, designer or marketeer, you’ll sometimes need to acquiesce that you haven’t hit the mark – regardless of how justified you felt in your original decision, or how passionate you feel about a concept. But it’s a two-way street…
 
The death of a thousand cuts
If knowing – and admitting – when you’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent is tricky for creatives, then relinquishing control and admitting a surprising solution is right must be the equivalent if you’re reviewing work.

Sometimes you’ve got to trust that even if an idea doesn’t appeal to you personally, if it’s on-brief and on-brand, it might just be perfect. No need to stamp your ownership on the project by changing the odd word, moving the headline over or suggesting extra versions with different imagery.
 
Show and tell
It’s amazing the difference talking face-to-face makes when you’re reviewing work. So make the time to meet in person.

Presenting? If you’re in creative, and can’t present directly to client, showcase work to your account management team with the same enthusiasm – gain buy-in and they’ll go out and sell with confidence.

Impossible to present face-to-face? Write rationales to support work. Rationales needn’t be essays, but if the idea is likely to meet challenges, address them. Explain your thinking. Turn possible reservations into points for discussion, and with a little luck, big ideas will escape understood and unscathed.

Commissioning? Personally may not be keen on pictures of children, contracting ‘you will’ to ‘you’ll’ or the colour purple, but remember, unless you fall smack bang in the middle of the target audience, the work wasn’t designed or written to appeal to you.

Consider your brief. Remember your brand. Try and put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. Then – and only then – get out that red pen. You might just save the campaign that makes you a mint.
 
The problem, not the solution
Done all of that and it’s still not right? Then there’s a problem you need to work together fix. Because at the end of the day, everyone wants the same thing: an unforgettable campaign to deliver real results.

If you’re making criticism of work, make it constructive. Point out what is working and why, and then focus on where the problem lies. It’s important, that bit. The word problem. Problem, not mistake. Problem, not solution. Don’t expect your agency – or creative department – to be psychic. And don’t feel you need to offer solutions. Just point out what’s not working and explain why. Then your team can go away and come back with an execution that really hits the mark.

Creative? Though John Lahr said ‘criticism is a life without risk’ – and he wasn’t wrong – there’s a time and a place to get precious. This isn’t it. Remember that you don’t know the product or service half as well as those who market it day-to-day, so it’s highly likely something vital has been missed. It’s common sense, and you’ll already know it, but in listening to and working with your client, you’ll produce a more hardworking, fit-for-purpose end result.
 
Knowing when to say no
Hopefully it doesn’t happen often, but there will be occasions when an idea just doesn’t work. Taking a step back and admitting as much – whether it’s become so diluted through amends impact is lost or because it wasn’t right in the first place – is hard. And that’s when someone has to be brave, raise a head above the parapet and question whether it’s time to start afresh.
 
So now you’ve an arsenal of tools to make the amends process as productive – and painless – as possible. But the best idea is to generate a brilliant brief to start off with. And that’s what we’ll look into next time…

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Words – Ray Morrow
Pictures – Bryan Miles