A section from my Creative briefing workshop - pulling out the pages relevant to feedback so it's not lost in the mix. Covers the 5 key things to remember in order to get the most out of Creative departments or freelancers.

1. 40
But great briefs are
only half of the story…

2. 41
For great work to
happen it needs
evolutionary feedback
and development

3.  It is NOT subjective:
I like, he likes, she
likes
 It is ALL related back
to the original
requirements on the
brief
42
Evaluating creative
work is a skill

4. 43
Three pointers for taking
the subjectivity out of the
evaluation and fairly
critiquing creative work

5. 44
Does the creative
work answer the
problem you set out
to solve? "
 There are endless ways to
express something creatively.
 While many folks judge creative
work based on personal tastes
and preferences, one way to
remove some of the subjectivity, is
to evaluate the creative work
based on how well it answers the
problem you set out to solve.
 Regardless of whether you prefer
the font, headlines or imagery,
take a step back and ask yourself,
“Does this solve my problem?”

6. 45
Is the style of the
creative work well
suited for the
audience? "
 Once you’ve answered whether
the creative work solves your
problem, the next step is to look at
the element of style.
 But, here’s the catch. Don’t look at
it from an audience of one. Rather,
evaluate the style of the creative
product based on its intended
audience. While you may not
personally prefer bold colors and
loud music, it may work for a
teenage audience.

7. 46
Is there something
unique and
memorable about the
creative work? "
 Lastly, take a step back and
evaluate the distinctiveness of the
creative work.
 One of the reasons you set out to
do something creative was to
stand out from the crowd.
Don’t stop now, evaluate how
unique and memorable the
creative work is.

8. 47
If the creative work you’re
evaluating falls short on any of
the criteria, don’t throw it away.
Take the time to identify what can be
improved or what’s missing and feed that
back to the team.

9. 48
Feedback"

10. What makes good feedback?
 Is relevant to the original brief requirements
 Discussed with creative team at a debrief/feedback
meeting (not emailed or left on desks)
 Clear and understood
 Decisive – identifies what is not working and why
 Is summaried on a de-brief sheet
49

11. 50
What makes bad feedback?
!! Dictatorial
!! Comes too late to be helpful
!! Appears from an unexpected source (Creative drive-bys)
!! Has no relevance or changes what was originally asked

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Which in turn…
 No room for creative
teams’ brains to solve the
problem
 Removes feelings of
ownership
 Generally demotes
creative involvement to
production role

13. Examples:
 “The heading should be larger and in red”
OR
 “The heading doesn’t have the stand-out we are looking
for”
 “We don’t like the wording on the headline, we think it
should be “Come and see Father Christmas NOW”
OR
 “The urgency isn’t strong enough for us in the headline”
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14. A tool to help:
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creative de-brief – feedback
Client: Product name Brief date: XXXXX 2013
Job number: XX Presentation date: Date
Project: Project name Print date: tba
Account handler: Name Creative team: tba
How was the work received?
General description of what happened, who you presented to and what the initial reactions were
-
Type in here!
What’s working with the idea/piece?
What’s good, what was liked/loved
-
Type in here!
What is not working?
What are the areas that still need work and what do you feel is not being communicated or communicated wrongly? Is there
something we’ve missed from the brief?
-
Type in here!

15. 5 steps to getting the best creative work
1. Mini-agency collaboration between Marketeers and
Creatives
2. Well defined briefs with interesting propositions
3. Exciting, proud presentations from Creatives
4. Clear feedback and development sessions
5. Joint presentations to the business to build
understanding
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