In the creative industry, both agency and brand, there is a plethora of bold, bright, and often budget-heavy ideas that have been planted into the ground, left to settle to dust, never to come to life again. In this op-ed, Adam Harriden, executive creative director at INVNT GROUP, discusses being unafraid to enter this so-called graveyard of squashed hopes and dreams and embrace the once-overlooked.
Cause of death? Was it the client who mentally squashed the concept within three minutes of a pitch you’ve spent weeks on? Or was it the idea itself that was never going to be a viable option in the first place? Or was the team around you unequipped to help carry out the vision?
In this post-mortem, the question I’d like to ask the industry is – do good ideas live or die depending on those around you? Where does the line stand between squashing a good (even industry-changing) idea before it’s come to life, and killing an idea that was simply not realistic for a brand?
In the creative world, there is a common acceptance that we can’t show anyone an idea if it has yet to be executed or produced. I would, however like to challenge this – in the past few years at INVNT APAC, I’ve seen come to life an AI-powered tree that could talk to the world’s leading politicians, digital art paired with songs from the stars (literally orbited around the earth on the International Space Station), and cars that could fly. Yes, we’re on a mission to put a brand on the moon.
In 1969, after a failed album and a crumbling folk group, David Bowie released “Space Oddity,” a song with an unconventional story about Major Tom, an astronaut stranded in space. Initially met with skepticism by record executives who deemed the song not commercially viable, its release coincided with the Apollo 11 moon landing, and, with Philips Records’ blessing, captured the public’s imagination. “Space Oddity” became a major hit, marking a pivotal moment in Bowie’s career and demonstrating his knack for turning creative risks into groundbreaking successes.
Whether it’s the client who sees beyond the boundaries or the VC who sees a risky idea worthy of a monetary investment, the difference between an idea’s try or die is the surrounding team that believes in it. So, how do we prevent culture-defining ideas from going straight to the graveyard?
For the clients: Before you decide to award the pitch to the agency that you were already going to go ahead with in the first place, have a think about the levels in which you truly want your brand to level up. Sure, tried and tested is safe and successful, but the best ideas are often the ones who haven’t gone to market – with a strong, trusting partnership with your agency, some of your brand’s greatest stories are waiting to be born.
For the creatives: As brilliant as we are, so often I have heard the criticism of “Creatives have great ideas, but they just don’t have a clue about the complexities of the execution.” This being said, if you believe in the idea with a fiery passion, it shouldn’t go straight to the graveyard. Before you walk out of the pitch with your tail between your legs, remember that you can always rehash the idea for another client that is going to give you that golden “yes”. Trust me, when it does go market with a victorious punch in the air, this win is going to feel like a real one.
For the team leaders: How do we empower our teams to keep pushing the envelope and drive a team culture where creatives, producers work as one, not as opponents? Whether it’s brainstorming workshops, creating collaborative idea channels, amplification strategies, or simply creating a flatter hierarchy where ideas go to open doors, we need to create open team cultures where all ideas are valued, and where we learn to educate creatives on the complex logistics of the production and world, whilst simultaneously showcasing the magic of our creative teams.
In an ever-evolving creative landscape where budgets are limited, AI is often augmenting human talent, and pay-to-play is overshadowing creative work that deserves its shine, there’s a graveyard of great ideas waiting for their timely resurrection. Not all ideas are good, but as an industry, we need to create a culture where the good ones (the true moonshots) live to take off into the stratosphere. If we always stick to “tried, true, and tested”, the creative industry is going to disintegrate into monotonous oblivion, and where’s the magic in that?
So, before we knock back the ideas that are too wild for this world – have another think about whether there is reward and impact behind the risk. In the graveyard of weird and wonderful ideas, there are some culture-defining opportunities waiting for a beautiful life after death.
