Taking a closer look at Budgets and Creative Direction

After watching this video, it got me to thinking about what it would take to make something like this happen.

What impacts me most about this video is not the the visuals (though they are great), the script (brilliant) nor the music (classic), it’s the time and resources that a video like this requires. I bring this up because everyone would love to have a video like this, but there are some barriers to make something like this happen. The first things that come to mind are:

• Budget
• Resources
• Editing
• Production
• Creative Direction
• Willingness to take the time to make it right

Pulling from the list above, I see the budget and creative direction as being the two biggest factors in making something like this work.

1. Appropriate Budget. (must match the time/resources involved)
2. Creative direction must be turned over to the agency.

If these are in place, the next step for the client and agency is to ensure that they remove any barriers that will hamper the direction of the project. If this concept is understood, then it opens the door to creativity and shifts the responsibility for success to the agency…where it should be.

Simply put, everyone who is not directly involved with the creation or execution of the project, kindly step out of the way.

So back to budget,  a project of this nature could easily become overwhelming for both the client and agency.  Given the amount of resources a project like this requires. If a good budget is in place however, then the focus shifts to execution.

Agency is made happy with budget, but pressure is also  applied to have a successful project.

And herein lies the 2nd barrier to executing a great project,  ‘Creative direction’.  An idea for a viral video (or any specific project that is intended to make an impact) will naturally have a ton of input from many different directions. The client must fight the urge to direct the project. By turning the creative over to the agency, the project will have a much higher chance of success. This is not to say that the agency should ignore all feedback from outside sources, it’s just that the agency is being paid to succeed.

Creative direction should be limited to only a few sources, if not one source alone.

But now that a good budget is in place and creative direction has been turned over, the question then becomes, ‘did you hire the right team for the job’. This is an entirely different topic.