The Work Doesn’t Speak for Itself Anymore

There’s a specific kind of silence that happens in client presentations. You’ve just walked through a bold campaign concept. The work is smart. The strategy is sound.

Then someone shifts in their chair. “I like where this is going,” they say, “but what if we softened the tagline?”

Someone else chimes in, “And maybe we test a few other visual directions just to have options.”

In five minutes, your bold idea has been focus-grouped, watered down, and scheduled for another round of “exploration” that will kill everything bold and interesting about it.

I used to think this happened because clients didn’t get it. They’re not creatives, after all. But I was wrong. It’s not that they don’t get it, it’s that we’re presenting it wrong.

Great Creative Isn’t Enough Anymore

If you’ve ever watched Mad Men, you know there’s a romantic idea in creative culture that brilliant work is self-evident. A belief that if you do your job well enough, the idea will be so undeniably right that stakeholders will just get it.

That’s definitely not the way it is anymore.

Even the best creative needs translation because the person sitting across the table from you isn’t seeing what you’re seeing. They’re not thinking about storytelling craft and brand differentiation. They’re thinking, “What will this do for the bottom line?”

Your job isn’t only to come up with incredible creative. It’s to do the work behind it so you can confidently forecast its ROI.

Three Ways to Get Your Work Approved

1. Show the Problem Before You Show the Solution
   Most presentations focus on “look what we made!” Instead, start with, “here’s what’s broken.” Before I begin a creative project, I do the work to understand what problem it needs to solve. I present that first. By the time I reveal the creative, the stakeholders aren’t asking, “Do I like this?” They’re asking, “Does this solve the problem?” And because I did the strategy work up front, that’s a much easier question to answer with confidence.

2. Give Them the Script
   Your stakeholder will have to present your work up the ladder, so give them the exact language they need to get it approved. I literally say, “When someone questions this approach, tell them: “We’re addressing [specific business problem] and this strategy solves it by [explain how].”

3. Reframe the Risk
   People tend to resist bold work because it feels risky. So flip it. Don’t ask them to take a leap of faith. Show them the risk of continuing with the same-old creative that is stale or simply not working. Suddenly, approving your creative isn’t a gamble, it’s the safer choice.

The Bottom Line

Don’t treat creative presentations like unveilings. They should be strategic conversations. Present in terms of outcomes instead of aesthetics or trends.

It’s our job as creative directors to give our clients what they need, whether they know what that is or not. Always do the research and strategy work up front, show them your strategic process, and walk them through the alternatives you already considered and explain why you landed on the final work.