Picture this; a revolutionary marketing push, meticulously planned and brimming with creative flair. The pitch was perfect, the creative team buzzing. And yet, the idea vanished. Just like that. The idea never get to see the light of day. As a CEO, you somehow fixated on getting everything ‘right’, making sure the information is ‘accurate’, the designs are ‘perfect’ and following certain ‘standards’, vetoes the proposal. This, unfortunately, is not an isolated incident. Welcome to the daily life of a marketing department of your own company that nurtures the micro-managing culture. In this type of company, you will see there are countless brilliant ideas meet their untimely demise—just in case you’re not aware of it.
First, the idea must get your approval before everything else starts. Without it, creating the concept will be hit with a no-go situation. Once you give the idea a greenlight, the concept will be developed and faces a gauntlet of approvals fro you too after that. Then again, the rest of the creatives will be created as a draft for the final approval before it can be pushed out. By the time it reaches you again for the final approval, the once-daring idea may have transformed into something safe, boring, unsexy and uninspired.
Information precision, writing styles and perfection have become the cornerstone of decision-making, and rightfully so. But to me personally, marketing isn’t just about those stuff; it’s about connecting with people, sparking emotions, telling compelling stories and keep everything simple. An overreliance on getting things perfect won’t cut it at all. A harmonious balance with a little give-and-take is essential for marketing success.
Unnecessary fear and cautious, prioritize minimizing risks and adhering to proven formulas is understandably necessary but again, it should not come at the expense of creativity.
Remember the “Think Different” campaign by Apple, which featured icons like Albert Einstein and Mahatma Gandhi? I’ve read the article somewhere a couple of years ago that even that legendary advertisement was initially rejected by the company’s board. Yet, it went on to become one of the most celebrated marketing campaigns of all time. This alone, the way I see it, proves that embracing bold, unconventional ideas can lead to extraordinary results. All we need is just a chance to showcase it, and allow the public to judge it—not just you. In most cases, being too careful by focusing too narrowly on tried-and-tested methods in any of marketing campaigns will fail in a big way as people won’t find them attractive, or inspired whatsoever.
Cultivating an environment where a more reasonable guideline matters. This involves the part where empowering the marketing teams to experiment things and allowing them to make mistakes, matters. And the marketing team in turn, must hone their communication skills, presenting their ideas in a way that aligns with the company’s strategic objectives and resonates with your concerns as the CEO. They must emphasize the potential ROIs and its impact on the KPIs.
Rather than seeing you as the ultimate approver, perhaps you and the marketing department can work closely together and strive for a more collaborative relationship. As a CEO, you should be an active participant, offering your side of the opinion, guidance and feedback throughout the creative process. There is a need to unlock the full potential of your marketing teams by encouraging them to think differently by taking counts of all perspectives.
This could potentially lead to breakthroughs.
