Creative by Committee does not work…
I’ve always been against creative by committee. So I googled to see what others think about this and found this gem of an opinion below from Wendistry:
Here are some of the reasons why I think Creative By Committee does not work:
- Not everyone on the Committee is qualified to give an opinion. Would we ask a shoemaker their opinion on the best method for a root canal?
- Not everyone on the committee understands positioning and single minded maniacal focus
- The Marketing Manger has more information on the campaign and the brand than the Accountant or the CEO or the HR Manager
- Committees are about consensus and democracy; great advertising does not come out of such an environment
- People sometimes say what they think the boss will like or what is politically correct to say
Here’s Wendistry’s view:
Everyone’s heard that 90 percent of all new product ideas fail. But, do you know the real reason why? The only reason 90 percent fail is that corporations get committees together who water down the original creator’s vision until it becomes lifeless and useless.
Likewise, of my business ventures of the past that have failed, without fail the cause has been too many cooks in the kitchen. In the history of branding, great creative elements have never been improved by the addition of filter after filter of accommodating layer after layer of input. All you get is a big blender. Unfortunately, everyone feels they have to get credit for adding something to be relevant. Fixing and futzing until the real idea has been beaten to death under the weight of the convolution… or at the least on life support.
If you’re in the position to influence the process in your company, do everything in your power not to kill it with too much consensus, especially during the creative stages. Keep the idea originator group small and give them the most “votes” when it comes to edits and changes. Subject the ideas to the larger group for feedback and constructive comments, but NOT for change, unless the originators agree that an adjustment will indeed move the ball forward, not set it back.
