# Sharp Edges: Creative Strategy

Critical mistakes that waste creative investment and fail to connect with audiences.

---

## 1. The Committee Creative

**Severity:** Critical
**Situation:** Too many stakeholders diluting the creative vision
**Why Dangerous:** Design by committee produces mediocre work.

```
THE TRAP:
Creative review:
- CEO: "Make the logo bigger"
- Sales: "Add more features"
- Legal: "Soften that claim"
- Product: "Include the roadmap"
- Finance: "Can we do it cheaper?"
- Everyone: "What if we also..."

Result:
Watered-down creative
Nobody loves it
Nobody hates it
Nobody remembers it

THE REALITY:
Great creative requires vision
Vision requires singular ownership
Committees protect, not create

THE FIX:
1. Clear creative leadership
   One person owns the vision
   Stakeholders inform, not decide

2. Brief before concepting
   Align on strategy upfront
   Debate strategy, not execution

3. Feedback protocol
   Evaluate against brief
   "Does it meet the objective?"
   Not: "Do I personally like it?"

4. Kill committees
   Small creative team
   Trusted reviewers only
   Final decider identified

REVIEW QUESTION:
"Does this deliver the strategy?"
Not: "What does everyone think?"
```

---

## 2. The Feature Film Syndrome

**Severity:** High
**Situation:** Treating every piece of creative like an epic production
**Why Dangerous:** Slow, expensive, and often unnecessary.

```
THE TRAP:
"We need a brand video!"

Process:
- 6-week discovery
- Creative agency pitch
- 4 rounds of scripting
- Location scouting
- 2-day shoot
- 6-week edit
- Multiple review rounds

Budget: $150,000
Timeline: 4 months
Result: Beautiful video nobody watches

THE REALITY:
Most creative needs:
- Speed over perfection
- Good enough over great
- More versions, not better versions

THE FIX:
PRODUCTION TIERS:

Tier 1: Quick (1-2 weeks)
- iPhone/simple shoot
- Stock + motion graphics
- Light editing
- Budget: $0-5K

Tier 2: Standard (4-6 weeks)
- Professional shoot (1 day)
- Simple concept
- Standard editing
- Budget: $5-20K

Tier 3: Premium (8-12 weeks)
- Full production
- Complex concept
- Multiple locations
- Budget: $20-100K

Tier 4: Epic (months)
- Only for major campaigns
- Clear business case
- Brand-defining moments
- Budget: $100K+

MATCH PRODUCTION TO NEED:
Social content: Tier 1
Product demo: Tier 2
Brand campaign: Tier 3
Once-a-year moment: Tier 4
```

---

## 3. The Trend Hijacking

**Severity:** High
**Situation:** Jumping on trends that don't fit the brand
**Why Dangerous:** Looks desperate, damages brand.

```
THE TRAP:
"TikTok dances are trending!"
Insurance company: Makes TikTok dance

"Memes are hot!"
Law firm: Posts memes

"Everyone's doing AI art!"
Luxury brand: Uses AI art

Audience: "This feels wrong"
Brand: "But it's trending!"

THE REALITY:
Not all trends fit all brands.
Trend participation must feel authentic.
Forced relevance = cringe.

TREND EVALUATION:
Before participating, ask:
1. Does this fit our brand voice?
2. Would our audience expect this from us?
3. Can we add unique value?
4. Will this age well?
5. Is it on-brand or just on-trend?

THE FIX:
Trend participation spectrum:

Ignore (most trends)
Reference (acknowledge, don't imitate)
Adapt (make it your own)
Lead (create the trend)

BRAND-APPROPRIATE RESPONSE:
Instead of: Following trend exactly
Try: Your unique take on the insight

Example:
Trend: Dancing brand mascots
Luxury brand: Don't do it
Snack brand: Do it perfectly
B2B company: Reference it cleverly
```

---

## 4. The Inside Joke

**Severity:** High
**Situation:** Creative that only makes sense internally
**Why Dangerous:** Audience has no context.

```
THE TRAP:
In the creative review:
"This reference to our founding story is so clever!"
"I love how we worked in the product codename!"
"The inside joke about our office is perfect!"

To the audience:
"I don't get it."
"What does this have to do with anything?"
"Who is this for?"

THE REALITY:
Your audience doesn't know:
- Your company history
- Your office culture
- Your product roadmap
- Your internal acronyms
- Your CEO's personality

THE FIX:
1. Test with outsiders
   Show to people who don't work there
   Watch for confusion

2. Explain in one sentence
   If you can't, it's too complex
   Or too inside

3. Assume zero context
   First impression = only impression
   No time for backstory

4. Value clarity over cleverness
   Clear wins over smart
   Memorable wins over clever

CREATIVE TEST:
Show to someone with no context.
"What do you think this is about?"
Wrong answer = back to drawing board.
```

---

## 5. The Forgettable Middle

**Severity:** High
**Situation:** Creative that's fine but not memorable
**Why Dangerous:** Wasted investment on invisible work.

```
THE TRAP:
Creative that's:
- Not bad enough to reject
- Not good enough to remember
- Safe
- "Fine"
- "Nice"
- Forgettable

THE REALITY:
Attention is competitive.
Average = invisible.
"Fine" = waste of money.

MEMORABILITY TEST:
Would someone:
- Talk about this to a friend?
- Remember it next week?
- Screenshot and share?
- Feel something?

If no to all = back to work.

THE FIX:
Push past "fine":

1. Embrace tension
   Safe = forgettable
   Some discomfort = attention

2. Find the unexpected
   What wouldn't they expect?
   What's the twist?

3. Emotional specificity
   Not "inspiring" → specific emotion
   Joy? Nostalgia? Surprise? Relief?

4. Kill the middle
   Either go big or keep it simple
   The middle is a wasteland

CREATIVE SPECTRUM:
Safe -------- Fine -------- Memorable
(invisible)  (forgettable)  (works)
```

---

## 6. The Execution-First Approach

**Severity:** Critical
**Situation:** Starting with tactics before strategy
**Why Dangerous:** Beautiful creative that achieves nothing.

```
THE TRAP:
"Let's make a video!"
"We need social content!"
"Can we do an experiential activation?"

Before asking:
- What's the objective?
- Who is the audience?
- What's the insight?
- What's the message?

THE REALITY:
Great creative solves a problem.
Without problem, no solution.
Tactics without strategy = waste.

THE FIX:
Start with brief:
1. Objective: What do we want to achieve?
2. Audience: Who specifically?
3. Insight: What do we know about them?
4. Message: What one thing to communicate?
5. Then: What format/channel?

CREATIVE BRIEF COMPONENTS:
Background: Context and situation
Objective: Measurable goal
Target: Specific audience
Insight: Audience truth
Message: One key takeaway
Mandatories: Non-negotiables
Deliverables: What we're making
Success: How we'll measure

STRATEGY → INSIGHT → IDEA → EXECUTION
Never skip to execution.
```

---

## 7. The Platform Ignorance

**Severity:** High
**Situation:** Creating content without understanding platform context
**Why Dangerous:** Great content in wrong format = wasted content.

```
THE TRAP:
Creating one piece of creative
Publishing everywhere unchanged

"Here's our brand video!"
TV: 60 seconds
YouTube: 60 seconds
Instagram: 60 seconds
TikTok: 60 seconds
LinkedIn: 60 seconds

Result: Works nowhere.

THE REALITY:
Each platform has:
- Different audience mindset
- Different format requirements
- Different content expectations
- Different success metrics

THE FIX:
Platform-specific creative:

TIKTOK:
- Vertical only
- Hook in first 0.5 seconds
- Native feel (not produced)
- 15-60 seconds
- Sound on, captions essential

INSTAGRAM REELS:
- Vertical
- Hook in 1 second
- Aesthetic matters
- 15-90 seconds

LINKEDIN:
- Can be horizontal
- Professional context
- Insight or education
- Can be longer

YOUTUBE:
- Horizontal
- Hook in 5 seconds
- Can be long-form
- SEO matters

PRINCIPLE:
Create for the platform, not just on it.
Adapt the idea, not just the format.
```

---

## 8. The Vanity Shoot

**Severity:** High
**Situation:** Expensive production that prioritizes aesthetics over effectiveness
**Why Dangerous:** Beautiful content that doesn't convert.

```
THE TRAP:
"This needs to be beautiful"
"Let's get a famous photographer"
"This should feel cinematic"

Budget: $200K
Result: Award-worthy visuals
Conversion: Zero

THE REALITY:
Beautiful ≠ effective
Awards ≠ results
Expensive ≠ better

THE FIX:
1. Start with objective
   What needs to happen after viewing?
   Optimize for that, not awards

2. Test ugly first
   Does the message work in simple format?
   Then add production value

3. Measure effectiveness
   Not just impressions
   Actual business outcomes

4. Production value hierarchy
   1. Message works
   2. Audience responds
   3. Brand-appropriate quality
   4. Then: Make it beautiful

PRODUCTION VALUE QUESTION:
"Will more production value increase effectiveness?"
Often the answer is no.
Sometimes ugly performs better.
```

---

## 9. The Overcrowded Message

**Severity:** High
**Situation:** Trying to communicate too many things at once
**Why Dangerous:** Nothing lands when everything's included.

```
THE TRAP:
Brief says:
- Communicate our new feature
- Reinforce brand values
- Mention the award we won
- Include customer testimonial
- Show product demo
- Drive to website
- Promote sale
- Establish thought leadership

In 30 seconds.

THE REALITY:
One message = remembered
Two messages = diluted
Three+ messages = nothing lands

THE FIX:
1. Single message ruthlessness
   What ONE thing must land?
   Everything else is bonus

2. Message hierarchy
   If they remember one thing...
   If they remember two things...
   Everything else: cut

3. Campaign thinking
   Different messages = different pieces
   Not everything in everything

4. Brief discipline
   Reject briefs with multiple objectives
   Push back until focused

MESSAGE TEST:
"After seeing this, they will think/feel/do:"
Fill in ONE thing.
If you have "and," cut something.
```

---

## 10. The Borrowed Interest

**Severity:** Medium
**Situation:** Using unrelated attention-grabbers to get noticed
**Why Dangerous:** Attention without connection = wasted attention.

```
THE TRAP:
"Let's use puppies in the ad!"
"Can we get a celebrity?"
"What if it's set during the Super Bowl?"
"Add a trending song!"

Product: Enterprise software
Connection to puppies: None

Result:
"Cute ad. What was it for again?"

THE REALITY:
Borrowed interest grabs attention.
Unconnected interest doesn't transfer.
Remembered entertainment ≠ remembered brand.

THE FIX:
1. Relevant attention
   Attention-grabber connects to product
   Or: Product IS the attention

2. Brand linkage
   Would this work for a competitor?
   If yes, it's not ownable

3. Earned entertainment
   The product story IS interesting
   Find the interesting angle

4. If borrowing, link it
   Celebrity who uses product
   Trend that relates to product
   Entertainment that demonstrates value

ATTENTION AUDIT:
What will they remember: The hook or the brand?
If just the hook, it's borrowed without linkage.
```

---

## 11. The Perfection Paralysis

**Severity:** High
**Situation:** Never shipping because it's never perfect
**Why Dangerous:** The best creative in the world is worthless if it never launches.

```
THE TRAP:
Review round 1: "Needs refinement"
Review round 2: "Getting there"
Review round 3: "Almost perfect"
Review round 4: "One more pass"
Review round 5: "So close"
...
Never launches.
Moment passes.
Money wasted.

THE REALITY:
Perfect is the enemy of good.
Timing matters.
Iteration beats perfection.

THE FIX:
1. Time-box creative
   Set deadline. Hit deadline.
   Creative is never done, only due.

2. Good enough threshold
   Define "good enough" upfront
   When reached, ship

3. Learn in market
   Ship → Learn → Iterate
   Better than theorize forever

4. Review limits
   Maximum review rounds defined
   Then it ships regardless

CREATIVE SHIPPING RULE:
80% quality shipped > 100% quality never
Your best guess now > perfect later
The market is the real test
```

---

## 12. The One-and-Done Campaign

**Severity:** High
**Situation:** Creating a single campaign asset instead of a system
**Why Dangerous:** Campaigns need multiple executions to land.

```
THE TRAP:
"We need a campaign!"
Creates: One hero video
Done!

THE REALITY:
Campaigns need:
- Multiple formats
- Multiple touchpoints
- Over time
- Consistent yet varied

One video is not a campaign.

THE FIX:
Campaign system thinking:

CAMPAIGN COMPONENTS:
Hero: Flagship creative (video)
Supporting: Extended/alternate versions
Social: Platform-native cuts
Static: Key frames as images
Refresh: Updates over time

MEDIA ACROSS TIME:
Launch: High frequency, hero content
Sustain: Lower frequency, supporting
Refresh: New executions, same campaign

CREATIVE SYSTEM:
Core idea → Multiple expressions
Each expression: Complete but connected
Variety within consistency

CAMPAIGN PLANNING:
Before creating hero:
- How many executions needed?
- What formats for each channel?
- How will it evolve over time?
- What's the refresh strategy?
```
