Stages of working on a communication platform – through the eyes of a creative

The heart of marketing communication is creation, and every creative process begins with the question: "And what if...?"

And what if we had all possible media channels at our disposal? And what if a brand could carry out long-term activity? And what if the synergy of actions became its value? The answer to these questions is precisely the communication platform.

Although this concept is sometimes overused, it has huge significance in the advertising industry. Advertising is constantly changing and relies on giving new meanings to simple things. So, what does the process of creating a communication platform look like from the perspective of the creative department.

Stage 1. Brief 

Setting: an agency conference room. At the table – strategists, account managers, and us, the creatives. A pile of documents lands on the table: the client brief.

Unlike the internal brief, created later by the strategists, the client brief forms the basis for further action. Its quality directly affects the results of the agency's work – a poorly formulated one leads to chaos and divergent interpretations. And then it is difficult to compare the agency's proposals and choose the best solution.

The role of the strategists is to translate the client brief into the agency's language and, if necessary, return with additional questions. However, this stage can be simplified by immediately answering several fundamental questions, which often point to a solution in the form of a communication platform.

Stage 2. Creation

An idea often appears suddenly – a single sentence, an image, or a melody can be the spark. But before that moment happens, we go through a brainstorming session.

In the book The Creative Process Illustrated: How Advertising’s Big Ideas Are Born, the creators emphasize that creation is initially chaos: digressions, lists of unrealistic ideas, a maze of associations. Gradually, patterns begin to emerge within it, drawing other ideas around them. Until finally, that one "aha!" moment appears, putting everything in order.

An example of a classic idea that gave a brand a new direction is Apple's 1997 "Think Different" slogan. Three key observations can be pointed out around it:

1. Broader context – the slogan was based on a distinct insight: creators "think differently" and take pride in it. It fell on fertile ground in the 1990s as the global middle class was growing.

2. Surprising mileage – the slogan was created as a contrast to IBM's "Think" and was only meant to be part of a print campaign. Thanks to Jobs' decision, it became the brand's guiding idea for years.

3. Brand commitment – Jobs not only accepted the proposal but committed fully to its development, raising the creative bar. This is a textbook example of how close client-agency cooperation brings the best results.

For us, it is important that the idea has longevity, inspires subsequent iterations, and generates new ideas. That is why the Client is increasingly participating in the selection – during so-called tissue sessions. We then show raw ideas and gather feedback so that the final presentation is better tailored. We lose the element of surprise, but we gain security and precision.

Stage 3. Presentation

After selecting the concepts, it is time for the presentation. At this stage, the work is often more time-consuming than coming up with the idea itself.

The idea needs to be illustrated: layouts prepared, photos retouched, scripts written, and sometimes also something animated or recorded. All this to demonstrate campaign potential – the broad scope and diverse applications of the idea.

And finally, the moment of meeting with you – the client – arrives. For us, it is the time to defend the results of our work. For you – to "challenge" it, meaning to motivate us to defend and improve the concept.

* "Challenge" – in the sense of motivating someone to defend their position.