A couple years ago, I was on a videoconference, presenting work I\u2019d created with my art director for a long-time client\u2019s new line of business. The client said they wanted to push the creative boundaries to make sure this new product wasn\u2019t lumped in with the rest of their offerings. We took the idea and ran with it.<\/p>\n
I had fallen in love with a really \u201cout there\u201d solution, convincing my art director that it was on target and my creative director that including this concept would show a broad range of thinking. So, everyone signed off on it.<\/p>\n
When that work went up on the screen, one of the clients laughed and literally asked, \u201cIs this a joke?\u201d While I sat there in quiet shock, my creative director just rolled with it and said something about pushing the work; I don\u2019t even remember his exact words because I was, at that moment, willing myself to have an out-of-body experience. I was terrified that I had lost my team\u2019s trust and dinged the agency\u2019s reputation in the eyes of the client. \u201cBad\u201d doesn\u2019t even begin to describe how I felt (but \u201cdestroyed\u201d gets close).<\/p>\n
Spoiler alert:<\/strong> I lived through it. I did not lose my job. We did not lose the business. I have gone on to have plenty of other awkward creative review moments, both internally and with clients. Each time, I rebound a little more quickly, and with a little more grace.<\/p>\n You remember the \u201c7 Stages of Grief\u201d from your freshman psychology class \u2014 the idea that you go on an emotional journey through shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance before you get over a loss? You\u2019ll go through a similar journey following a terrible creative review, from wanting to crawl into a hole to knocking it out of the park in Round 2 and getting on with your career.<\/p>\n For many of us creatives, there is an arbitrary and fuzzy line between the \u201cwork\u201d you and the \u201cpersonal\u201d you, and having your work dumped on can cut you to the core. It\u2019s OK to take it a little personally.<\/p>\n If your company culture is such that people go out and shoot the breeze or commiserate over a pint, then by all means, go out, lick your wounds, and bond. Just remember, you\u2019ll need to be at peak creative the next morning, so don\u2019t impair yourself.<\/p>\n Set your defenses aside and be honest with yourself: Was the work bad or sloppy? Was it too radical a departure from the client\u2019s brand or current work? Don\u2019t automatically go to the client-bashing place. The better you\u2019re able to come to terms with what isn\u2019t working, the easier it will be to make your work better.<\/p>\n Let your creative director know that you took the feedback during the creative review seriously and are eager to try again. A good creative director will never throw you under the bus for one misstep. But remember, your work is a direct reflection on them, so your creative director might not be feeling too great right about now either.<\/p>\n One of the most important steps for getting the work right is to meet with your account team and spend some quality time with the creative brief. This document is your roadmap when you start a job. The creative brief represents your account team\u2019s best efforts at conveying the client\u2019s insights and desires. If you think it\u2019s off-base, it\u2019s worth having a conversation with your account team so they can then talk to the client and revise the brief. Your account team doesn\u2019t always get creative, but they know strategy, which is just as important for doing the job right.<\/p>\n Seeing your work publicly derided and then taking responsibility for it is a lot for a sensitive creative person to handle! If time allows, give yourself a night to deal with it and then put it behind you. Treat yourself to a nice meal, see some friends, or just watch cat videos and go to sleep early; whatever works to take your mind off the situation for the night.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re finally ready to pick back up on Round 2, don\u2019t be hobbled by fear of failure, and don\u2019t play it safe because you want to avoid the sting of criticism. Start with as much creative gusto as you had for Round 1; just be informed by what you learned. Make time for check-ins with your creative director, and work even more closely than usual with your account team.<\/p>\n Coming around full circle to that abysmal creative review I suffered: I got over it, and started hitting my stride again within a week. Eventually, the \u201cis this a joke\u201d ad became a punch line that my fellow creatives would tease me with when I was getting too cocky about an idea.<\/p>\n Bombing a creative review isn\u2019t the end of the world, and through your career, you will come up with new and interesting ways to be wrong. But if you take the time to learn your lessons, you\u2019ll find ways to keep going \u2014 and keep growing \u2014 as a professional.<\/p>\nStage 1: Feeling awful<\/h2>\n
Stage 2: Coming to terms with the truth<\/h2>\n
Stage 3: Admitting you made a mistake<\/h2>\n
Stage 4: Asking for help<\/h2>\n
Stage 5: Sweeping it under the rug for a few hours<\/h2>\n
Stage 6: Kicking butt on Round 2<\/h2>\n
Stage 7: Getting over it<\/h2>\n
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