Quick Tips for Building a Creative Team
Samantha Prestia, Account Executive, Schultz & Williams

Especially in this electronic age, members of your team may never meet formally (or even stop each other in the hallways) to hash out the challenges and possibilities of any creative project. It’s easy to allow your team to act independently, doing only their part and never feeling a sense of ownership for a project.

But if you’re looking to beat past results or increase your response rate, make the effort up front to turn your workers into an actual team. Invest the time in the beginning to save time at the end—and create better, more engaging, more motivational packages (a direct mail appeal, e-newsletter, website page or even an acknowledgement letter).

Try these tips and see how well your creative team can do with the right tools:

• First, think of yourselves as a team, and make it clear to all involved that their input is welcomed and valued. A good writer, designer, production manager or web master will have ideas and experiences that could prove invaluable. So share your initial ideas around the table (or conference call) with all players as a team, and then keep your door wide open!
  
• Once the initial creative brainstorming is complete, draft a project brief that details the concept, audience, production specifications, version and testing details, schedule—a snapshot of the entire scope of the project—and then circulate it among all team members to confirm that you’re all on the same page.
  
• Buy-in from the start can help avoid last-minute monkey wrenches. Pull in the highest-level reviewers during the concept stage. Don’t overwhelm them with info—just provide a clear sketch of where you’re going, so redirects can happen early.
  
• Creativity is a process that requires an individual to absorb information and produce original work. Give this process time. And then give it a little more time by building a couple of emergency days into the schedule. Being able to say "No problem, let’s take another day to get it right"will make yours a healthier, happier creative team.
  
• Give your team solid background—information that has been vetted and approved by your organization ahead of time—to ensure that your copy comes back on-point, and your design is streamlined and appropriate.
  
• If someone on your team misses the mark, say so. But be prepared to say WHY it’s not working for you, with specific examples. "I don’t like it" isn’t helpful. But telling your creative team that the letter is too strident or the design is too modern helps with a redirect.
  
• Celebrate success with your team! Creative folks hear about problems in detail, but rarely get an e-mail three months later to say their package got the highest response rate in five years. Earn their loyalty by sharing your respect.

Investing some time and care into your creative partners, and building bridges between them, will help engage them in your project as a team—and set the stage for success in the future.

Samantha Prestia is an account executive with Schultz & Williams. Look for Sam at the 2008 Bridge Conference, where she will join Steve Fleshman, Barry Cox, and Kate Mathews in discussing "How To Get the Most from Your Creative Team." A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Sam manages the day-to-day activities of accounts for S&W Direct, including direct mail campaigns, website development, and online communications. She manages the full scope of each project from creation to fulfillment and is the lead contact for all of her clients, maintaining quality control and ensuring timely implementation of each phase of every project. Her current clients include zoos across the country, St. Vincent Meals on Wheels in Los Angeles, The Partnership for the Homeless, and American Friends Service Committee. Reach Sam at sprestia@schultzwilliams.com.

Schultz & Williams is a national consulting firm based in Philadelphia; providing management, fundraising and marketing consulting for nonprofit organizations, along with full-service direct marketing, database and creative/production services.