Create a Culture to Inspire, Then Flex Your Process around It

In 1947, Bill Bernbach wrote a letter to Grey’s management team voicing concern at ‘worshiping techniques instead of substance’, insisting they ‘must emerge as a distinctive personality’. Famously his pleas fell on deaf ears and by 1949 he had co-founded DDB.

Seventy years later, Ben Priest’s parting address to adam&eve, which he co-founded and sold to DDB, included a rallying cry for creativity. Urging respect for the creative process, whilst insisting his department was not a ‘fruit machine from which ideas come crashing out’.

More recently still, Cressida Holmes-Smith from Lucky Generals proposed that agency CEOs had forgotten the value and importance of creativity. 

People, then process

Whether you believe that or not, if creatives feel under-valued, the output will suffer and you have a big problem. Creativity can surely only thrive when leaders prioritise adopting the right conditions (for all their employees) in which to make the best work – despite being faced with endless other challenges. These may be the economic sociopolitical climate. Or personnel. Or even client relationships. But I also believe one to be process. 

A process is brought in to ensure a company doesn’t come off the rails, meaning employees know what to do and how to do it. To increase efficiencies. I get it.

But it’s the right people, operating in the right conditions that will boost the creative output of any business. Not the process put in place.

Creative companies won’t truly succeed in an environment of hyper-process, because when the focus is trying to solve operational problems that don’t yet exist, rather than fostering a culture in which creativity can flourish, the output will reflect that. 

It will be stifled. And so will the staff.

“The process is the process, but then you need a spark of genius”. Brian P Tierney of Tierney Communications. 

Automation or conversation?

Every business has a different approach to process of course – like a whizz-bang AI driven workflow system, where creative and design availability is worked out by an algorithm, not a conversation. Where briefs are delivered via a portal, not face to face. Or even favouring a time-table approach to creatives handling simultaneous projects. 

Maybe they will work well for some advertising networks. Not us.

In a podcast recently, Chris Moody, global ECD at Landor, likened the best creative agencies to extended families. He’s so right. It’s something we strive for at Wonderhood, across all our studios – with its importance not being lost on our founders.

Recognition of this was highlighted by our position in this year’s Best Places To Work table, ranked 4th amongst the indy creative shops.

And it’s reflected in our cross-studio output – with distinctive campaigns for Three, Starling, Coral and INEOS Grenadier in the first six months of this year. The astonishing branded entertainment of Super Surgeons on Channel 4, supported by Macmillan Cancer Support, and an upcoming visual Identity for V&A’s Employer Brand, to name just a few.

My role as creative and design operations director ensures any process implemented, compliments the company and its individuals whilst still giving us an edge. It means understanding that ways of working will bend and flex over time, in-line with the values, growth and direction of the company. And remaining open to adopting new tech, AI and automation only where it allows creativity to flourish, not flounder. 

Agility and flexibility

Process also has to be obliterated when needed – our recent TikTok campaign for the General Election, reminding young voters to bring their ID, took six days from brief to live date. Reflecting on it, our ECD Ben Edwards said to me over a cuppa, 

“Fuck the process. You have to trust the team to crack on in the moments when others might not be available. Then, come back to the process when we all are.”

It’s worth pointing out that my line of thinking is probably more skewed toward Agencies of up to 150 staff, (Wonderhood have about 80), because as Walter Scott acknowledged for Forbes in 2019, 

“A kind of tribal knowledge develops, allowing people to operate efficiently and effectively in a fast-changing environment. Here, rules and procedures actually slow things down, eroding the agility, flexibility and creativity that typically give start-ups their edge.”

For the small-to-mid-size companies, then. 

Where Founders are accessible, not mythical.

Where a kitchen doubles as a meeting room.

Where you know everyone’s name. And birthday. 

Where there’s a company WhatsApp group for shits and giggles.

Where you’re all working toward the same common goal.

Ultimately, what everyone wants in this industry, is to make brilliant work. To make an impact in culture. To be talked about. Reaping success for your own bottom line and of course the client. Dentsu’s 2024 CMO Report highlights over 80% of CMOs believe more than ever that creativity unlocks growth.

But for me, none of that is possible if you haven’t created the right environment for your team and your Agency to thrive and woven a flexible process around it.

“Create a culture in which people feel inspired and able to do their best work, and everyone feels accountable to the team and to the project outcome. Build trust.” Dr. Ginny Vanderslice

Last week I fished out a junk email suggesting automation could simplify our collaboration. But why are we simplifying, when it feels collaboration is more critical than ever? Why automation, when human touch and empathy is what your teams will respond to best? Sure, automation might speed things up, (just when you felt things couldn’t get any faster), but at what expense? 

Your people, then the work.