Many advertising agencies and consultancies will tell you that one of their key strengths is their creativity – (even when it manifestly is not). This often results in the ‘creatives’ in the organization, writers, art directors, producers and designers, having their status artificially inflated. Of course they sit at the heart of the creative process, but for a truly creative company, it is a group effort – rarely is a great idea the result of creativity in isolation. A lot of the contributions come from what I like to call the ‘silent creatives’, the ones who never step up to collect the creative awards. And before you think this is just sour grapes on behalf of the ‘suits’, I spent most of my working life as a creative and know how important was team support.

Right at the start of the process comes the quality of the brief. A good client-contact person knows the right questions to ask and how to listen. They will cut through the wooliness and client subjectivity to distill the essence of what is required and turn this into a simple and concise report. Without their clear understanding, evaluation and explication – together with clear communication skills – the project just does not get off the ground.

Then there is the work of the planners (or whatever the company calls them). These are the people who can amass all the data and research, analyse it, and turn many pages of background information into a short concise brief.  Writers and art directors who work with good planners know how important they are, and how often the creative solution  springs straight out of the brief.

Concepts are no good on their own. They require application – development and production. The team of people who get involved beyond the concept are far more than ‘creative’s labourers’. From the account manager who brings the client’s needs and perspective to refine the solution, to the designers, artists, photographers, producers, developers, programmers, casting directors, musicians  and many others, all adding value to final product.

There are many more people involved, both inside and outside the organization, who support and stimulate the creative team – people who don’t carry that ‘creative’ tag, but listen, bring their views, allow ideas to be bounced off them and help contribute to the productive, innovative atmosphere.

So next time you see a creative team accepting the plaudits for truly remarkable solution, spare a moment’s thought for the silent creatives who helped make it all come about.