Stop Letting People Direct Without First Making Them Create

From Trevor Wallace’s hilarious video Guys Who Fold Their Beanie

One of the worst parts about working in advertising over the past six years has been my experiences with brand directors who don’t create anything themselves. People like this usually hold titles like Director of Marketing or Brand Creative Director. And it becomes immediately obvious when these people haven’t created anything themselves. 

The first sign that a brand director doesn’t create on their own is when they can’t effectively describe what they want. They use phrases like, “I’m just not feeling this,” or “this just isn’t doing it for me,” or “I need this to look more premium.” When you’re a real creator, you know how to pull references and use effective descriptions to translate your creative vision. 

The second sign is when they ask for things that are obviously disruptive to the entire creative process. This is especially prevalent in video creation, when they ask for a new song long after the first edit is created. Anyone who has edited a video of their own knows how disruptive this is. 

The third sign is when they don’t trust the creator. They’ll ask questions like, “Were these the best clips available?” or “Are there any better shots of this?” As if the creator just randomly pulled clips and threw something together. Sure, there are times to take control of a project and find a better creator. But a lack of trust hijacks the project before it can get off the ground. 

The final sign is when they assume no responsibly for mistakes, but flex the success as if it was all their own. Some brand directors will blame any misalignments on the creator, as if the creator could read their mind. If “director” is in your title, any miscommunication about a creative vision is 100% on you. 

In order for a brand marketing director to earn my trust, I need to see a body of work they’ve personally created. I need to know that they have skin in the game themselves. Because they second someone cracks open an editing software is the second they realize how difficult this is. The second someone shares a piece of creative work online under their own government name is the second they gain respect for the whole process. 

Brands: Stop letting people direct without first making them create.