The opportunity in small things: A personal perspective on how to build trust
The power of brand building comes from creating innovative and culturally famous work, but a lack of trust often impedes on that. So, how do we build trust to do better work, more often? Executive creative director Tim Wood explores.
Why do you work in advertising? It’s not meant to be rhetorical; think about it.
I suspect most of us do because we believe in the power of brands. We’re always looking for ways to establish a market advantage, or reinforce our brand’s position. New product launches and sales promotions are some of the tactics we might use.
But the real power of brand building comes when we both (client and agency together) commit to a creative idea, and then develop that proposition through ongoing work that’s innovative, brave and ultimately culturally famous. But here’s the question, how often do we all get to do that, really?
This is something I think about often. Why don’t we do it more? And while there are always important forces at play (financial, market, product, whatever), what I believe creates the biggest impediment to doing this sort of work more often is a lack of trust.
Now, I’m not saying clients don’t trust their agencies, or vice versa. Of course we do. What I am suggesting is that when an opportunity might arise to do something more meaningful (and we all know that moment) it’s often much easier to stick to the status quo. We tell ourselves it’s not the right time, or insert any other reason you like. But whatever reason we give, the underlying (and often unspoken) concern is we’re just not sure we trust each other enough to actually deliver. It ‘feels ‘risky’, right?
So how do we demonstrate competency and build more trust to do better work, more often? To explain one of the ways I do it, I’m going to share two things with you – one is very personal, and the other is professional (I’m actually going to let you in on one of my ECD hacks, just don’t tell anyone). But first, a personal share.
What got me thinking about writing this article in the first place is my eldest son, Cael. I’m a Dad blessed with two boys who both happen to be neuro diverse. Cael, my eldest, has a primary diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (Level 3, if the numbers mean anything to you).
To say that Cael sees things differently would be a gross understatement. I’ve lived with him for 15 years and I honestly have no idea how he processes the world other than to say, it makes sense to him in a way it doesn’t to me. Or you.
He also loves building stuff with flat A4 paper and sticky tape, and the other day he started making little paper planes. I’ve included a photo of one ($2 coin for scale).
At first I couldn’t figure out why. And then it hit me. When you hold that plane at arm’s length up in the sky, it’s exactly the same scale as the planes he sees taking off from Sydney Airport. To you and me, it’s a tiny paper plane. To him, it’s a fully sized 747. And that fundamental shift in perspective (small things can be big things) directly mirrors one of the strategies I believe can help build better client/agency trust.
Say what now? Let me explain by sharing a professional point of view.
It’s a catch 22, isn’t it? You want to make awesome, game-changing work, and you know you would, but without having already done it together, there’s nothing to make everyone feel confident about moving forward together. The truth is, at this point it’s already too late.
Emotion always trumps logic, and people will default to what makes them feel secure. So building trust has to happen in advance of this critical moment. One way I’ve always helped foster this is to make a big deal about the small things.
Truth is, friends, most of our time in advertising is consumed by small things. Stop me when this sounds familiar; 15 re-sizes of a banner ad, fast-turnaround social posts using stock imagery, a rushed low-budget campaign with a tactical offer to match a competitor in-market. We’re constantly executing lots of ‘small things’ while we wait for something more meaningful to come along. Well I’m here to tell you those small things ARE your opportunity to build meaningful trust. But only if you see them from a different, bigger perspective.
My advice on this type of work – sweat the details. It’s very easy to just do an ‘okay job’. Get it in, get it out, move on. After all, that’s what everyone expects. But bother to add even a touch of craft and that small effort quickly gets noticed; you’re caring about things others don’t. Consequently, this establishes your reputation (even subconsciously) as a trusted partner who’s capable of handling bigger and more complex pieces of work. Because it’s true. This is a virtuous cycle that you build over time by committing to a habit of excellence. But that habit starts with the small things first.
Like to see an example of sweating the details in practice? I’ve already shown you one. Take another look at Cael’s plane. He could have just ‘made a plane’. Especially at that size. Who would notice? Actually he did. Look closer; it’s a DHL cargo plane complete with branding stripes.
That’s Cael, sweating the details *Insert proud Dad face*.
Tim Wood is an executive creative director.
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