Does your team struggle to evaluate creative ideas? You’re not alone

Only one-third of marketers and one-quarter of agencies feel proud of their creative work, according to a recent study, and many of them feel its quality is not improving.

BetterBriefs and research agency Flood + Partners conducted the study, BetterIdeas Global Report, in partnership with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).

Perhaps flying under the radar is the significant economic impact caused by creative challenges. Earlier research by BetterBriefs found one-third of advertising spending could be wasted due to misdirected work. 

6 challenges impacting the creative development process

The challenges and inefficiencies cited in the report include:

Using briefs solely as a starting point

While good briefs are considered business-critical, the research found that they are often disregarded as a reference point for evaluation. This can lead to overestimation of the ability to evaluate ideas and highlights a lack of training in this area. Only 10% of all respondents agree that ideas are always evaluated against clearly defined criteria.

In the research, marketers report an average of 5.0 rounds, creative agencies 4.8 rounds and in-house departments 4.8 rounds — inefficiency that impacts effectiveness.

Idea evaluation remains a mystery

The research acknowledged that evaluating ideas is difficult for both marketers and agencies. Agencies highlighted the intangible and delicate nature of ideas, especially in their early stages, and the shared difficulty in evaluation between clients and agencies. Only 30% of marketers and 27% of agencies agree they are well-trained.

Inadequate feedback

The research found a significant discrepancy in perception, with only 23% of marketers agreeing that they provide clear and constructive feedback, compared to 56% of agencies.

Dysfunctional approval processes

Respondents to the survey said their current approval processes are not functioning well, describing them as inconsistent, slow, subjective and painful. 

As many creatives can tell you, creativity can suffer in committee-based approvals, and trying to accommodate everyone’s preferences slows the process and leads to worse work. 

Because the assessment and approval of creative work are not always linked back to the initial brief, and decisions can be led by the personal judgment of individuals not exposed to the brief. The right decision-makers are also not always involved, the report found, with 43% of marketers and 62% of agencies agreeing on this point.

Personal opinion weighs heavily on decisions

Personal opinion significantly influences decision-making, with 89% of marketers and 84% of agencies agreeing. While personal emotions can be relevant, especially for brands aiming for emotional engagement, they should be balanced with the criteria from the initial brief and consideration of the target audience’s reaction rather than solely based on personal judgment, according to the report.

Lack of trust between agencies and marketers

The report also identified a lack of trust between agencies and marketers regarding creative judgment, with 70% of creative agencies not trusting the creative judgment of the marketers they work with. This lack of partnership and understanding of each other’s roles is a significant hurdle in achieving better ideas. Agencies also report they don’t always feel inspired by their clients to do their best work.

For the report, The BetterIdeas Project surveyed 1,034 marketing professionals in 54 countries (including the U.S., U.K., and Australia), spanning all marketing sectors.