So, two quick things about our recent Contagious partnership:

1. We now have a winner – Iona Ratcliffe, you're going to Most Contagious London! (Check your inbox.)
2. I also secured a mega discount code for anyone else who wants to buy a ticket. (Keep reading for it.)

Plus, some practical things i've learned over the past 15+ years on how to collaborate with creative teams.

But first, the discount code.

The Contagious crew are among the readers of this newsletter, so we agreed a neat little deal.

If you use the code "SALMON" at the checkout for Most Contagious London, you get a wicked member rate.

In practical terms, this means:

• £200 savings on either a Classic or Gold pass
• So, for Classic, the price is £450 + tax (instead of £650)
• And for Gold, which includes 4-week access to talk recordings and a written summary of everything covered, the price is £499 + tax (instead of £699)

All you have to do is go to Most Contagious London, pick the ticket you want, and add "SALMON" at checkout.

Now, back to the regular programming.

Let's talk about collaborating with creative teams.

It's the sort of stuff we're told we need to do, and yet there are many pitfalls that stop us from doing it well.

And as a result, we end up frustrated, creatives end up frustrated, and everyone gets a forgettable product.

So, let's talk about 7 practical tips to collaborate with creatives that probably won't crush anyone's morale.

1. Ask how they like to work.

Before you write a single word, ask about their process.

Some teams need a fully digested brief.

Others like to digest it with you.

Some want a scheduled meeting.

Others just want a cup of tea and a couple of quick chats, maybe some biscuits.

Clarity on process before clarity on the problem.

2. Ask how they like to be briefed.

Some teams like a one pager.

Others want a more immersive deck.

Some want both.

Some want clear words.

Others operate more with visuals.

Ask, ask, ask.

The answer may not be revolutionary, but they'll see you as a partner that wants to make this work for them.

And the benefit of that is they're more likely to feel emotionally supported to do the very best possible job they can.

3. Ignore your own taste.

Too often we see strategists saying they like a piece of work, but that's not the job.

The job is to challenge whether it would solve a business or audience's problem or not.

You can have personal taste, but your job in that room is to notice it and politely ignore it.

Be an expert in what the audience might find tasteful instead.

4. Own the problem, not the solution.

Don't be the person who always precedes "not trying to do your job" and then tries to do their job.

Your job is to own a clear definition of a problem ("it's definitely noticeable, but is it clear?").

Not to come up with clunky articulation of a solution ("here's how i'd do it").

Having shared clarity around the problem will make the chaos around the solution much more bearable.

5. Always clarify the idea.

We're afraid of sounding disrespectful, but it really matters.

Creatives have just been through the eye of a tornado to get to where they are.

So always ask – without judgement – what they see as the central thought for a piece of work.

And then help them make sure everything else answers to that.

6. Raise the work as if it were a baby.

I love it when creative teams show up with half-baked super random things they think are interesting.

Don't shoot these ideas down just because they're not finished.

Think of them as a newborn, and your job is to help it survive.

You can shape its ways of life together later.

7. Think of yourself as the engine's first gear.

It's inevitable, when we brief someone we already have a shape of an idea in our mind of what it could be.

Don't take that shape too seriously.

It's just there as a placeholder to kick the whole process off, like the first gear of a combustion engine.

Let them get the thing to top speed.

In summary.

A super senior strategist once said this to me:

It's also true when it comes to our role around creative products.

It's not our job to come up with them, but we're there to help sharpen them.

So consider the above some ways of preparing our knives without cutting ourselves (or anyone else!) in the process.

Ps. Don't forget you can get £200 off your ticket(s) to Most Contagious London if you add "SALMON" at checkout.

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Rob Estreitinho Strategist, writer, maker 💌 Read our newsletter archive​ 📱 Join our private community​ 🛠️ See our latest strategy work​ 🤙 Book a 1:1 call with me​

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