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Before
you get started on a journey, it is always a good idea to know where
you are going, how far your destination is, and how long it will take
to get there. Our creative journey is no exception. So, the next step
in our journey is to determine the objective(s) of the creative work.
But, before we can determine the objective, we need to know precisely
what an objective is. Not to worry, I will 'splain it for you. First, as you might have surmised, an objective is not an objective at all unless it contains all three parts of an objective.
It ain’t an objective 'till it's an objective (I’m practicing my Yogi
Berra imitation). Anyway, this was drilled into my head in business
school…so now I am going to drill it into your head -- fair is fair.
The first part of an objective is the “factor” that you want to influence.
While this usually involves sales of widgets, this could involve a
great number of things. You might want to sell Japanese kitchen knives
that never need sharpening… garnish a bigger market share -- or really
important stuff like help women to get unbreakable nails. Or, you might
be trying to get people to quit smoking… get rid of “love handles…”
lose 300 lbs in six weeks… grow more hair… get washboard abs (like
mine)… get greener grass… or just create a “warm and fuzzy” feeling
about a company via their corporate video.
But
no matter what the factor is that you want to influence, it cannot be a
real objective unless it also contains the second part -- the degree of
influence. This might be expressed as a percentage, a dollar
amount, or some other measurable factor such as the "warm &
fuzziness" factor or something. It can be determined by using
break-even point analysis, previous year company and/or industry sales
and market share data, or polling and marketing research.
I know the suspense is killing you so here is the third component -- the time frame.
If you do not have a time frame for achieving your objective, guess
what... it ain't an objective. Of course different factors will
obviously require different time frames. It takes longer, for example,
to change prevailing negative attitudes than to generate traffic to a
web site or to equip every home with one of those cool Japanese kitchen
knives that'll cut right through tin cans and then slice tomatoes
"paper thin."
In addition to having all three parts, the objective must be
specific, workable, measurable, and attainable... and challenging. It
is futile to have an objective that cannot be achieved... it is also
rather lame to have an objective that is too easy to achieve.
Having a proper written objective that is agreed upon by all parties
in advance of implementation is important... if for no other reason
than the fact that you cannot measure success or failure without a
"measuring stick." Some factors
are, of course, more easily measured than others. For example, web site
hits, retail store traffic and sales of nail polish are relatively easy
to measure, while brand image and awareness are more difficult;
sometimes requiring extensive polling and other market research. In all cases, having a written objective provides the benchmark for measuring success or failure of the creative effort.