Having worked in the creative agency circle for quite a while now, I’ve seen a lot of print and production managers come and go, both working for me and with me in a team. I’ve seen the suits with short trousers and expensive briefcases crunch numbers, and make printers do work for nothing. I’ve seen the grads using print and production as a stepping-stone for the bright lights of client services, and even client services and creative teams attempt to buy print! Hell, I once witnessed a freelance receptionist bumble through a print spec over the phone to a poor rep, who would have needed a degree in slang and street talk to have any chance of working out what was required.
But where do the creative agency print folk need to be today? Well, my ethos has been the same for a number of years now. Print buyers within an agency now need to be creative. Should we expect the creative guys and designers to know about all the variants of paper stocks and finishes? Should we expect them to know the best way of printing and whether it’s even possible? Indeed, they come up with the fantastic ideas, but where we come in is in executing the ideas, and in offering solutions and ways to improve them. For instance, I’m now one of the first people booked into creative briefings… Not to be the killjoy and dampen the creativity, but to add value on how we can tweak an idea to make it work within the budget and deadlines. I even go as far as suggesting ideas myself. That’s why my team and I here at Superdream are seen as an extension of the creative department.
What makes me creative? Well, I’m obsessive about print and everything about it. I’ve often thought I could hold my own in the Mastermind chair, with my specialist subject being “print, papers and finishes”. My suppliers certainly need to be seated when they pick up the phone to me, because 9 times out of 10 I’m challenging them with another bespoke print brief. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a need for the direct mail throwaway flyers that you buy for 0.00001p a unit. But, isn’t it nice when you have the opportunity to produce award-winning print? Especially with how technology has moved on within the print industry.
The creative director has just opened up this year’s Superdream Christmas card ideas to the agency… Buckle up guys – this is where I shine!