“Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
– Thomas Edison
Although not all of us can churn out innovative ideas like Thomas Edison, there is still no doubt that creativity is essential within the competitive business community. This is even more true regarding the frenetic world of marketing, as consumers are more demanding than ever before. This is why an impressive 55 percent of professionals who participated in a recent survey stated that creativity is the most crucial attribute when partnering with a third-party firm.
However, a problem often rises to the surface. There is a big difference between a “holy grail” moment of inspiration and transforming this singular thought into a tangible plan. Therefore, a creative project manager is worth his or her weight in gold. What are some of the benefits of these professionals, and why should they represent an integral part of your current marketing team? Let us first look at some of their basic responsibilities before moving on to highlight additional windfalls that you and your team can expect to leverage.
What Duties Will a Creative Project Manager Address?
Even Thomas Edison had a host of subordinates who provided much-needed aid in terms of day-to-day tasks. After all, it is one thing to envision a novel marketing campaign. It is another thing entirely to deal with the logistics associated with its implementation. Therefore creative project managers serve four main purposes.
1. Dealing with Temporal Concerns
Let’s imagine that you have just finalized a contract with a third-party product supplier. There is nothing more frustrating than being forced to ask for a deadline extension due to internal issues. A creative project manager will help to ensure that the task itself is on track. This is one of the subjects covered in professional change management workshops and for a good reason. Managing deliverables can be challenging, and outsourcing these concerns to a qualified individual is the best way to avoid any dreaded delays during the project pipeline.
2. Dealing with Unexpected Delays
What might appear to be a rather straightforward project could quickly evolve into a veritable nightmare. This is even more relevant with innovative concepts, as the chances are high that you are delving into new territory.
Creative project managers can mitigate the risks associated with this type of “scope creep” so that delays can be averted before they negatively impact a demanding schedule. These professionals will formulate a clear outline so that every member is aware of his or her responsibilities. While slight pitfalls may still occur, they are much less likely to cause a delay in terms of overall completion.
3. Interdepartmental Accountability
Normally, one or two professionals take the lion’s share of credit in the public eye when curating a unique marketing campaign. Still, we need to remember that this is a team effort. As there are many moving parts during the creative process, there are also numerous chances that miscommunication can occur. Another responsibility of creative project managers is to ensure superior levels of accountability.
Collaboration is indeed important, and unfortunately, some organizations overlook this important facet of creative marketing. This is because numerous individuals are involved with specific steps. Examples include:
- Graphic designers
- IT support teams
- Freelance content writers
- Branding specialists
- Big data analysts
- Third-party vendors
Therefore, it is clear that all these individuals need to be on the “same page” for a project to avert any problems along the way. A project manager will ensure this.
4. Structure and Consistency
Above all, creative project managers can bring a noticeable amount of consistency to the task at hand. Anyone who has been involved with the world of marketing for an extended period is likely aware that some assignments seem to take on a life of their own. Managers will help to guarantee that this momentum is kept in check. Whether referring to copyright concerns, adhering to ISO standards, or executing different steps, avoiding in-house chaos is one of the secrets to success.
All About Bespoke Skill Sets
Not everyone can embrace the role of a creative project manager. Superior organizational skills, excellent communication talents, and the ability to inspire others are a handful of traits that must always be determined well in advance. Therefore, businesses should spend a significant amount of time evaluating different candidates to find the appropriate individual for the task at hand.
Marketing has always been a challenging field. This is even more relevant in these modern times thanks to the sheer breadth of the online community and the exacting nature of the average consumer. Generic campaigns are no longer able to turn heads as they once did. So, it only stands to reason that hiring a creative project manager is one of the best ways to ensure that your firm rises well above and beyond its closest competitors.
Author bio:
Paula O Gorman is the design and marketing manager at Promotive. Promotive, a marketing agency, uses project management software and project managers to complete their clients’ tasks each month.
