Cost of creativity

I was reading a piece from one of the advertising, media & marketing magazines back here in Dubai. There I found this gentleman, creative director of a direct marketing agency who had given his opinion about direct marketing. He had actually said “Some direct marketing Ideas get squashed by clients because they have overshot the budget…”. I was thinking about this remark of this gent, it wasn’t digesting. I am here trying to contradict the statements made by the gentleman and trying to explain why I think otherwise.

The first oxymoronic thing I found in this statement was “Ideas” and “Budget”. You can’t try and mix both these things. For “Ideas” has something to do with creativity, thinking, et al. “Budgets” as we know is money, plain simple dollars. To tell why they don’t go hand in hand, I have this simple example.

Say I want to go to Paris. But everyone on earth who aspires to go there flies there, some from Europe and around drive their way through. I don’t want to do what others are doing, I want to break the clutter. And therefore I want to go to Paris biking. This is my idea. I want to be different, stand alone hence thinking a bit creative (although this is a little clichéd…) I chose the biking route.

Now having said that I would have to embark on a different task, which is costing my trip or budgeting for my adventure. Now if I have a strong will and have a good enough belief on this particular idea I have come up with, I would find budgets from somewhere to execute this idea of mine. In case, god forbid I figure I don’t have budgets to support my idea . I would think about options or other ways of executing this idea of myself of having to bike to Paris.

So if one had a good enough idea he shouldn’t worry about the budgets at all. If the client comes back with this excuse of budgets, don’t worry if you think you are armed with a whale of an idea. You would find economical ways to execute that whale of an idea of yours. Yes, you would find a way to render your idea come what may.

So the next time your client says he doesn’t have budgets to do something you propose, be sure that is not convinced enough with the IDEA of yours.

The first step to that believe in yourself, believe in your ideas, think creative. The ways, means and budgets for execution would follow.

To sum up there is nothing called “Cost of creativity” in this world. Remember even while advertising agencies, for the sake of earning a living and survival have a RATE CARD for their creative they don’t and can’t produce a RATE CARD for creativity.

They moment someone tries to come up with a RATE CARD for creativity, they are fooling you with stereotypes, something uncreative.