Ok, I just received two huge website re-design RFPs and they are both asking for “design ideas” as part of the bidding process! What up!?!

I can’t tell you how many times we’ve received an RFP asking for pre-engagement comps! They want to see what your design ideas your agency is planning for them even before any discovery process? Hmmm. Let me check our agency’s resume again, oh yea, there it is. Psychic Services.

I have had neither problem nor lost sleep in “respectfully declining” giving specific ideas on what we would do on any project prior to a more formal engagement. Let’s face it design community; the main product of our business is ideas -creative solutions to the communications problems and opportunities facing our clients. And good ideas -creativity- can be tough to define, or agree upon. One person’s passion is often another’s poison. So it’s no wonder that potential clients often ask us to take a project on speculation. That is, to try out our creative product or ideas in much the same way they may try out other types of products before purchasing.

Sure and here are my check book, bank account information and personal credit history. I’m just giving it all away today.

But take hart, by turning down such projects and taking this stance, I believe it actually makes us smaller “boutique” agencies a better, more stable and reliable supplier for our clients to do business with.

Just as for most, if not all, designers who read my rant, I am very proud of my firm’s track record of helping various clients with many different challenges. In doing so, we have come to understand the crucial components in producing effective creativity.

First, outstanding creative work requires thorough input from our clients. It takes time and effort that’s tough for them to justify unless they are committed to awarding an assignment. Yet without it, we can’t show how good we really are. Or our best effort may well be misdirected; a great shot that hits the wrong target. Equally important, great creativity requires enthusiasm. We need to be excited enough to pour all our energy into a project. Frankly, that’s impossible without knowing whether we will be chosen to go all the way. And, finally, developing creativity is very labor intensive. Although we wish it were otherwise, it seldom comes in a flash of inspiration. Rather, it requires research and thinking time, then the working through of many different ideas and approaches. We have a “best practices” process of identifying and implementing a strategic creative solution.

So by clients asking to speculate on how to approach a specific marketing problem makes it difficult or impossible to do good work in a compressed time frame by any agency. Speculative projects usually require cutting every creative corner. That’s hardly in anyone’s best interests.

Beyond that I think that what a smaller agency has to offer is better, more personal service. Of my pier agencies, that I have been exposed to on a personal level, I can say that they all truly value the relationships they’ve built with their clients. They’re in it for the long haul and want to be their client’s agency of choice for all of their creative needs - not just for the moment, but for as long as they have a need. Building that long term partnership. This is one of the reasons why some of us have been so successful.

Another reason for our success is that we are good business people. We know that in a business like ours, we have to watch costs carefully and can’t afford to give much away. If we weren’t careful-if we did give away our time-it is likely we wouldn’t be here next time a client called, which means they would have to start all over again bringing someone else up to speed learning their business. We doubt they would want that, and I know we wouldn’t. I believe that the client / agency partnership should both be looking to build a long-term, mutually productive and cost-conscious business relationship.

Truth is, organizations like ours can seldom afford to accept speculative projects. If you find one that will, be skeptical. They may be desperate. As for those larger organizations and agencies, yes they can afford to do speculative projects, and often do. But that’s the very point. If they do have the volume and staff that makes it a small risk for them, they’re probably too big to give their clients the personal service and outstanding creativity they are searching for.

Whew, that’s a long one. Ok, nuf said.