Options are as much a part of the creative process as any other creative factor that comes to mind, and yet there are companies that limit the number of options they request, sometimes only asking for one option. The reasons vary: It could be that a specific direction has already been agreed upon and additional options seem unnecessary or perhaps they feel overwhelmed with multiple options or maybe they’re trying to save some money in the short run.

Options are an important part of the creative process when working with your agency to determine final concepts that provide you with the most return for your marketing dollars. Your approach to the creative process should produce a broad range of ideas to ensure that you have captured the very best creative idea to sell your product.

Marketing can be one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal for creating change. I’m not just talking about convincing the world that this newest gadget is something you can’t live without. Everything in the media and on store shelves has a marketer behind the scenes, stroking your intellect and subconscious toward a new perspective. Commercials, products you see in movies, print ads, billboards, pop-ups on the internet, and the slick packaging attempt to motivate you to buy. You buy in to experience entertainment, advertisements can sway your political decisions, and you often pluck a ripe new product from the shelf or showroom to take home with you. Do you see the dollars spent through the persuasion of marketing?

With so much on the line, why forego multiple options in the creative process to save on the front end when so much is on the line when the final message is revealed?

Options provide power of choice in how to best showcase what you’re selling. Now you have several choices at your disposal! Consider which presentation has the strongest persuasive power. Play one pitch against the other and determine which one really hits home.

As you review each option on its own merits, the act of talking about each one, showing them to others and discussing their strengths and weaknesses… this generates even more energy, beyond what each one alone can do. This newly found energy percolates within the team, generating new ideas, fresh perspectives and often a brand new approach (or two) that hadn’t been considered previously. Or, could there be characteristics within the different options that you want to combine to pull together a more persuasive message for the consumer?

Now you go into your revision process energized and focused, knowing that you’ve explored several fresh options for how to best hone your message and hit your mark!

Chip, Creative Director