15 creative lessons in 15 years by Third City's Henry Warrington

Somehow, this week Third City had turned 15 years old.

Even more somehow, I’ve been creative director for 10 of those years. In that time, PR has changed so much that many argue what ‘PR’ even is anymore. Journalists have vanished, media closed, and content is king.

More importantly, rather than PR being siloed (the old classic: “PR this, would you?”), comms now sits at the hub of campaigns, creating narratives and content that can be spun off onto other channels, not only social, but internal comms, CRM, OOH… the list goes on. We’re doing as much paid as we do earned.

We’ve got a lot right in that time – including quite a few ‘lightning bolt’ trophies from this very site – but there have been a fair few learnings too.

Here are 15 lessons I’ve learnt in a decade at the creative helm of a PR agency that’s now old enough to watch Withnail and I.

1. Don’t create for creatives

We love the flashy, the new, the innovative (and dare I say, the trophies). But clients want to fulfil a brief, spend wisely, and create impact. Remember who you are creating for, and find the sweet spot.

2. The Heart FM effect

When we had a radio in the office, it would always end up on Heart FM, even though nobody liked it. Why? It was the lowest common denominator that the least people had an issue with. Avoid this trap when it comes to ideas – it’s better to have ideas that some will love (and hate) than everything be bland and average.

We once had a campaign for a viagra provider that, linked to a rise in PIED (porn-induced erectile dysfunction), involved putting videos of unsexy turkeys on porn sites to encourage men to ‘go cold turkey on porn this Christmas’. It’s fair to say not everyone was super comfortable with it - but the client was, we did it, and it was a huge success.

3. Be ‘wow’, but buyable

We’ve been told we've pitched the best idea by far and still lost. Why? Because, while fantastic, the idea was too risky, too hard to pull off, too ‘head above the parapet’. Pitch ‘wow’, but don’t be too snobby for a few ‘oven-ready’ ideas too.

4. Let people do their jobs

Build a team of suppliers around you that you trust, and once you’ve shared the vision, let them loose to express themselves. Watch the Guillermo del Toro documentary on Netflix about the making of Frankenstein to see this in action.

A stylist once showed me a giant lilac coat as part of the selects for our ‘Make Money Equal’ photoshoot that promoted better representation of women and money, for Starling Bank. I thought it was way too much, but trusted her… it ended up being the hero shot of the campaign!

5. Get out of your head – literally

You’re a creative visionary – good for you! You can see how a spark can catch fire. That doesn’t mean clients, or even other colleagues, can. Assume they won’t get it and go that extra mile to make them see it before it's binned. AI mock-ups are a godsend.

6. Get to the moon

Most of my time isn’t spent thinking of creative ideas; it’s thinking about how to make things happen. We’re operating in an attention economy, so ideas need to stand out – meaning you’re breaking new ground. Figure out how to be a true creative – not just shooting for the moon but working out how to get there, with stamina.

To launch Kia’s EV9, we had the idea to electrocute Jodie Kidd, putting more than a million volts through her body. Turns out, to do so, she needed a protective suit. So you couldn’t even see it was her! Our solution? We shot her in two parts and put the photos together, with a making-of video to show it was all real.

7. Don’t pass on the tissues

Always push for a tissue session, even just a 30-minute virtual one. They can be more important than the pitch itself for really ‘getting’ the brief.

8. Develop a creative language

I won’t delve into the Heineken Creative Ladder here, but suffice to say, you need to develop a language and benchmark for your creative output to all be pulling in the same direction – especially with larger teams.

9. Man bites dog

Whatever the channel, you need a good story. interesting, surprising, relevant. Man bites dog.

10. Going off ideas

Don’t go off on an idea just because you’ve lived with it for a while (and make sure others don’t either). Remember that feeling when it was born, and stick to your guns.

To promote Ancestry’s new DNA product, we once DNA tested an entire English village to prove we’re not as ‘British’ as we may think. More than a year and many parish council meetings later, we’d lost sight of how good the campaign really was when it finally came to launching it. Turns out, still very good.

11. Pick your hills

Not every hill is worth dying on. Push for what you love, but allow others space for their favourites too – it might be better than you think.

12. Make ideas sweat

Tighter budgets, more channels, deeper evaluation. Clients need more from their campaigns than ever, which is why cross-channel content is so important. Make ideas and content work harder.

13. Count the cuts

Death by 1,000 cuts is a real issue in killing a once-good idea. Know when you’ve reached 1,000 and be strong enough to pronounce it dead, and pivot.

14. Make people feel something

Are we post-purpose? Not quite, but whatever your take on it, campaigns need to make people feel something, now more than ever. If it’s not raw emotion, make them smile, get them angry (in the right context). Just don’t be boring.