Creativity is not a commodity. Or is it? - BlueMelon Design

BlueMelon Design

Tag - content - marketing

Creativity is not a commodity. Or is it?

Having run a full-service creative agency for the last decade, it has always…
Juan

Having run a full-service creative agency for the last decade, it has always surprised me how challenging it is to properly and accurately articulate the value that creativity (content, brand, digital, innovation), can bring to a business, allowing healthy growth, stronger partnerships and better outcomes. 

In some ways, it feels as though creative services are treated as a commodity. Creativity is so often treated like a raw material that can be bought or sold in a market place (think coffee, oil, gold) where the price is usually controlled by that market and bought in bulk. The quality of the product may differ slightly, but it is essentially consistent across producers, and each producer is constantly focusing on reducing costs, efficiencies and scale. 

So what?

When you apply uniformity, scale and cost reduction to creativity, suddenly the power of imagination, intuition, original ideas, inventiveness, gets lost in the spreadsheet that quantifies cost. Don’t get me wrong, I know that as business owners we have to control our costs, check our margins and have enough cash flow to keep the boat floating. So, how can we put a fair price on our services?

Commodity and Creativity

Ok, let’s get back into commodity and creativity. A couple of months ago, we were in New York meeting with some of our wonderful clients, discussing how we could keep supporting them. During our stay we were introduced to some great potential clients, all on the lookout for a new, lean, friendly, approachable creative agency – hello, BlueMelon Design! The conversations flowed and we learnt a lot about different services and challenges that these companies face. However, we were constantly asked for rate cards and fixed prices on the spot, making comparisons with previous agencies, freelancers, and platforms that treat creativity as a production line. Time and time again, we were asked if we had a set of packages with fixed prices that they could buy from us on the spot.

Despite all the great conversations, it was clear that the main focus was to get a price from us right off the bat. They wanted to know what the formation of the team was, and what were the timings around implementation. Sound familiar? Reduce cost, timings and price. Hang on a second! We were only just starting to get an understanding of them as potential partners, of the problems they were trying to solve, and the approaches that they had tried previously.

Uhm, where to from here? We didn’t have packages ready to go at a fixed price with SoW’s, production schedules and solutions to problems we haven’t even started to fully understand. At BlueMelon, we love getting the chance to discover what the problem is, and only then, define the areas of focus. This is when we can develop a proposal. It sounds like a no-brainer – start with the problem, understand the user and co-create a solution. Yet on the flip side of the coin, a client may want to start on the solution before understanding or validating what the problem is. Challenging, no?

What some agencies do today

Over the years and across many different agencies I have found that this has always been a challenging point and brought up many questions. How can we ensure we are remunerated properly? Can we find consistent work? We need clients that trust our expertise? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could grow this relationship further? And so on. In my time, I have seen 5 or more types of proposals that my brave fellow colleagues have been implementing in the pursuit of growth and stability in a never-steady environment.

1.     The proposal based on your cost (talent)

The idea behind this one is to calculate all the recurring costs of the project and add a margin on top of the magic number. In this first example, some agencies go so granular that they include the hourly rate of each staff member. Depending on the talent you use, the proposal would fluctuate.

2.     The proposal based on your cost (blended rate)

This one is similar to number 1, yet instead of taking into consideration each person’s hourly rate, the agency averages an hourly rate for the entire agency – using a break-even rate plus a % margin.

3.     Stage or phase proposal (opaque pricing)

The main focus of this structure is to show high-level stages of the process and include an overall team rate. There is no granular detail into how the number is created, which in turn can be useful as the client cannot reverse-engineer the price in order to reduce it.

4.     Retainer Proposals

The value of a retainer is having that revenue secure over a period of time, which in turn allows for (somewhat) steady planning. However, retainers are usually calculated on a cost basis, unless you are the lucky few that manage to get an account that takes you on board to help with R&D, push innovation and their business to the next level. More on this in a different post. 

5.     Fixed Price Packages

An all-inclusive set of deliverables at a set price. It’s seen as an easy way for sales teams to share quick price and deliverables, but it has big risks.

Recent News
Get the lowdown of the top trends for B2B Creative Marketing for 2023.
Get the lowdown of the top trends for B2B Creative Marketing for 2023.
In this article, we’ll look at the key benefits of conducting user interviews as part of your UX design process…
In this article, we’ll look at the key benefits of conducting user interviews as part of your UX design process...
From the beginning, it’s good to have a clear understanding of what you want content to do for your brand…
From the beginning, it’s good to have a clear understanding of what you want content to do for your brand...
clost button

You’re in! Grab your copy here if you’re ready to go (and we’ve emailed you too, just in case.)

clost button

You’re in! Grab your copy here if you’re ready to go (and we’ve emailed you too, just in case.)

clost button

Learn how to master
B2B like a Melon.

Grab your free copy today.

Please fill out all fields labeled with “*”

clost button

Nice one! Your How-to Guide will now download. (It will land in your inbox too!)

Digital Experience Page Popup

Let’s get together and start solving problems from your users point of view. Once we understand their pain points, we’ll craft a beautiful experience to help make their lives easier.

BOOK AN ONLINE SESSION TODAY - WE ARE JUST A CALL AWAY

You got this far. and you know it. Whether you are re-branding or creating a brand from scratch the best way is the good way. This 2 hour workshop will set the path to success. It gives clarity and help make quicker decisions and better content and marketing - down the road.

Let’s get to know each other:

What’s your biggest customer pain point? If you’re not sure, let’s start from your biggest pain point? In our discovery session we’ll learn about your situation and give you some quick, actionable tips to relieve them.

CALL US NOW +61 2 9977 7686
email: info@bluemelondesign.com

Let’s get together and start solving problems from your users point of view. Once we understand their pain points, we’ll craft a beautiful experience to help make their lives easier.

BOOK AN ONLINE SESSION TODAY - WE ARE JUST A CALL AWAY

Let’s get to know each other:

What’s your biggest customer pain point? If you’re not sure, let’s start from your biggest pain point? In our discovery session we’ll learn about your situation and give you some quick, actionable tips to relieve them.

CALL US NOW +61 2 9977 7686
email: info@bluemelondesign.com

Branding Page popup

From making an impression to making a stand. Let us help you build a brand that stands out!

BOOK AN ONLINE SESSION TODAY - WE ARE JUST A CALL AWAY

You got this far. and you know it. Whether you are re-branding or creating a brand from scratch the best way is the good way. This 2 hour workshop will set the path to success. It gives clarity and help make quicker decisions and better content and marketing - down the road.

Tell us a little about your content

What are your brand Goals? - If you haven’t thought about it don’t worry. Perhaps you could tell us what are you looking for, so we can organise a call to talk about it

CALL US NOW +61 2 9977 7686
email: info@bluemelondesign.com

From making an impression to making a stand. Let us help you build a brand that stands out!

BOOK AN ONLINE SESSION TODAY - WE ARE JUST A CALL AWAY

You got this far. and you know it. Whether you are re-branding or creating a brand from scratch the best way is the good way. This 2 hour workshop will set the path to success. It gives clarity and help make quicker decisions and better content and marketing - down the road.

Tell us a little about your content

What are your brand Goals? - If you haven’t thought about it don’t worry. Perhaps you could tell us what are you looking for, so we can organise a call to talk about it

CALL US NOW +61 2 9977 7686
email: info@bluemelondesign.com

Content Marketing Popup B2

Developing Your Content Strategy Is Key To Putting People At The Heart of Your Communication.

BOOK AN ONLINE SESSION TODAY - WE ARE JUST A CALL AWAY

Well planned and authentic content and communications have never been more critical. We know how it goes. You are challenged to create relevant, useful and meaningful content that aligns with your customers needs. Either you need it yesterday or to be prepared to shift your strategy for the future. Don't worry we here you to help. We work with our partners globally to run workshops and projects online and can run a comprehensive online strategy session that will help you get clear on your approach, core communications and how to execute them - tomorrow or in the coming months.

Tell us a little about your content

What are your content Goals? - If you haven’t thought about it don’t worry. Perhaps you could tell us what are you looking so we can organise a call to talk about it

CALL US NOW +61 2 9977 7686
email: info@bluemelondesign.com

Developing Your Content Strategy Is Key To Putting People At The Heart of Your Communication.

BOOK AN ONLINE SESSION TODAY - WE ARE JUST A CALL AWAY

Well planned and authentic content and communications have never been more critical. We know how it goes. You are challenged to create relevant, useful and meaningful content that aligns with your customers needs. Either you need it yesterday or to be prepared to shift your strategy for the future. Don't worry we here you to help. We work with our partners globally to run workshops and projects online and can run a comprehensive online strategy session that will help you get clear on your approach, core communications and how to execute them - tomorrow or in the coming months.

Tell us a little about your content

What are your content Goals? - If you haven’t thought about it don’t worry. Perhaps you could tell us what are you looking so we can organise a call to talk about it

CALL US NOW +61 2 9977 7686
email: info@bluemelondesign.com

HOORAY !!! YOUR MESSAGE HAS BEEN SENT AND WE WILL CONTACT YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

We can’t wait to keep the ball rolling.

HOORAY !!! YOUR MESSAGE HAS BEEN SENT AND WE WILL CONTACT YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

We can’t wait to keep the ball rolling.

HOORAY!!! YOUR MESSAGE HAS BEEN SENT AND WE WILL CONTACT YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

This is great, you are getting one step closer to creating a healthy communications pipeline

HOORAY!!! YOUR MESSAGE HAS BEEN SENT AND WE WILL CONTACT YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

This is great, you are getting one step closer to creating a healthy communications pipeline