Did you know that not so long ago, Cannes was a not-so-hot French tourist destination? That the Cannes Film Festival was set up to make Cannes a happenin' place ? And that spurred by its immediate success and positive effects on tourism, the French promoted the Cannes Ad Festival ? Nonetheless, till a few years back, many countries (including India) did not know nor cared too much what happened at the Cannes 'ad-fest'.

But all this has changed in the past few years. Cannes has become a fashionable destination with the global ad industry. Especially India. Thanks to the number of Indian award winning entries during the past few years. As also the increasingly regular inclusion of Indians as jury members.

In fact, the last few years has seen Indian agencies and professionals getting global recognition for their work. Helping their clients to embrace the kind of thinking that spurs creativity. Finding good ideas. And making them happen.

What is the secret behind this ? It is creative management.

Creative Management
The best solutions are often discovered by people who are not up to their neck in the problem. This is true for all creative endeavors, including advertising. Because it is such individuals who cut away all non-essential stuff to focus on the core problem. Since, in essence, advertising helps clients solve their core communication problems, it is hardly surprising to realize simple solutions for seemingly complex problems!

It is creative management which ensures that team members are 'mentored' so that they can think fresh, out-of-the box.

Similarly, it is true that there are many individuals who are capable of strong ideas. But making these ideas see "light of day" is the task of the 'creative manager'. This involves convincing people both internal and external. (More often than not, the key differentiator between a great agency and an ordinary one is that the great agency is successful in getting interesting ideas into the market place.)

In fact, it is by making their ideas see "light of day" that creative managers actually encourage their teams to think fresh !

The most important segment in successful 'creative management' by far, is the client. While it is true that many clients are comfortable with a safe 'layered' approach to developing ideas, it is equally true that a growing number of clients see value in the final idea and the solution it offers. And of course, it is part of the Creative Management function to convince the client.

Visibility
Finally, we come to visibility. Today brand visibility is the crux of the problem. Staying visible is getting harder every day. And this is not just because the volume of advertising is increasing. Or because there are innumerable media options. It is because advertising is in danger of getting exhausted.

To begin with, target audiences are overloaded with information. And as if that were not bad enough, this information is often presented in a far more interesting manner than advertising !

Take the recent example of a leading Indian daily that announced the Indian cricket victory with the following "banner" headline which dominated the front page :
                                      'Karachi Captured'

Who would have remembered the panels or solus ads on the front page (or even in other pages) ?

Likewise, most media vehicles every day are full of interesting combination of circumstances. This can actually make advertising subjects seem mild in comparision !

So the challenge today for Creative Management goes beyond competing with other companies producing similar products. It is about competing with content from films, television, music, newspaper content, outdoor, the arts, theatre, et al.

Wake up the client. Surprise and delight the audience. Touch them. Make them laugh. Make them cry. Make them buy.