As a fresh produce marketer, you’re likely used to the fast paced nature of the environment we live in. Working with Mother Nature means we have to be nimble, flexible, and ready to meet tight turnarounds. But when you’re seeking design assets from a creative team, it’s important to note: the biggest key to better design is more lead time. Here are three ways you can allow for more time that will result in better assets for you and your brand.
Discuss time, quality, and budget upfront
As a marketer, you probably have a budget and a deadline in mind when it comes to creative assets. Make sure to talk through these factors with your creative team up front. For example, if you have a very tight timeline and need something of the highest quality, more resources will be required. The best way to receive a final asset that you’re pleased with is to talk more openly about how the deadline and your budget will affect the outcome of the project.
Trust the creative process
When it comes to developing design assets, most creatives go through several iterations of a concept before feeling confident with a product they’d like to share. We recommend asking for high-level updates on the project instead of requesting to see each iteration a design goes through. As the saying goes, you don’t want to see how the sausage gets made, so refrain from the temptation of seeing your asset developed every step of the way.
When providing feedback and edits, ask your creative team to guide you on how long they will need to execute your revisions. Your creative team will want to consider how each small change alters the overall cohesiveness of the project, so they may have ideas or questions as you provide feedback. By following this process, you will be rewarded with a better-rounded, more strategically designed asset.
Give yourself time, too!
The revision process is important to ensuring both sides of the exchange have the best opportunity and clear direction for success. When establishing a timeline for your creatives, you should also factor in the time you’ll need to visit (and revisit the assets) to provide thoughtful and thorough feedback. Rather than sending various emails or pieces of feedback one-off, we recommend collecting all of your thoughts and edits so you can give feedback all at once. This approach may actually speed up the process and help your creative team make edits more quickly which could save you money!
If you have a design need coming up, we’d love to help! Our design team has years of experience showcasing fresh produce with websites, tradeshow assets, sales collateral and more. We’ll help you set a timeline and budget for your design project and help bring your creative solution to life.
