A Day in a Life of a Creative Lead, in a Bank.

Stakeholders

not showing, telling

Sometimes, there’s a dichotomy between what Stakeholders expect and what is presented to them. It’s usually because of a lack of active listening and double checking on what we think we understood from their request. Also, another point to pay attention is, not only what is articulated, but how it’s delivered. Regardless of what the deck content is about, it could be delivered in a format (especially when content is about data). Indeed, a data point in itself has no meaning. Meaning comes to life in people’s mind when dots are connected, articulated, told in a story format. Stakeholders aren’t holders, they are givers, they give the opportunity to tell story.

Task Requests

establishing the platform

At first glance, this is not really an exciting part of the role. But it is. Because what is exciting, it’s the feeling that you get, when the Tasks Requests Platform you design and establish, allows the Creative team & the Marketing team to collaborate smoothly. For sure, there’s no panacea in a world of complexity and layers, but the intention is to move closer to a frictionless experience for the marketing team when it comes to task requests, and to keep track for progress. This is key, because an effective task requests platform is the invisible backbone that supports effective teams’ collaborations.

Brand Guidelines

ensuring it is on point

Customers should experience the brand in a consistent way (a pattern that needs to repeated). So we need to ensure that the brand guidelines is on point on all communication material, so it will be on all touch points. A situation in which a brand guidelines is useful, is when a team mate asks for an opinion about the application of the brand guidelines on a given communication material. And because we shouldn’t answer by giving a personal opinion, the answer should be done thru the pov of the corporate brand guideline. So an efficient answer is delivered.

Retail Mkt

customer-centricity

Retail Banking Group it’s a very important department in the bank. It’s where at lot of marketing initiatives comes from. Huge efforts are needed to keep current customers engaged and to attract new ones. The departement is a very active engine, and it never sleeps. People use to say, that working here is a 9 to 5 job. And I confirm, but you need to reverse the initial order of ‘AM’ and ‘PM’. To keep performing, beside the energy and the innovative minds that it requires, what maintains and sustains the departement, is its team work spirit that naturally takes place. Indeed, there’s no room for competition between the members because no one has time for that, and most importantly, people work hand in hand because there are a plethora of interconnected projects. So everything and everyone move toward a common goal: to serve the bank’s customers.

Digital Mkt

embracing decision-makers

They, are digital the experts, and working with them is valuable because there are so much things to learn, so much to update (in this fast pace world). They are the ‘young’ people, the fresh mind, in other words, they are the living proof that youthness and expertise can go hand in hand. We sometimes collaborate because they need supports about the creative aspect of their projects. It’s enjoyable to be able to sit down around a table, to brainstorm, to sketch whatever on iPad or on paper, solutions that are brought to life either on the TCBMobile app or on Social Media channels. It’s necessary to have different views, opinions, and no one cares about who is right or wrong, because in a context of a brainstorming, there’s no right or wrong, and especially in the digital world. Indeed, thru A/B testing, the one who is always right, is the customer. It’s part of the beauty of the digital world, a best idea isn’t arbitrary decided by someone, but it’s measured thru how a communication material performs. It’s validated online, by the decision-makers: the customers.

Mkt Central

getting alignment

They are the guardians of the master brand and masters of branding. Communication material have to get their approval before it’s presented to the world. When there’s too much freedom people don’t know what to do, where to start from (people sometimes even get lost in there own mind). On the other end of the spectrum, people don’t really like constraints, and when there’s no guidance, everyone complains. And it’s when the brand guidelines comes in. A brand guidelines is a tool that… guides. At first glance, a brand guidelines document is kinda intimidating (they are usually made of 100+ pages). But the good news is that, over time, you gradually get familiar with it, and you kinda build a relationship and tend to… ‘defend’ as it’s a person when you see a communication material that doesn’t in line with the brand guidelines.

Com’ Agency

giving feedback & guidance

As a Creative Lead, part of the role is to share frameworks & creative processes (when it’s necessary), to give detailed feedback regarding agency’s outcomes for improvement purpose. To do so, what is needed is clear and defined evaluation criteria (because feedback such as “I don’t like it” is not relevant in a professional context). Also, what is needed, is to provide directional guidance in order to be in line with the brand guideline (so there’s no conflict with the brand personality). Another part of the role is to double check on marketing collaterals (before passing it to higher levels) and again, to ensure that the brand guideline is on point. Last but not least, inviting the agency to not only provide options, but to recommend which option is best, is key. Because recommendation is the added value of an agency. And recommendation should be supported by a rational (explaining why this option is the most suitable one to achieve the campaign objectives). Working with an agency, means growing together along the way, and also means building a relationship over time (so we can create a symbiosis). Beyond the job, what brings joy, what is the most fulfilling, is when we make progress.

Digital Agency

giving feedback & guidance

Previous experiences working in the thin tech industry (in a startup, with full-stack developers, and as Digital Director), helps to speak the same language with the Digital Agency based in the APAC region. Those experiences definitely help, not only because of having some technical knowledge, but because of the awareness of putting the user at the center. And especially when it comes to be mobile friendly, it’s all about usability. And for sure, some technical knowledge definitely helps to define the perimeter of what is possibile. Creativity needs constraints right? Beside those considerations, what matters is to deliver the best online experience to our customers, taking into account typology of our clients, the brand identity, and making sure that it’s consistante across all type of device such as desktop/laptop, table and phone. In others words, to make websites responsive. The final product is the result of meeting expectation from stakeholders, narrowing down the creative vision of the digital agency, bringing it to life thanks fo the development team. And most importantly, what drove everyone, was delivering values for our customer thru content and customer experience.

App Dev Dept

ensuring it is on point

Regarding the Techcombank Mobile App, my role is mainly to provide recommendations when it comes to the application of the brand guidelines. The App Development Department has talented Designers who know, how in fine, to explore and find the best way to create communication material that fits the narrative of the Brand or Sub-Brands.