%20(2).png)
Every October, I channel my inner Elvira and host a weekly series of scary movies at the office, under the alias Donna DiDead. The picks pull from a century of horror cinema, ranging from artful to nostalgic to bonkers. Is there popcorn, pizza, and themed snacks? Obviously. Does the cleaning crew sometimes run the vacuum cleaner right at the climax? Absolutely. Is the whole affair laden with an obscene amount of spooky wordplay? Hell yeah!
See, I love horror movies. Always have. Along with A Nightmare on Elm Street and a host of other movies I fondly refer to as “things I probably shouldn’t’ve been watching at that age” I’ve logged a respectable number of frightful flicks in my lifetime. But when I think about it, few of these movies legitimately give me the willies.
Meanwhile lurking beyond the screen are some true professional horrors (eek!), and after two decades in the biz (double eek!) I've witnessed my share of them. No, I’m not talking about my bloated Photoshop files or my *checks browser* 176 open tabs). I’m talking about those possessed projects, the sinister surprises that give both agencies and clients nightmares. Here’s your guide to just a few… how to spot them and how to thwart them.
See, I love horror movies. Always have. Along with A Nightmare on Elm Street and a host of other movies I fondly refer to as “things I probably shouldn’t’ve been watching at that age” I’ve logged a respectable number of frightful flicks in my lifetime. But when I think about it, few of these movies legitimately give me the willies.
Meanwhile lurking beyond the screen are some true professional horrors (eek!), and after two decades in the biz (double eek!) I've witnessed my share of them. No, I’m not talking about my bloated Photoshop files or my *checks browser* 176 open tabs). I’m talking about those possessed projects, the sinister surprises that give both agencies and clients nightmares. Here’s your guide to just a few… how to spot them and how to thwart them.
Frankendesign’s Monster
What is that?!A well-meaning brute stitched together from disparate elements that worked better in their original form. When none of your creative or strategic concepts are hitting the mark as-is, the natural tendency is to take all the favorite elements of each concept to make the perfect creature. The result is a monster mash-up that doesn’t quite make sense, or perhaps worse, is dull. As you near completion and it’s time to shout “it’s aliiivvveee!”... you might wish it wasn’t.
How to prevent this monstrosity:
The fire of clarity (consolidated feedback) and conviction (willingness to sacrifice elements that don’t serve the greater idea). If you’re giving feedback, instead of playing doctor, pick one concept and just say where it hurts. Then let your agency partner bring the creative spark to figure out what the solution really is. Do this and you may avoid the pitchfork-wielding mob, whether it’s a board of stakeholders or the villagers in the comments section.
The fire of clarity (consolidated feedback) and conviction (willingness to sacrifice elements that don’t serve the greater idea). If you’re giving feedback, instead of playing doctor, pick one concept and just say where it hurts. Then let your agency partner bring the creative spark to figure out what the solution really is. Do this and you may avoid the pitchfork-wielding mob, whether it’s a board of stakeholders or the villagers in the comments section.
Werebrand
What is that?!An identity crisis on steroids that can leave your brand in a hairy situation. It’s an erratic, inconsistent point of view. This can occur at any stage of brand building, from the internal leap between strategy and creative execution to after the brand is in the wild, hunting voraciously for engagement in the dark forests of social media, paid advertising, and owned platforms.
How to tame this beast:
The silver bullet of strategy. For when things go awry, you should have basic ammunition (key messages, pillars, a mission, etc.) to get things back on track. They shoot a straight shot of alignment, cutting through confusing moments and guiding a team internally. Not every tension needs resolving and a brand can meet audiences in different ways, but every brand needs to understand its core. When your brand starts to become unrecognizable, return to that silvery beacon of strategy. Don't let it change its stripes every time the full moon rises.
Time Vampire
What is that?!A drain on productivity in an enticing guise. Make no mi-stake, meetings multiply, quick questions become long conversations, and little extras add up. Everyone's time and energy go toward keeping things moving rather than moving them forward, and before you can really sink your teeth into a project, the time vampire has sunk its teeth into your momentum. But here’s what really sucks: it’s contagious. No one is safe from the time vampires at the door.
How to ward off this fiend:
Time vampires never really go a way, they’re always lurking just at the threshold of productivity—the trick is to not invite them in. The best partnerships run on sustainable energy and mutual accountability. If any side of a partnership starts to become a time vampire, they might not be aware of it (they’ve got no reflection after all), so it’s up to everyone to shine some bright daylight on what is causing these drains. If a diversion really is critical, make trade-offs visible. It’ll make sure everyone puts their effort where it counts. (Get it? Counts?)
(Don’t b@t me! Time vampires are the counterpart trick to the much more fruitful treat of letting time do its thing.)
Zombie Mentality
What is that?!A mindless approach that keeps the work shuffling along on autopilot. Same old habits, same old solutions. You might be so focused on executing the brief or avoiding friction that you forget to question it. Or you might be too willing to be swayed, too deep in the grind to stop and ask “is this the real problem?” Soon, by all accounts the work is alive, but it’s got no soul. The output resembles the walking dead.
How to put this creature to rest:
Braaaains! Flex your thinking. Push back when the obvious answer isn't the right one. Feeling trapped in a corner? Stir up the usual creative exercises and the Pinterest scroll; they're no longer inspiring anything new. A change in routine and a little independent thought can bring even the most lifeless project back from the dead.
Paralysis Poltergeist
What is that?!An unshakeable presence that haunts a team so they’re too terrified to act. Sometimes it’s easy to identify, like a launch that flopped or a relationship that left a bad taste; other times it’s a phantom feeling that something might go wrong. It might not even be your own ghost—it could be fear from what happened to a competitor whose mistake you don’t want to repeat. Whatever form it takes, this is no friendly ghost…it freezes progress and makes the familiar feel too much safer than the unknown. Boo!
How to cleanse yourself of this specter:
Summon the spirit, don’t run from it! Pull the sheet back on what’s causing apprehension. Surface the lessons and talk openly about reservations. Once your ghosts are exposed and faced, they lose their power. Learn from the past, but don’t let it dictate the future. You can’t bust a ghost you refuse to acknowledge. Better yet, the very thing you’ve been avoiding could be where the opportunity lies.
Well, that’s enough spine tingling for one sitting. Back to my regularly scheduled horror movies, where at least when the havoc escalates I can press pause. But I’m sure I’ve missed a few branding boggarts (I didn’t even mention the killer robots). So tell me, what terrors have you encountered in your own process, and how do you keep them from becoming nightmares?
Luckily, most of these horrors can be defeated before the credits roll. And unlike my favorite slashers, they don’t have to come back for a sequel. Or ten.
Related Traps
