How in-between communication channels adulterating the essence of creative advertising?

The brief that we have received is not definite: Creative team

The inputs we have shared are all what we were given: Ad Sales Team

This is what the client gave and at present, they are unavailable for talk: Media Agency

It (the output) is exactly the opposite of what we are looking for: Client.

If not so often, most of the times we get to hear some of the above conversations go on between respective teams in advertising / media agencies. What could be the probable consequences: creative agencies juggling between multiple retakes; the perplexed creative team with loads of pressure and unclear communication as with what to be conveyed and at the tail end a vexed up account/client unsatisfied with output. In the entire process, the essence of advertising – the creativity would be at the risk of being adulterated.

For all this mess or confusion as we put it, the reason could be unreasonable increasing of communication channels or layered communication. 

For a single homepage takeover banner, in digital advertising platform, now the client has to go through multiple channels to reach out to creative team. And there comes many filters in between - media agencies, ad sales/account guys - through which the actual message has to pass on. As with every person has their own opinion on particular product, every team in this process has their own ideation, preposition, and thence their own version of briefing the team down the line. Although we could believe that even a peon can take part in the ideation process, how would it be to see the creative developed without creative team’s involvement?

Layered Communication Channels adulterating the essence of Advertising

Moreover, with growing ‘push it for more’ attitude, the actual requirement is being shown with added complexities making it difficult for the creative brains to crack a simple idea. To keep how the process is going at present, in simple terms:

• -       Client (let’s number him 1) conveys he is looking for X, to Media agency (2),
• -       The message reaching to the creative team (4) is that (1) is looking for XYZ+
• -       In between the media agency (2) and Ad Sales Team (3) stuff up the message with complexities

In anticipation to give an outstanding output, everyone in the process try to walk that extra mile putting up the pressure on the tail end, making it difficult to cum up with a creative campaign.That said, we could realize how the essence of advertising is being shadowed by the curse of layered communication.It shows the more the advertising industry is being sectioned, the more the communication is being adulterated. 

Now, having that depicted, it is clear with the growing communication channels or layered communication, the essence of advertising is being adulterated.

Many creative agencies, even now,wish to keep the client at a direct contact, but only if they had hit the right chord in their previous endeavours. Even the clients would want to work with creative team directly thus to minimalize the gap to save time and to convey clear communication. That is how we guess the idea of in-house branding and advertising had come up with which client himself could play a dual role and he holds the total responsibility of pushing the campaign into the market that too in given time communicating exactly what he wished to.

Creative communication, being an essence of advertising, undoubtedly needs its own pace and space apart from valid inputs. To safeguard it, it is better clients or agencies overlook the layered communication and they must see channels reduced to a few. Or else they should at least do clear job marking, thus each team could work as suggested and the brief could reach creative team without adulteration.

Our opinion on how the essence of advertising is being adulterated by layered communication might differ with you. If it is, kindly share your idea with us.