Following the Hollywood method can help the biotech brand manager and creative team co-produce a blockbuster marketing piece.
As the client, you are naturally eager for the Big Reveal—the presentation of a beautifully conceived piece created by your agency partner. But it is important for you to remember your role as an active co-producer in creating this piece for its intended audience.
Can you imagine gregarious Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein waiting until opening night in the theater to see “The Artist”? You can be sure that Harvey, and any producer who wants his film at the top of the box office, is actively involved—even in the earliest stages of development.
In following the Hollywood method, here are 3 steps the biotech brand manager can take to co-produce a blockbuster marketing piece:
1. Meet with your creative team to review the manuscript before moving into layout stage
Actors don’t just show up on the set and begin filming on day one. First, they spend a significant amount of time reviewing the script so they can fully inhabit their character. By reviewing the manuscript in text form, you can focus on critical elements like messaging and flow, without being distracted by the pretty “set” and “wardrobe” elements of imagery and design treatments.
2. Use the creative brief and brand essence as character background
Successful, memorable characters are ones who are well developed and feel authentic to the viewer. Your brand is a character, your marketing piece is the story. As you review the project in manuscript form, compare your messaging to the points in the creative brief and brand essence. Doing this will ensure the story is the one you set out to tell: the right one.
3. Partake in the dress rehearsal
When the script receives approval, it will be time to move into layout. Even though the brand team will be working in compliance with your brand’s guidelines and standards, your expertise will still be required. For instance, you may need to provide input before a photo shoot. It is also important that your agency get your buy-in on smaller projects, even those requiring simpler imagery or artwork. Again, you can weigh in on whether these images “fit” your brand character before they have been applied to a full layout.
Once the creative team has put the finishing touches on your piece, it will be time for the big premiere: Presentation Day. Although, like Harvey, you may have participated in much of the process, you still get to relish the enjoyment and big reveal of seeing your finished project polished and presented.
Input, feedback, critical decision-making along the way…these can be the difference between bust and blockbuster. And that’s a truism, whether we’re measuring success in terms of theater tickets or prescriptions.
