Innovating Content Creation by Clair Carter-Ginn: Insights from the Brandwidth 2025 Survey

We do all this while putting out fires, managing the shifting sands of scope and org changes, supporting the creative process, proving ROI, and pushing assets and content out to a myriad of end uses.

Whew! It's a lot. But it's a labor of love, and as a Creative and Content Strategy consultant, I've seen firsthand the challenges and opportunities facing Creative and Content Ops leaders today.

We all love data – leadership loves data, tech loves data, fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation loved Data... well, anyway – you get what I mean. Data helps us tell our stories in a way that has meaning and merit to leadership, which, in turn, helps us explain ROI, ask for what we need, manage capacity, and more.

So, I wanted to break down with you some key areas where we can drive innovation and evolution in our in-house agencies, backed by some key data from this insightful research.

Start with Strategy

It can be tricky to run an agency, or an in-house team, but it's not as tricky when you start with strategy. (Cue the Run DMC!) I always say that strategy is your North Star, your roadmap, your guiding principles. It's what you go back to when things go awry.

The Brandwidth 2025 report is backing me up here. Check this out:

• Designers are spending 41% of their time on variants. That's almost half their day!
• Teams are creating an average of 196 types of assets per campaign.
• 50% of respondents cite time constraints as a major challenge.

So, where does strategy come in? Here are my top three tips:

• Align your goals with the overall business objectives. Make sure your agency's goals feed into the big picture.
• Create a solid Statement of Work (SOW). Know what's coming in so you can be strategic about how to do the work, and what's going out.
• Strategy first, then tactics. Trust me, it'll save you from a world of rework and revisions.

If you take the time up front to define your strategy, it will save you days on the back end.

Watch Clair Carter-Ginn on the importance of starting with strategy and aligning your agency’s goals at CREATE '23 EU:

What + Where to Innovate

When it comes to innovation, I always go straight to the source. I interview the teams. They're the ones holding the keys to what could be innovated, and should be innovated.

According to the survey, creative teams are especially struggling with:

• Keeping up with tech (46%): AI is the buzzword in every boardroom, but not always the answer
• There's just too much work (29%): not a surprise, we're all being asked to do more, better, faster – without more resources
• Lack of time for creativity (28%): at our core, we are all creative. Whether we're focused on the work – or the workflow – having time to think creatively is essential.

By listening to our teams, we can address these issues and create an environment where innovation thrives.

Does this all sound familiar? Here's a great place to start:

Gather your team. Hold some roundtables. Include everyone – your team, your clients, your cross-functional partners.

Ask them:

• What are your biggest pain points?
• What projects have been hits? Where were the misses? And what made them that way?
• What's on your wish list?

Watch Clair Carter-Ginn share her insights on how listening to your team can fuel innovation in your in-house agency, directly from her CREATE '23 EU presentation.

Empower Your People

People are our greatest asset, and helping our teams grow and succeed is one of the foremost gifts we have as leaders. The Brandwidth 2025 report has some eye-opening statistics:

• 59% of creatives are feeling stressed and anxious
• 52% of creative professionals are struggling with work-life balance

This is hard to hear, but not a surprise. But here's the thing – when people are excited about the work and the workplace, everything flows. And we all want to be in "flow" – right? It's a magical place.

According to the Brandwidth 2025 survey, creative teams believe that there are key skills creatives need to excel into the future:

• Knowledge of AI and machine learning applications in design (41%)
• Ability to adapt to new technologies and trends (36%)
• Creativity and innovative thinking (35%)

Here's how you can support your crew to find their "flow":

• Define and align clear roles and responsibilities
• Create career pathing plans that get people excited
• Develop mentoring programs - being a mentor has been one of my joys!
• Bring in outside leaders to share their experiences
• Create opportunities for your team to work on their own creative endeavors

Encourage your staff to continue learning and bring their ideas to the table. We make this better together, so let's take time to share and discuss what we know, and what we learn.

In this clip from CREATE '23 EU, Clair Carter-Ginn highlights how empowering your team through mentorship and growth opportunities can drive success.

Embrace Technology Wisely

In this digital-first world, technology helps us take our work to the next level. But are we using it to our greatest advantage?

According to the Brandwidth 2025 Report, organizations are adopting AI and new systems to manage growing workloads:

• 33% are using AI on an ad-hoc basis.
• 29% are implementing AI in a structured way.
• 31% are adopting new project management systems and tools to handle increasing workloads.

This underscores the growing recognition of technology's role in streamlining operations and enhancing productivity.

However, it's important to remember that AI is not going to replace creatives or agencies. As I mentioned in a recent panel discussion, "AI will augment what we do and support how we do it." It's like getting all new lego blocks – we need to learn how to use them effectively.

To truly harness the power of technology, we need to approach it thoughtfully and strategically. Here are key principles that can guide your tech adoption and ensure you’re maximizing its potential:

• Start with Strategy: Review your Creative Tech Stack and develop a clear roadmap.
• People + Process First, then Tech: Don't buy technology to "fix" process.
• Centralize your Information: Move beyond spreadsheets and emails; establish a single source of truth.
• Be proactive with AI: Research and plan before adopting AI. Let machines handle what they can, and humans do the rest. This means identifying what we can use AI for, and what we still need people to handle. From there, we can develop our strategy and implementation plan for how we want to utilize and implement AI.
• Implement automation. The Brandwidth 2025 report shows that 96% of respondents believe automation is necessary to overcome increasing workloads, and that 26% of organizations are putting automated production processes in place to help overcome these workloads. This indicates a clear trend towards leveraging technology to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.

See Claire Carter-Ginn discuss the critical role of strategy before adopting new technology in this segment from her CREATE '23 EU talk

In Conclusion: Keep Moving Forward

Innovation is an ongoing process. Be patient, be strong, and be courageous.

The Brandwidth 2025 report has given us some incredible insights that align perfectly with what I'm seeing in the industry. It's validating a lot of what we've known intuitively, but now we've got the data to back it up.

If I could summarize in one concept what I think the core of innovation and evolution is, it would be: Review and Improve. Never stop looking at your people, process, and technology. Innovate what isn't working, and optimize what is, to get you – and keep you – on the path to producing the most meaningful results.

The future of creative production and content creation is challenging, but with the right approach, it's also incredibly exciting. Let's keep moving forward and create meaningful change together!

I'd love to hear about your experiences in navigating these challenges and opportunities in your own organizations. Have you implemented any of these strategies? What's worked well for you? What challenges are you still facing?

Together, we can continue to evolve and innovate in the exciting world of creative operations!

Connect with Clair Carter-Ginn on LinkedIn.