The creative industry is at best, a breeding ground for innovative ideas, movers and shakers, and where the most brilliant ad campaigns that reign on forever in our minds, begin. That said, at worst, it can be volatile, extremely high demand, an ultra competitive place and surprisingly conservative.
To get in with this industry, to be - an insider - you have to make your way through the ranks, get noticed, get established, and put out work, likely as part of a team, that's a winning proposition.
I love this quote by H.E. Luccock:
"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it."
What that translates to, is that the strength of each individual talent, is the strength of how strong each campaign will be.
How though, do companies, and individuals, make their way and climb the ranks, without recycling the same ideas and people as their competitors?
Recently, I had a phone call with a high-level Creative Director for a well respected global ad agency. While my purpose on the call was to suss out his thoughts around branding, messaging, and how best to showcase talent - what I didn't expect was to hear some shocking examples of why the industry needs to change the way it discovers talent.
Imagine a scenario, where a competitor at another agency and you are both going out for the same client pitch. You have an internal team, and employ freelancers as part of the brief process, to help make yours the winning pitch. After all - you can't afford to go small - or you may as well go home.
How did you find the freelancers you are using?
Concerning elements may be .. Are they self-signed up and marketing themselves for a particular type of work? Is it someone you've used repeatedly, so you've done what's comfortable/easy? Do you have a guarantee that this person isn't working the same pitch, for a competitor, putting similar ideas forward for both sides?
It might seem shocking, the thought that the same freelancer might be working on two pitches, competing against each other, but this is reality.
And it happens, more often than you could ever imagine.
In a world where freelancers go to sites and self-sign up to let the market know they are available, while it may run with convenience, it can be lacking to hire only from a pool of convenient talent. Think about the best talent out there - are they self-signing up on sites? Maybe, perhaps. But they're usually booked, busy, great at what they do, and per referrals and word of mouth, keep very busy.
So then there's the word of mouth route - your black book. Human beings, by nature, don't love change. We like to stick with what's easy, what's comfortable. Adapting to change is a learned, and admirable, skillset, that in business tends to be harder, the bigger the risk in the project.
If the freelancers in your little black book are repeatedly there for you though, how do you know who else they're also there for? How do you know that you're tapping into the freshest and best ideas?
You don’t.
Think of a small talent pond, and everyone is fishing in it, repeatedly, all of the time. At a certain point, it becomes…. well, exactly what it is - everyone fishing in the same small pond, catching the same talent over and over.
Now imagine what might be a new more perfect scenario, where there's an entire ocean of talent out there, you’re going to be able to fish for.
More talent will be available simply because you’re fishing in much more expansive, deeper waters, and because the talent has been curated, it’s better too.
Now imagine that ocean was full of over 1 million highly skilled candidates, across multiple roles. All accessible for just one small monthly fee.
No finders fee, no recruiter fees.
No need to go through - anyone trying to earn a cut - to talk to the talent.
What you imagined actually exists, it’s called
Talent Ferret.
We see the circular motion in the talent pond - and we're here to help you break out of it.
Take a chance - take a look at who else is out there - it might be the difference in winning your next pitch, or not.
Reach out to us at ocean@talentferret.com to have a chat and learn more.
