Marketing Candidate Requirements: The ability And Drive To Think Differently.

Written By Amy Kantrowitz

12.4.23

If this isn’t the first line of position requirements when hiring a Marketer, it should be.

Apple’s tagline (Think Different) is brilliant for many reasons but to me it represents a key skill set that all marketers need to have: The ability to Think Differently (I tweaked their line a bit).


For Creatives this is the cost of entry. The capacity to see things from a different perspective enables them to find that nugget or insight that makes an ad stand out and resonate with the target.


I’m not saying you have to be a Creative. To be fair, you’re not getting paid to come up with the big idea. That said, your job is to arm your Agency with anything and everything that you can do to help them get to that “big idea”. 


To facilitate an environment where the Creative Team feels comfortable presenting anything. Even those “out there” concepts may have an element that can be leveraged in another way or platform.


What’s another way to position the product? How can we say that claim in a more engaging and novel way? What is everyone else promoting and how can we take a different spin on it? Is there an insight here that no one else is leveraging? 


Asking these questions leads to those hidden gems that make great advertising.


How Do You Find These Insights?


Listen. Listen to the media, what’s going on in the social dialogue that you can leverage to help position your product? Make your product relevant to what people are experiencing/hearing if possible. Listen to people outside of your industry. They may have a varied, albeit more straightforward perspective which can be paramount. Listen to the customer! Read those social comments… lots of nuggets in there I promise. What’s the competition doing? Is there something they are doing right or wrong that you can leverage?

The Marketing Brief: Make It Not Suck


In my 20+ years of experience, I’ve come across countless Marketers who play it safe. Let’s write a generic brief full of stuff that most creatives won’t read and that lack any true strategic thinking. Besides, it’s their job to come up with the “killer idea/insights” right? While there is truth to this, there’s no reason why you can’t include some insights or ideas in your brief. I always couched it as the “creative considerations” section. That is where I put in my original thinking/insights. Remember, your Agency partners should be your allies. You are all going for the same goal: great advertising.

“A great idea can come from anywhere” couldn’t be a more factual statement.  Even if it’s not an “idea” maybe it’s an insight that the Creative team can work off of. It may spark an idea. 

Stats are important, don't get me wrong. At the end of the day if marketing doesn’t align with a business goal it’s DOA.  The Big Creative Idea is great but if it doesn’t solve a business objective it’s dead. It took years off of my life, to learn this lesson. Trust me.



Brief: Keep It Brief


Forget the templates. The best briefs are the ones with the meat. Quality not quantity. You’ve likely had multiple conversations about your company/product with them at this stage so that info should be at the end. Spend your time talking about insights! They can read the rest later. 


After 20+ years of writing them here are the sections I found most useful:

  • WHAT IS THE CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVE?

    • Business Goals here (VERY important. Each concept must align to these)

  • WHAT ARE THE REAL BUSINESS PROBLEMS AND GREATEST CHALLENGES?

    • What’s going on in the World/Industry that represents a challenge? What’s going on in the social dialogue? Be straightforward. Share the underbelly if need be.

    • Watchouts can go here. Anything they should avoid for social/political and/or creative sensitivity reasons?

  • WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY/PRODUCT  DIFFERENT?

    • Product stats and any key attributes/benefits to the consumer

  • WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE TARGET THAT CAN HELP MARKET TO THEM?

    • Basic demo/psycho stats and insights

    • What are they thinking/feeling?

    • What media do they consume?

  • CREATIVE CONSIDERATIONS

    • This is where I always put any ideas/insights my team and I found.

  • BRAND TONE/BRAND VALUES

    • Important. You know the temperament/sensibilities of senior management and what will put them off. If humor isn’t something your Brand feels comfortable leveraging, tell them.

  • MANDATORIES 

    • logos, legal lines etc

  • DELIVERABLES

    • What creative elements does the Agency need to complete? I.e. 2, :30 TV ads etc.

  • TIMING

    • Key due dates to hit. The Agency will do its own production timeline based on hitting these dates.

  • APPENDIX

    • Any other stats you feel may help. Articles about the state of the industry etc are good to include here.

You’re In The Marketing Department: Remember That


In Marketing, you likely represent the only creative aspect of the company and you need to be open to new ways of thinking.  If you’re in Marketing and aren’t asking yourself daily “what’s another way to ____” then you’re not doing your job well.


Having been on both the Agency and Client sides of the business, there’s not enough appetite for Thinking Differently in most Marketing departments. It’s harder than ever to create ads that stand out these days, mediocre and “safe” marketing will be just that… and results will follow suit.


Marketing is the best job in the World. It’s the perfect blend of the left and right sides of the Brain. You create stats and charts and then at the next meeting, you are reviewing creative concepts!  Best of both Worlds. 

Don’t be afraid to Think Differently. That’s where great marketing ideas are born.


That’s all I got…. for now….

Amy Kantrowitz
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