Hi, there.

We’ve noticed a major sense of urgency in our new business conversations lately. 

What does that mean? Well, I’ve had at least a dozen conversations this year where someone wanted us to complete a project that might normally run 5 or 6 months in… 4 to 6 weeks. (Or less!)

From what I’ve heard, this is less about panic (e.g. we have to fix this issue right now), and more about moving on an exciting opportunity, or having a great idea and needing to get it wrapped in time for your ABP or some other important presentation. 

Whatever the reason, we are seeing this more often today. 

In the more extreme cases, we’ll politely decline the opportunity. However, we are able to speed things up from time to time if everything lines up — budget, capacity, a switched on client-side team, clear objectives, etc. But even then, you have to be careful about approaching creative work this way, especially if the opportunity at hand is important. 

So, that’s what I want to talk about today: What are some ways you can work under a compressed timeline and still make compelling work?

Let’s get to it.

What does the creative process look like? 

We should start this conversation by laying out the creative process so you can understand where we can, and can’t, buy time.

Every agency will (hopefully) have some sort of process that they use to get from kickoff to finished work. Some firms will name and brand their process, and/or inject a lot of churched up words to make it seem like there’s more going on than there really is. But the creative process unfolds largely the same way no matter how you dress it up. 

It goes (roughly) as follows:

1. Discovery – kickoff, interviews, brand audit, competitive set analysis, problem & opportunity definition, etc. 

2. Strategy – defining positioning, brand voice, Essence, personality, Brand Architecture, Key Messaging Pillars, art direction and building the creative brief

3. Creative exploration – sketching and concept development, internal critiques, presentation, etc. 

4. Revisions – making important choices, revisions and careful editing, finalizing all design work, production coordination, developing brand guidelines, etc.

5. Brand launch – staggered roll out planning, internal & external announcements, campaign management, event planning, site launch, etc. 

6. Post-launch support – ongoing marketing and brand development, monitoring analytics & KPIs, updating Brand Architecture as needed, ongoing portfolio & creative consulting, etc.


—


This is by no means an exhaustive list, and some folks may combine and/or separate some of these tasks, but again, these are the broad strokes to any creative endeavor: Discover & Define, Explore & Design, Refine, Deliver & Launch.

So, when we’re working with a client to compress the timeline in order to meet a tight deadline, there are only a few levers through this process that we can throw.

(Above): Check out Craft Beer, Rebranded for a granular look at each step of the re/branding process.

—

 

Quick note here: I’m going to talk about how we approach this at CODO. This will be easier than constantly caveating that every firm will have its own approach, and that your mileage may vary, etc.

1

Brand Strategy vs. Art Direction 

Framing formal Brand Strategy can take 2 or 3 weeks, and even longer if we have to pin down several important stakeholders for conversations. But this is one of the biggest pockets of time we can save, provided there’s enough groundwork in place for us to safely do so.

This works best when the problem / opportunity is clear enough that we’re comfortable moving forward without it. 

Two recent examples from our client work:

– You want to release a new flagship pilsner that falls in line with the rest of your portfolio? We can probably eschew formal strategy. 

– You just acquired another brand and are wanting to revamp their identity in some way but aren’t sure how that should shake out and/or what that will do to your parent brand’s positioning? We need to work through strategy. 


—


You can save time by skipping a more intensive Brand Strategy process. But you still (in most cases) need to replace this work with some level of up front work so we’re oriented correctly. 

For this, we either build mood boards as our first deliverable and/or rely on client-provided Strategy.

Mood Boards 

Mood Boards are simply collages that art direct what your brand can look and feel like. So what colors, typography, texture, iconography and existing equity could come through to inform this project.

After a kickoff conversation, we can usually turn mood boards around inside of a week. Add a few days for presentation and revisions and we’ve successfully saved 2 to 3 weeks vs. formal Strategy. 

> Read more about Mood Boards and the art direction process here.
 

Client-side Strategy 

The second way you can replace Strategy is when a client comes to the table having done this work. We’ve done this a few times over the last few years and it can work great if the strategy is well done.

This approach works well in conjunction with mood boards, with the project unfolding as follows:

Kickoff conversation(s) > pressure test / review client-provided strategy > build and share mood boards en route to tackling whatever design it is we’re tasked with. 

(Above): Our recent brand refresh with Wachusett Brewing is a good example here. CODO friend, Rob Day, built a great brief for that project and we were able to knock the entire project out in ~5 weeks. 

—


2

Collapse the brand identity and package design process into one phase  

Cody and I have always preferred to fully explore, refine and finalize the Modular Brand Identity System before tackling packaging. 

This means we’ll work through initial concept development, present that to your team, and then work through 3 full rounds of revisions. Once done, we’ll follow the same path on packaging. 

This allows us to fully explore each later of your identity and gives your team ample time for weighing in and giving feedback and direction through the process. 

But if we’re on a tight deadline, we can collapse the identity and package design work into one phase. This cuts a huge chunk of time out of the process. 

Yes, you’re missing out on the deeper exploration that can come from a longer timeline, but that’s the balance we’re striking here.

(Above): We collapsed the identity and packaging development into one sprint to hit Comma's aggressive timeline. Check this case study out here.

—
 

3

Reduce the amount of revisions

A short point here. At CODO, we generally settle into 3 rounds of 2 week-long sprints during the revisions phase. This allows us to adequately explore other ideas along the way, while still maintaining enough momentum that we can wrap up the project as fast as we can. 

An easy way to save some time here is to simply reduce the amount of revisions rounds we go through. So instead of 3 full rounds, we might drop down to two or even one round past the initial presentation.

Quick note: This is why Brand Strategy and art direction (mood boards) are so important up front. I like the Abe Lincoln quote (real or not) here: “If you give me 6 hours to chop down a tree, I’ll spend the first 4 sharpening my axe.”

That’s what strategy and art direction allow. Even if it feels counterintuitive to spend more time up front leg work, it can often save time on the backend by getting us where we need to be that much quicker. 

 

4

Tag team with your in-house team

Another great way we can hit a compressed timeline is by handling all the upfront concept development work and then handing off remaining revisions and production coordination to your in-house team. Or, some other combination of our teams working together. 

This has become a more common approach over the last few years as we’ve worked with larger clients and it can work well. Especially when the follow on production design work is straight forward.

(CODO is a smaller shop, by design. So while we’re more than capable of laying out 50+ different formats (cans, cartons, bottles, carriers…) for print, it’s often easier, and more cost effective on your end, for us to hand off that work to your team.

Unless you’re dealing with capacity issues internally, this is usually a good use of your salaried employees’ time. Yes, CODO can handle all of it, but the budget for this production work can stack up quick.

Wrapping up

On maintaining the standard

If you're still reading along, respond to this email with the word QUALITY. The 7th and 19th person to do so will each receive a free copy of Craft Beer, Rebranded.

We’ve found that the biggest offenders when it comes to working under onerous deadlines — e.g., demanding 6 months' worth of work in 5 weeks — are usually big (BIG) breweries and beverage brands.

We're talking about companies with tens of millions in annual revenue. Top 50 by bbl production. Huge household names. Etc.

I bring this up because it's always astounding to me how cavalier these groups can be with their brand. The stakes at this level are so high that rushing anything seems reckless.

Yes, we want to rebrand our best selling IPA and spin it into a new brand family. And we want to do this before November. Yes, it’s October 10th, so what?


—


There comes a point where, at least at CODO, a timeline can be so short that we simply cannot deliver work that meets our standard.

Sure, we could produce something, but we wouldn't want our name attached to it. And here's the problem: You shouldn't either.

Branding is an investment that can yield outsized, compounding returns.

We want to solve problems and be heroes for our clients. But sometimes, that means turning down an opportunity we know we can't deliver on — or one that could potentially harm their business.

Remember, your brand is your most valuable asset. Treat it with the time and respect it deserves.