Except for the small matter of now having to execute said idea. As anyone in the creative world knows, blue-sky thinking is all kinds of fun, but thanks to a variety of buzz-killing reasons (budget being the biggest offender), these bold notions tend to get tempered down fairly significantly before ever seeing the light of day.

But there are times when you are simply so convinced of your own brilliance that you somehow manage to persuade others to buy into it wholeheartedly, leaving you to then muddle your way through the logistical nightmare that said stroke of genius leaves in its wake.

And so exists the eternal dilemma of the marketer – do you wow your clients with your out-there thinking and figure things out later, or do you keep expectations at bay and run the risk of looking positively pedestrian?

Take route 1, and you’ll spend a day being the toast of the town and the rest of your life wishing you’d kept your damn mouth shut. Take the more cautious path, and you’ll forever wonder what might have been, suspicious that colleagues are secretly speculating about your mind-numbing mediocrity. In short, you’re f*&$ed.

Oh, were you waiting for some sort of resolution? No sorry, not today. Either which way you slice it, you’re solidly screwed. BUT, if you’d rather be stuck in a pickle that involves sleeping more than 2 hours a night, here are a few key points to contemplate before you next run your mouth off.

1. Don’t promise the impossible
   

In an industry where innovation trumps practicality 9 times out of 10, you’ll undoubtedly find yourself flexing those creative muscles in an attempt to prove you’re not some sort of hopeless accountant-type (DEATH to your reputation!) who accidentally wandered into the wrong room. But before you commit to something that falls spectacularly outside your skill set, you might want to consider things like location, logistics and human resources before that fat trap of yours flies open again.

Yes a photo shoot in Santorini sounds spectacular, and a 30-second ad using the world’s top director would be a nice-to-have. But let’s face it, you’re going to end up in the parking lot shooting on your iPhone anyway, so you may as well just step up and own it from the outset.

2. Don’t over-commit

Sure, we’ve all exaggerated our abilities from time to time. I might, for instance, have suggested a certain level of fluency in French, when the harsh reality is that I simply enjoy a good baguette and can pronounce the word ‘croissant’ relatively well (actually, it’s brilliant, you should hear me). However, the problem with such misguided bravado is that you’re either going to be left with a severely disappointed client (turns out ‘Voulez-vous couchez avec moi?’ only gets one so far), or land yourself in a position where you’re actually going to have to fulfill your promise (or pay someone else to). And frankly, neither of these outcomes is good for client relationships or mental health.

So don’t be afraid to own up to having limitations – we all have them. The truth is that, if you’re able to deliver spectacularly on your strengths, people will probably overlook your weaknesses. So chill out and do what you do. And do it well.

3. Stick within the budget

Oh right. That. Remember, ideas cost money, so while your ramblings might delight the client, they’re probably not going to be as pleasing to the person footing the bill. So if you like your job, and prefer having things like a home and money, you might want to consult the powers that be before you break their bank account.

This bold new career path, the perks of which are too numerous to mention, is now one seemingly pursued by anyone with a camera and a mild creative flair. Via a barrage of selfies and creatively styled shots they exert their influence, coercing their merry bands of followers to sign up for whatever brand they’re quite obviously being paid to endorse.

Despite the blurry definition of what influencers do and precisely HOW they exert said influence, many brands are now shelling out exorbitant portions of their marketing budgets to these social media stars for the privilege of the occasional selfie or curated flat lay. God forbid the proverbial bandwagon should pull out of the station without all aboard.

For those of us with slightly more thankless occupations, the thought of scoring a cool R5,000 for snapping an Instagram pic (yes this is a REAL figure) is beyond incomprehensible. But in a world saturated with advertising initiatives, is this actually a marketing strategy that can pay dividends?

Whilst it’s certainly hard to justify the kinds of spend being allocated towards influencer initiatives (a picture may be worth a thousand words, but a thousand rands?), there are plenty of savvier ways in which brands can leverage these persuasive people for business gain.

So how do you go about sourcing an influencer that’ll boost your brand without bankrupting your marketing department? Here are a few tips to get you started:

Start small

Of course every brand wants to be endorsed by someone with a Kardashian-eque following, but in some cases, this can in fact do more harm than good. Not only will high-end influencers likely be signed up with plenty of other brands (thus diluting yours), but you can also be sure they’ll demand a pretty penny for their services. Sometimes, it’s the less obvious influencers that strike a better balance for your brand, as their influence is often more authentic, given the fact that they don’t hop into bed with any brand that comes their way. By really ‘owning’ a smaller influencer, you’ll be able to create legitimate brand ambassadorship, and further equity whilst at the same time growing your followership.

Audience engagement

It’s important to remember that followership and influence are not the same thing – you might have 4 million fans, but if you’re not doing anything to actively engage them, you may as well be talking to a brick wall. Plus, followers can be easily bought when you’re earning upward of R5k per post. So before you sign with an influencer, make sure to scrutinise their engagement figures, paying close attention to responses and retweets. Yes you want a big audience, but an invested audience is in fact a far more attractive proposition for a brand looking to make a social statement.

Brand Fit

Influencers come in various shapes and sizes, not all of which are well suited to your brand. So whilst a renowned ‘fashion-insta’ might make a good fit for a retail brand, they’re probably going to come off a tad insincere if they’re rattling on about fast food that they clearly don’t eat. Remember, your audience is probably more sussed than you think, and they’re going to see straight through you if you try too hard to wrap your brand story around the influencer’s. Authenticity is key when it comes to hitting it big on social media, so make sure that the people you choose to weave into your narrative make sense to those on the receiving end of it.

Like fashion, buzz words come and go, dictated by trends, technology and perhaps a clandestine board of frustrated wordsmiths who can think of nothing better to do. Use a buzzword while it’s hot and happening and you’ll be the envy of peers and clients, but take a stab at an outdated phrase and you run the risk of rendering your career obsolete.

Such is the power of buzzwords, despite the fact that they mean very little, and tend to suggest that the user thereof is simply unable to construct a sentence in its entirety.

So what are this season’s hottest go-to phrases and how can you use them to your benefit? We’ve broken down some of this year’s most heavily overused buzzwords so you too can fling them about and incur wild admiration from your peers.

Disruptive

This season, it’s very on-trend to be disruptive. Would a word like innovative or ground-breaking work just as well? You bet, but would it sound as epically cool? Doubtful. Essentially, ‘disruptive’ refers to a form of unchartered marketing tactic designed to shake things up and get noticed. Hmmm, hasn’t this been the objective of advertisers since the Mad Men era? Nonetheless, we’ll give this buzzword kudos for its ambition, and for steering us away from ‘the next big thing’. Buzz rating: 7/10

Deep dive

Ah the deep dive – agency speak for conducting an in-depth review of something (read: assigning a lowly intern or junior to days of Google hell). Now this is usually a phrase whipped out in the presence of a client when trying to justify shoddy work, the implication being that the post-dive results will be far more thorough somehow. Don’t bet on it. Buzz rating: 6/10

Take it offline

When ‘settle down and shut the f*&$ up’ seems unbecoming, high-level ad execs tend to suggest ‘taking things offline’. This tends to happen in meeting scenarios when someone (there’s always one) decides to yap on incessantly about something other than the topic at hand. As a gentle way to coax them off the conversational bandwagon, ‘let’s take this offline’ is a winner phrase that’s less likely to enrage the HR department than other, more colourful alternatives. Buzz rating: 9/10