Unlocking the Keys to Creative Effectiveness With Beri Cheetham

To say Beri is an accomplished creative is an understatement.  He's the Chief Creative Officer at The Gate San Francisco with over 150 awards to his name, including D&AD pencil, Effie Gold, IPA Grand Prix and has been honoured with leading the Agency of the Year 3 years in a row.  If that weren't enough, he's also the interim CMO at the retail brand Dormeo USA.  I met Beri through Mark Ritson's fantastic MiniMBA program, where we studied the discipline of marketing. 

I hope you enjoy this wonderful conversation as much as I did.

Timestamps

0:58 – Intro to Beri Cheetham

3:48 – The role of a Chief Creative Officer (CCO) in and the structure of creative teams

9:14 – How the CCO role changes between a brand and an agency across the entire customer experience

13:54 – Why creative has such an enormous impact on marketing effectiveness and profitability

17:30 – How creatives can benefit from learning about marketing as a discipline through academic training

21:47 – Why a better understanding of business problems makes creative better

25:40 – How creatives convert spreadsheet data into influencing public perception

28:00 - Where does the big idea come from?

33:38 – Why diversity is critical in understanding your company’s market orientation

35:30 – Why business decisions should include creative teams early in the process

38:38 - Why a brief is important for every campaign and every company 

40:25 – How you know when you’ve got a great idea

44:09 -  How an organizations culture affects the quality of creative 

46:20 – Why it’s important to balance instinct with data to maximize creative effectiveness 

51:40 – In the digital world, is there still room for long format content?

Links to Beri

Beri On LinkedIn
Mark Ritson's MiniMBA
Kantar's Top 10 Drivers of Advertising Profitability
Examples of Beri's Work