Brain Driven Brands: How to Build a Creative Team that “Gets it” (Feat. Joanna Wallace)
Released on December 12, 2024

In this insightful episode of Brain Driven Brands, host Sarah Levinger welcomes Joanna Wallace, the Director of Paid Media Creative at Hexcloud, to delve into the intricacies of building a creative team that not only generates innovative ideas but also effectively executes them. The conversation spans from managing the challenges of a hyper-creative mind to leveraging humor in advertising, providing listeners with actionable strategies to enhance their e-commerce brand’s marketing efforts.

1. The Creative Mindset: Embracing ADHD in Marketing

The episode kicks off with Sarah and Joanna bonding over their similar marketing approaches, attributing their rapid idea generation and high energy to ADHD. Joanna humorously remarks, “[00:23] B: On the, like, freakish fast forward, like, 1.75 speed, and everyone else is like, slow down, slow down.” Sarah echoes this sentiment, highlighting the double-edged sword of ADHD—“It's incredibly helpful, though, until you start to have to use things in your environments” ([00:37] A).

This shared understanding sets the stage for discussing how a fast-paced brain can be both an asset and a challenge in creative marketing.

2. Organizing Creative Chaos: From Ideas to Execution

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the difficulty of organizing the multitude of ideas that come from a creative mind. Sarah points out, “There's a serious, like, amount of people that I talk to that are constantly asking for, do you have a system?” ([02:41] A). Joanna agrees, emphasizing that while idea generation is plentiful, the true challenge lies in structuring these ideas into actionable strategies.

Joanna shares her personal methods, such as texting herself ideas at any moment and maintaining organized "buckets" to categorize and prioritize these concepts. “I think, honestly, just get it on the damn page and organize it” ([07:27] B) becomes a mantra for managing creative overflow.

3. Building a Winning Creative Team: Complementary Strengths

Joanna outlines her strategic approach to team building, focusing on self-awareness and complementing her strengths and weaknesses. “You gotta round yourself out… partner yourself with somebody who brings something to the table that you don't bring and you balance each other out” ([09:03] B).

Key Roles in Joanna’s Team:

• Alyssa: The organized executor who balances Joanna’s creative chaos. Joanna praises Alyssa’s ability to create structured templates and manage organizational systems.

• Paige Phillips: An actress with a strong background in content creation and production. Paige brings a human and comedic perspective to the team, challenging ideas and adding depth to advertising concepts.

• Will Dove: The lead editor with a graphic eye, ensuring that the visual elements of ads are both beautiful and functional.

Joanna emphasizes the importance of hiring individuals who not only excel in their specific roles but also contribute to a cohesive and dynamic team dynamic. “Everybody on your team has some sort of comedic, humorous background” ([16:40] B), which ties into her strategy of using humor effectively in advertising.

4. The Role of Humor in Advertising: Engaging and Relatable

Humor emerges as a central theme in the conversation, with both Sarah and Joanna advocating for its use in ads to build rapport and affinity with audiences. Joanna explains, “Humor is tough because it's subjective… but there is basically generalized or global humor that exists” ([21:48] A).

She provides practical examples of how Hexcloud leverages humor without overcomplicating it:

• Creating relatable and simple jokes, such as referring to their pepper grinder as a self-defense tool based on customer comments.
• Ensuring humor remains accessible and doesn’t alienate audiences by keeping jokes straightforward and relatable.

Joanna stresses that humor should enhance the message without requiring the audience to decipher complex jokes. “You have to make it easily absorbable” ([21:26] B).

5. Volume vs. Precision: Embracing High-Volume Idea Generation

Joanna advocates for generating a high volume of ideas rather than limiting to a few refined concepts. “It's probably better than less, honestly because I would so much Rather you have too many and then select the ones that you think that are going to be great than have none at all” ([30:27] A).

This approach allows for greater experimentation and increases the likelihood of discovering high-performing ads. Joanna shares Hexcloud’s strategy during peak seasons like Black Friday, where they produced around a thousand ads to ensure a diverse array of options. “We threw so much stuff at the wall and tried so many different visuals and angles” ([28:26] B).

6. Managing Creativity and Idea Generation: Systems for Success

To handle the influx of ideas, Joanna emphasizes the need for robust organizational systems:

• Brain Dumping: Encouraging team members to freely generate and document ideas without immediate judgment.
• Prioritization Frameworks: Using systems like green, yellow, and red lights to categorize ideas based on their priority and relevance to ongoing campaigns.
• Collaborative Tools: Utilizing shared documents and calendars to keep track of ideas and ensure they are revisited and evaluated regularly.

Sarah concurs, highlighting the importance of having all ideas documented to revisit valuable concepts that might otherwise be forgotten. “You have to have multiple brains… some of them are going to be really good, and some of them are like, no, that was a bad idea” ([30:56] A).

7. Team Dynamics and Complementary Skills: The Heart of Creativity

Joanna underscores the importance of having a team with diverse skills that complement each other. From creative strategists to editors with comedic backgrounds, each team member plays a pivotal role in creating engaging and effective ads. “Having roles that cover different aspects: idea generation, execution, storytelling, editing, etc.” ([Text inferred].

The interplay between creativity and organization, combined with humor and strategic execution, forms the backbone of Hexcloud’s successful advertising campaigns.

8. Final Insights and Key Takeaways: Making Advertising Fun

As the conversation wraps up, both Sarah and Joanna emphasize the significance of enjoying the creative process. Joanna shares, “Paid advertising should be fun. If you're not having fun, it's going to come out in your ads” ([26:12] B). This philosophy not only enhances team morale but also translates into more authentic and engaging advertisements.

9. Follow Joanna Wallace: Stay Connected and Inspired

For listeners eager to implement these strategies, Joanna encourages connecting through various platforms:

• Instagram: Joanna’s Instagram – Showcasing her artistic endeavors.
• Twitter: @JoWall202 – Engaging with her thoughts and updates.
• LinkedIn: Joanna Wallace – Professional insights and networking.

Notable Quotes:

• Joanna Wallace [02:51]: “Hire an organized unicorn.”
• Sarah Levinger [07:27]: “I think the more organized. If you hire a crazy organizer, you can get it into a spreadsheet where you have sort of the product that it's for and the Persona and all that stuff.”
• Joanna Wallace [16:40]: “Alyssa claims she's not funny. And it's. That's funny.”
• Sarah Levinger [22:16]: “Relatability is the key to humor.”
• Joanna Wallace [26:26]: “I get paid to be creative every single day. And that's wild.”

This episode offers a comprehensive blueprint for building a creative team that not only generates innovative ideas but also effectively organizes and executes them. By embracing humor, fostering complementary skills within the team, and maintaining a high volume of ideas, e-commerce brands can enhance their marketing strategies and captivate their target audiences.

For more insights into advanced neuromarketing strategies and psychological tactics for e-commerce brands, follow Brain Driven Brands on all major podcast platforms and join the conversation on social media.