By Laura Klavon ~ We now interrupt the dystopian end of democracy with a little distraction.~
I have every print version of Benchmarks since 2017 displayed in my office. Each book is a record of digital fundraising and advocacy and advertising trends, of course. But every issue is also a snapshot of what was breaking our hearts, making us laugh, holding us afloat, at the time we produced it.
Each holds personal memories for me as well. The year my second kid was born and everyone on the Benchmarks team was pregnant at the same time. The year I was selling my house and needed to urgently ship 200 game boxes that were stored on my porch before staging. The pandemic year when we (sob!) didn’t actually have a print version. Benchmarks has been the steady drumbeat of my nine years as a creative at M+R.
Next year will be our 20th edition of Benchmarks, and it’ll be my 10th time designing it and managing the marketing. I guess entering double digits on a work project makes you feel reflective. And old. But mostly reflective!
As much as it almost physically pains me to say (👋 imposter syndrome!), we are pretty darn proud of the creative we’ve produced for Benchmarks. And so much of what makes this project special flows from the ways it is crafted in the ideal conditions for developing good creative. So if you’re someone who is also invested in producing good creative that you can feel proud of, read on for 6 things I’ve learned about creative development from designing Benchmarks for nearly a decade (and that I now apply to all my creative teams).
Hold up — pause — what’s “good”?
In the direct response world, we say good creative is creative that works — whether that means inspiring people to donate or volunteer or read and use your 90-page annual summary of nonprofit marketing data.
To tap into that inspiration, we employ the tactics of our Guide to Effective and Ethical Direct Response Creative, namely Need, Impact, Urgency, Relevance, and Authenticity. (My brilliant colleagues have much more to say about creative in that guide, btw. Give it a read!)
And to save ourselves from an endless loop of Big Lebowski “that’s just, like, your opinion, man” feedback, the creative team at M+R has developed a set of Principles of Good Creative — Clarity, Craft, Connection, and Courage. These are the guideposts for evaluating whether a piece of creative is working or not and a shared language for why it is or isn’t working.
So that’s our aim — creative that inspires, that is clear and well-crafted and intentional and courageous. Saying that is the easy part… getting there is a whole lot harder.
All for one, one for all
The number one key ingredient to making Benchmarks work is deep, deep trust in our team. When we get off schedule (happens every year!), when we find a mistake late in the process (happens some years!), when we can’t seem to make anything interesting (part of the process!), every person on the team knows it’ll all come together because we know that every single person really gives a shit about this project. Like, maybe unhealthily so. That comes from lots of years working together but also getting to know one another as full humans, squeezing each other at in-person parties, asking for help when you need it, and putting in the late nights to QA when it’s gotta happen.
In other words, this team shows up and shows we care. We count on each other and — really — trust each other.
One of our creative principles is Connection for a reason! The relationships we build with our teams carry through to the work, especially when they are grounded in an authentic, genuine commitment to making something that matters. Good relationships mean that we can say hard things to each other. They help critique land easier. The trust and shared purpose we’ve built ensures we don’t let something we don’t believe in get out the door because no one wanted to say anything.
We don’t stay in our lane
In my recent annual review, one person said “Laura absolutely refuses to stay in her lane. In a good way!” I’m choosing to see it as a compliment 🫣And I think this is actually a piece of the Benchmarks magic — we are a deeply integrated team.
When I’m looking at some of my other teams, I try to take stock: how often are designers sitting in on calls about strategy and metrics? Do they proofread the copy, and are they empowered to make suggestions that will enhance the creative concept? Are creative team members engaged throughout the marketing and comms process? Conversely, are production specialists and data experts sharing their ideas in creative brainstorms? Looping in creative — or better yet, soliciting real input! — makes our concepts stronger, clearer, and more deeply intertwined with the content.
Finding your braintrust
There are a ton of brilliant, thoughtful, creative people at M+R so I am never wanting for smart minds to bounce ideas off of. But finding my own little weirdo braintrust — a few people who really get me AND challenge me to be better — has been a game-changer. When it comes to Benchmarks, I know at any time of day, I can reach out to Will and Madeline with a half-baked idea, and together we will build it into something great. Example: here’s how we decided to make this glorious commercial in 2024.
I want to take a second and just call out that last line ☝️— what you’re seeing is the person with the most positional power (a partner of the firm!) giving an enthusiastic green light to go forth and be creative. Having that enthusiastic permission to try things and take risks makes an enormous difference. When I’m leading a team, I try to remember this lesson: let my people be creative and try stuff!
Importantly, there’s also a lot of “this part isn’t working, what about this?” in our discussions. We push back, scrap boring ideas, offer alternatives because the work is more important than our egos. And that’s something that takes time. It’s honestly just part of that Craft principle. Eight years ago, I was so nervous to get creative feedback. Now I look forward to it because I know it’s going to take things in directions I couldn’t do all on my own. Because great collaboration with a team that you take the time to develop trust with leads to great craft, which leads to great creative.
Be audacious
Courage is one of our creative principles, and we’ve taken some big swings with Benchmarks. The 3D version lives in infamy (sadly, before my time). We made an enormous newspaper-sized print version in 2021 that is honestly a pain in the ass to hold but I love it. Last year we shipped hard copies with an entire game board, pieces, dice, and box. There’s even a Benchmarks trailer from 2014.
We theme to the extreme because it keeps things from getting stale, but also because for every rock n roll-themed data study with fruit salad mohawk parties, there are 100 crisply-designed PDF downloads that you read once and forget about. Not to mention the ever-growing pile of AI slop crawling around the internet. So my (probably forever) creative motto is: Be memorable. Be weird. And do it in service of the information, not as a distraction or add-on.
Be your own client
I am keenly aware that we can take big swings because with Benchmarks, we’re our own client. Obviously many of us are working with tighter brand restrictions, legal teams, a lot of cooks in the kitchen, and it’s not always easy to push the envelope in those conditions.
On other teams, I’ll sometimes artificially create this environment so we can hone our creative chops. We’ve had all our designers produce a bunch of variations of things like countdown clocks or timers and present them at an internal meeting, giving us a library of some alternate designs for common assets. Or include creative warm-ups in meetings to give folks a chance to practice limitless creativity.
I’ve found that making space to experiment and play without the pressure of urgent deadlines combats burnout and eventually results in stronger creative as teams build skills and passions.
Give it time
You knew this was coming, right? We spend almost all year working on Benchmarks, from brainstorming concepts to moodboarding, building brand guidelines, creating sample pages, wireframing, hi-fi designs, chart design, book layout, content entry, marketing material creation, and lots and lots of QA. We start in late summer for a late-April launch. I can knock out a quick campaign with the best of them, but having the freedom of time to work on Benchmarks is truly a gift and what makes it so detailed and expansive. If I want really great creative, I have to invest the time in it.
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As we look ahead to next year, I’m truly curious — what has been your favorite Benchmarks design? What theme do you think we should do next year? Fill out our survey!