PR / News
Bianca Guimaraes Of Mischief Shares Her Secret To Selling Ideas In The Creative LIAisons Virtual Speaker Sessions
06 September 2022BIANCA GUIMARAES OF MISCHIEF SHARES HER SECRET TO SELLING IDEAS IN THE CREATIVE LIAISONS VIRTUAL SPEAKER SESSIONS.
Bianca Guimaraes, Partner/Executive Creative Director of Mischief Brooklyn, New York, and former alumnus of Creative LIAisons, shared her insight to the burning question, “How The F*&% Did You Sell That? virtually with the mentees. As Ad Age Creative Director of The Year 2022, Business Insider’s “30 most creative people in advertising under 30” to now being featured in AdAge’s 40 under 40, Bianca Guimaraes is well poised to answer that perennial question.
“Let’s arm ourselves. Let’s go to battle. We’re gonna sell this. And that’s the first thing that goes wrong when you’re trying to sell an idea,” explained Guimaraes. Instead of this adversarial approach, Guimaraes advocated reframing your mindset. “You are not going to war. You are on the same side. Show the client the idea is right for them, not you.” She went on to say that you should talk about the product and even the product RTBs at length.
That’s not the only tool of selling in the creative kit. Bianca also touched on how to empathize with the client. That’s because if creatives don’t know how clients feel, what their fears are and where they are coming from they can’t address them. Her advice is: “Don’t push back immediately. It’s always good to step back, think about what the client has said and come back after having considered their points. Give thought to how to solve their concerns.”
Guimaraes told the audience to make it hard for the client to say no. The key is not to tell the client that everyone is going to love it. Instead, tell them that not everyone is going to like it or be happy with it. Ideas that don’t generate polarization are not good ideas as they will get ignored. Show the client that you have as much at stake as they do. And back up your idea(s) with data or similar cases. Present what they can visualize and buy.
Guimaraes advised: “Even when a client doesn’t buy an idea, see it as building a relationship with the client. They might buy the next one, which might be even better. In this business, if you are not resilient, it doesn’t matter how creative you are.”
Guimaraes shared case studies of work from her portfolio that have got the industry, clients and the public talking; pieces of work that took as long as two years before audiences saw it; work that was unashamedly provocative and cheeky.
Barbara Levy, President of LIA, said: “My heartfelt thanks to Bianca Guimaraes. She has demonstrated through her own success how to effectively sell clients ideas that could be controversial or risky. Her success is one of the reasons why LIA started the Creative LIAisons program about 10 years ago. While the program has morphed over the years, the aim remains the same - to help inspire and grow creatives as well as augment creatives skills. We are exceedingly proud to see many of the alumni of LIAisons create game-changing work and fast forward their upward career trajectory. They, like Bianca Guimaraes, have become the next generation of creatives who are pushing creativity to the next level. As the show that’s created for creatives, we shall continue to support our Creative LIAisons initiative.”
“Let’s arm ourselves. Let’s go to battle. We’re gonna sell this. And that’s the first thing that goes wrong when you’re trying to sell an idea,” explained Guimaraes. Instead of this adversarial approach, Guimaraes advocated reframing your mindset. “You are not going to war. You are on the same side. Show the client the idea is right for them, not you.” She went on to say that you should talk about the product and even the product RTBs at length.
That’s not the only tool of selling in the creative kit. Bianca also touched on how to empathize with the client. That’s because if creatives don’t know how clients feel, what their fears are and where they are coming from they can’t address them. Her advice is: “Don’t push back immediately. It’s always good to step back, think about what the client has said and come back after having considered their points. Give thought to how to solve their concerns.”
Guimaraes told the audience to make it hard for the client to say no. The key is not to tell the client that everyone is going to love it. Instead, tell them that not everyone is going to like it or be happy with it. Ideas that don’t generate polarization are not good ideas as they will get ignored. Show the client that you have as much at stake as they do. And back up your idea(s) with data or similar cases. Present what they can visualize and buy.
Guimaraes advised: “Even when a client doesn’t buy an idea, see it as building a relationship with the client. They might buy the next one, which might be even better. In this business, if you are not resilient, it doesn’t matter how creative you are.”
Guimaraes shared case studies of work from her portfolio that have got the industry, clients and the public talking; pieces of work that took as long as two years before audiences saw it; work that was unashamedly provocative and cheeky.
Barbara Levy, President of LIA, said: “My heartfelt thanks to Bianca Guimaraes. She has demonstrated through her own success how to effectively sell clients ideas that could be controversial or risky. Her success is one of the reasons why LIA started the Creative LIAisons program about 10 years ago. While the program has morphed over the years, the aim remains the same - to help inspire and grow creatives as well as augment creatives skills. We are exceedingly proud to see many of the alumni of LIAisons create game-changing work and fast forward their upward career trajectory. They, like Bianca Guimaraes, have become the next generation of creatives who are pushing creativity to the next level. As the show that’s created for creatives, we shall continue to support our Creative LIAisons initiative.”
For more information: Creative LIAisons 2022