Idea explosions, last-minute sparks of creativity and a healthy dose of to-ing and fro-ing.
That’s just the kickoff meeting.
When we work with clients, we make sure we get it right. We go the extra mile, and while the solution can often feel like travelling along a squiggly line, we get there together.
Getting an idea that permeates people’s minds and becomes a campaign to remember doesn’t always follow a set process. Instead, the birth of every great campaign is equal parts strategy, hard work, creativity and the magic of working together by striving for great outcomes. The best campaigns aren’t born in a straight line – they’re shaped through curiosity and collaboration.
Here’s what we think you need to know about partnering up with a creative comms team for your next campaign.
Mythbusting
It’s quick and easy…
…sometimes (but we’d love it to be every time). But often great work needs space to breathe. When you work with a creative comms team, there’s a journey to go on to ensure we’re getting the best outcome, and it’s unlikely to be 100% right the first time. It takes energy and tenacity – but it’s also energising, and the results are always worth it.
We can leave it to you
Are you looking to outsource, or collaborate with a trusted partner and lovely bunch of humans? Well, you’re in luck when you work with us! Your insight and input is a crucial part of the process. We’ll do the heavy lifting and ask the right questions – always with respect. But your experience, insights, and perspective are essential to creating a strategy, campaign, brand, or website that truly resonates.
The idea is the end product
Ideas need to be worked on, refined, put on ice, picked back up and scrutinised. A polished campaign you see on the telly, tube or on socials rarely appears on round one – but you’ll end up with something you’ll love. There’s a blacksmith’s mindset to creating great creative comms in any form: we heat, hammer, shape and polish to perfection.
That’s enough with myths – let’s get real.
Working with Alive – the A.L.I.V.E. way
We’ve been doing this for a while (16 years as Alive with Ideas and many before). We’ve got plenty of battle-tested guidance for thinking up creative comms and campaigns.
We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all rigid structure. We believe in asking better questions, learning from every angle, and shaping ideas that evolve through collaboration. That’s why we use our A.L.I.V.E. Framework – a structured but flexible way to guide projects, spark creativity and make great ideas happen.
It’s not about rigid steps or ticking boxes. It’s about working together through a cycle of insight, concepts, refinement, and action.
Here’s how it tends to unfold:
A – Ask
We start with curiosity. Together, we question, challenge, observe and explore. What’s working? What’s not? What are we really trying to achieve? This is where opportunities start to show themselves, and often in unexpected places.
L – Learn
Now we dig deeper. What’s the data telling us? What are your people saying? What does the audience need? What are others doing? (And what aren’t they?) This is about getting clarity on the challenge and defining where the creative energy needs to go.
I – Imagine
Here’s where the magic starts. We open the floodgates. Think big, bold, and sideways. We generate ideas, explore different angles and start shaping the direction together. Some ideas stick, and others spark something better. It’s playful, energising, and genuinely collaborative.
V – Verify
We test, sense-check, and refine. Does it resonate? Does it deliver? Does it feel right? This is where we bring a healthy dose of critical reflection, bravery and realism. We tweak, adapt, and sometimes go back a step — because good ideas deserve that care and attention.
E – Execute
Let’s go. We turn ideas into outputs and creativity into action. That might be a campaign, a brand, a website, an animation (or many other things) — but we build it to work in the real world, shaped by everything we’ve discovered together.
The journey isn’t always linear — and it rarely happens in a neat straight line. But with our A.L.I.V.E. Framework as a guide, we’re able to stay focused, open, and genuinely excited about where we’ll land.
It’s all about you
With every project, we’re out to create just what you, your organisation and your audiences need.
For that to happen, an open and honest relationship is needed. We have and value these relationships with our clients, built on unpicking the complexities, nuances, and shifting sands of a brief until we end up with something we all feel works.
Creativity can require patience and process. But we know you’re going to love the finished product.
Come and try it out
It isn’t just what we do, but it’s the way we do it.
Our team loves getting stuck into creative campaigns that deliver results, and our collaborative approach is tried, tested, and loved by our clients, but it is always built around what you need.
We’re ready when you are.
