The Clock Is Ticking. It's a funny thing, but it never seems to fail. So many people jump into projects with tightest deadlines full of half-thoughts, dictate what must be done, and then change everything when there's no time left. Boom! You rack up revision charges for changing project, rush charges for creating a time crunch, and you risk missing deadline making entire effort a total loss. And on top of all that, you still pay for unused work. Even being generally unorganized will likely create need for additional administrative tasks, resulting in additional billable time and delays in production.

The Project Brief. You should meet, in person or over phone, with your marketing firm to discuss raw thoughts and ideas. This is not a brainstorming session, but rather an information gathering meeting to see that you are in sync. Through a simple Q&A, you should be able to gather all information necessary to establish goals, timeframe, and budget. From this information, your marketing firm should produce a creative work plan.

The Proposal. Using information gathered, your marketing firm should prepare a proposal for your approval. This should outline development, production and delivery costs and schedules. Development. Once you have approved proposal, development of your strategy and creative content begins. The process should go something like this:

1. Two initial concepts are presented for your review.

2. A consultation is held to discuss direction to be taken.

3. A single revised design is submitted for your review.

4. Together, you determine if concept effectively meets goals of project, and your marketing plan.

5. A revised proof is presented for your review.

6. You proof job for accuracy and state any corrections.

7. The final proof is presented for your review.

8. You proof job for accuracy and give your approval.

9. The marketing firm checks job for technical quality and sends it into production.

Production. When development stage is complete, design will be submitted to vendors for firm production and delivery costs and, upon your approval, project is sent into production. If project is out of budget, marketing firm should make necessary adjustments at no additional cost to you.

Delivery. This is final stage. Whether it's a mailing, a billboard, or magazine ad, this is where message is delivered to your audience.