Ideas
10 Minute Read
How Great Work Gets Made: The Backbone of Creative Excellence
Creative agencies thrive on big ideas. There is no feeling like it - cracking a brief, developing something so unique that you can’t wait to get it in front of a client, and hopefully get it made. But the truth is, a great idea is only as powerful as the system that brings it to life. Taking it from a few slides in a deck to living in the outside world. Behind every bold, boundary-pushing campaign, there’s an unsung network of producers, project managers, and operational experts getting under the skin of that idea and bringing together the best talent to make the impossible possible. Ensuring it not only delivers on the original vision, but hopefully makes it better than ever imagined. Producing something on brand, on time and at scale.
This is a love letter to the people and processes that make creative magic happen - and a peek into why the right structure is the secret weapon of the most exciting, successful creative agencies.
Why creativity needs structure
A hot subject at every creative agency. How do we retain agency DNA - keeping its creative sparkle and personality - while also making commercially-sound decisions, with the right balance of structure and process?
There’s a myth that process stifles creativity. But in reality, structure doesn’t kill ideas - it sets them free. Structure should create an environment where people feel empowered, giving space and time for experimentation. It is often intelligent planning and strategic project management that creates more of these opportunities. This often results in delivering above and beyond client expectations, and solving real problems.
When teams understand the timelines, approvals required, and the ideal deliverables, they can focus on what they do best: making exceptional work. In a sector like gaming, where it's ever-changing, fast paced and where deadlines are often immovable, strong project workflows aren’t optional - they’re critical.
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Our fantastic team here at ICHI - a perfect blend of creativity and operations
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At ICHI, we have the people and processes that make creative magic happen
Scaling the work without losing the spark
The games industry moves at breakneck speed, and marketing campaigns are no exception. A single title launch can involve different languages, thousands of assets, and constant iteration between multiple parties during feedback cycles to hit deadlines. Without operational excellence, that kind of complexity can overwhelm even the most talented and experienced teams.
Take our work on Stellar Blade: delivering a vast, multi-format campaign on a global scale meant every department had to operate like an orchestra. From production pipelines, to communicating across different time zones, operational systems were what allowed us to maintain creative quality at speed.
Operational excellence as a creative differentiator
The best agencies know that insights, ideas, and execution are all equally important. Bold thinking is critical. It can set you apart from your competitors, and often be the thing that gets you into the room with a client or a brand in the first place. The catalyst to winning that pitch, making that connection, and that one idea or insight can be the start of a new exciting partnership for all. However, after this, great execution ensures the work connects with its intended audience, and builds confidence from the client that the agency can deliver.
Creative agency operations transform delivery into a competitive advantage. By building systems that anticipate bottlenecks, control scope, minimise feedback loops, and maintain clarity and communication across teams. Agencies not only earn client trust but also protect the creative vision that everyone has worked so hard to achieve.
In gaming, where releases are tied to global announcements, flawless execution is a core part of the agency brand experience. A great creative agency is a partner who ensures those ideas hit the market with impact.
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Our work on Stellar Blade was a vast, multi-format campaign on a global scale
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The best agencies know that insights, ideas, and execution are all equally important
The future of creative production
Creative production is evolving rapidly. From AI-assisted asset creation to real-time review tools, operations are embracing innovation to make processes leaner, smarter, and more collaborative. Again, creating opportunities and time for experimentation and agency-wide focus on The Work. The future of project management in agencies is about utilising new tools, combined with traditional best practices to meet changing demands without compromising quality.
Culturally, we’re also seeing a shift. Operations are no longer seen as admin functions but as strategic pillars of agency success. For clients, this means peace of mind. For the creative team, it means more freedom to focus on the craft they love.
A love letter to the unsung heroes
Behind every award-winning idea is an invisible web of systems, processes, and people working tirelessly to make it happen. Producers, project managers, and studio operations are the creative industry’s unsung heroes. Those who turn chaos into calm, and imagination into reality.
At ICHI, we believe structure and creativity aren’t opposites; they’re allies. Great ideas need the best environment and structure to thrive. We’re proud to champion the people and processes that make that possible. Because in the end, the only limit to delivering great work is ourselves, and we believe anything is possible.
