The CEO's Playbook: Optimizing Creative Team ROI to Drive Impact
According to Gartner, 62% of CEOs list growth as their top priority for 2024. At the same time, CMOs name shrinking budgets among their biggest challenges. These numbers tell a story. Creative teams are being asked to do more with less, while still delivering results.
Nonprofit leaders are feeling this squeeze even more. They’re under pressure to align brand, marketing, and communications with mission and measurable impact. All while fundraising in a risk-averse climate, engaging exhausted audiences, and navigating organized backlash on core issues.
Responding to this need, Hyperakt (a Brooklyn-based social impact branding firm) published a budgeting guide for nonprofit creative executives and professionals. It’s a helpful resource. But budgeting alone isn’t strategy. CEOs need to know what’s working, what’s worth investing in, and how to best steward resources in alignment with their values and organizational priorities.
At Purple Haus, we work with CEOs in philanthropy, technology, health, education, workforce, and sustainability. No sector is immune to the challenges of this moment. Even so, we need storytellers, meaning-makers, and connectors more than ever. Here are three steps CEOs can take right now to be confident they’re making the right investments:
01
Get a clear picture of the current state.
Don’t just go with your gut feeling. Get the facts. Conduct an audit of every brand, marketing, and communications channel. Ask your team what they’re measuring and what they’re learning. Without requiring an overly complicated process, you can get a clearer picture.
02
Trust your team to balance creativity and accountability.
Once you have the data, enlist your creative team in the analysis. Listen to their observations and leave room for their recommendations, which will be informed by creative expertise and perspective. With mutual trust and understanding as the foundation, be explicit about what's most important to you and what you are holding them accountable to deliver.
03
Let your values inform your strategic decisions.
When the pressure is on, it can be tempting to react rashly. Resist that urge. Lean into your values and let them lead the way. If you discover that your core brand messaging or communications strategy is outdated or out of touch, it’s appropriate to make shifts. Instead of retreating altogether from the conversation, consider how you might reintroduce yourself and remind your partners and supporters of who you are, what you stand for, and why your work matters.
