Every good creative person has a past, something they did before they got into advertising that gives them perspective, insight, and hopefully an understanding of the human condition.

I was in an indie band, successful enough that the Junos asked us to represent our decade for their 40th anniversary. But when I left the band and stopped trying to be a rock star, I started working with session players supporting other people, and it changed my perspective on my role as a creative person.

A note for agencies: Be a great session player in support of the star

An ad agency has to be a chameleon. Like a session musician, they need a broad enough skill set to adapt their style to play exactly what’s needed for each individual client. And you can’t do that if you have a limited bag of tricks.

So, there I was working on a project with some great session musicians and in the first few minutes I learned that doing one thing well isn’t nearly enough. Sure, I could play, but these guys had made records with genuine rock stars such as George Harrison, Robert Palmer, The Who, Bryan Ferry, and Peter Frampton. That meant they could switch styles, rhythms and keys without missing a beat, or turn a song inside out until it was great.

It was a different way of looking at the creative process. It wasn’t about expressing your voice, it was about helping someone else express theirs.

As agencies, we’re here to help make stars out of each builder we work with. Every client is unique, and every place we draw people to has its own character. When they start looking alike, even slightly, that’s a problem. Because it’s hard to chart with a new song that sounds like last month’s hit.

For creatives: Never let technique get in the way of creativity

Your design training taught you professional skills, and you’ve honed them through repetition. But your creativity is something deeper and fundamentally more important. It’s what sparked your desire to make things, to imagine things that could be.

Design and creativity are two different things, though that can be easy to forget when you’re on a deadline. One has rules. It’s rigid and specific with generally accepted principles that guide the process. The other is the opposite. It’s childlike, new and individual. It’s a way of thinking where rules are to be broken, bent or inverted. Sometimes, the two can even be at odds when the process of design takes over with its focus on balance, form, colour, rhythm, space and all of the principles that define and limit your creativity.

How do you keep that spark alive, project after project, year after year? Stay curious. Not casually curious, be committed to curiosity. Make it a central part of who you are. Stay childlike. Pretend you’re the person your work is talking to. Get into the mind of the person who will live there. Stay brash. Learn the rules of course, then break them just the right amount. And do it every day. Learn, watch and listen – really listen – and then imagine what could be, but isn’t. Yet.

For clients: If your producer makes you sound like someone else, get a new producer

You’re the star under the spotlight. And, if you’re like most clients, you’re willing to put in the effort to stand out. But our business starts and ends with the people who buy homes, so if you want your message to be a hit with the public, don’t sound like some other band. Create an identity that is a deep and true reflection of what makes your company unlike any other in the industry.

It takes self-awareness and perspective and a close partnership with your agency. There is only one company exactly like yours. Define the characteristics and differences that are at the heart of your brand, bring the essence of your story to the forefront and create something individual. Your brand should be bespoke, not off the rack.

So, commit to being individual. Commit to being noticeably different. And never, ever let your brand’s voice sound like someone else’s. You deserve to be front and centre in the mix. And when the mix is right, it never hurts to add a little more cowbell.