What Is CER?
In high-volume creative production, there is a common misconception: speed comes at the cost of quality and creativity. At Perpetual, we have found a way to challenge that idea with what we call Creative Efficiency Return (CER).
CER is the strategic reinvestment of time saved through efficiency in production into enhancing creative output. Rather than just delivering more assets faster, we use efficient workflows to carve out extra time—a “creative return”—that we then invest into refining, expanding, and elevating the quality of what we produce. It’s about maintaining creative excellence without sacrificing speed and volume.
Why We Do It
Perpetual was born in the high-velocity environment of SaaS, where time to deliver is critical. Our clients—particularly marketing leaders—need quick turnarounds to keep up with shifting priorities, product launches, and market expansion. However, quality and creativity can never be compromised, especially when it comes to brand consistency and creative impact.
CER helps us achieve:
- Balanced Speed and Quality: We don’t just aim for efficiency to meet deadlines; we leverage the time saved to elevate creative work.
- Added Value: By reinvesting saved time into creativity, we ensure our clients receive something that stands out.
- Client Satisfaction: Marketing leaders face immense pressure. CER allows us to deliver quickly while producing work our clients can be proud of.
How CER Works
1. Streamlined Production
The first step is to streamline the production process. By focusing on efficiency in workflow, we reduce bottlenecks and improve turnaround times. This involves leveraging best-in-class processes, tools, and methodologies that allow us to produce core creative assets quickly.
2. Creating the Creative Return
The time saved through efficient production forms the creative return. This return is not just about delivering faster; it’s about freeing up time to do more. We use this time to invest in the creative aspects that make the work impactful.
3. Reinvestment into Quality
With the creative return, we reinvest in areas that matter most to our clients:
- Creating Variations: We explore multiple versions of an asset, allowing flexibility for different market segments or A/B testing.
- Refining Details: We add layers of polish—refined copy, improved design elements, or tailored messaging.
- Elevating Creativity: We push the boundaries of the initial idea, offering enhancements that might not have been possible without the creative return.
Addressing Concerns About High-Volume Creative Production
Many assume that high-volume design means sacrificing creative quality for speed. However, CER ensures that while we work at scale, we are also creating exceptionally creative solutions. Our designers have more time, experience less stress, and work in an environment that fosters creativity. Here’s how CER addresses these concerns:
1. Quality Assurance, Not Just Quantity
The biggest concern with volume design is that speed means lower quality. CER directly addresses this by ensuring the efficiency gained through streamlined production is actively reinvested into the work, maintaining the high standards our clients expect.
2. Flexibility and Adaptation
In a fast-moving environment like SaaS, priorities change rapidly. With CER, we have the flexibility to adapt assets in real-time. Because we save time during initial production, we can pivot and make necessary changes without missing deadlines, ensuring clients are always ready to respond to market changes.
3. Consistency Across High-Volume Outputs
Another concern with volume design is maintaining brand consistency. By reinvesting the creative return into refining and expanding the output, we ensure every asset adheres to brand standards. This alignment allows us to consistently reflect the client’s vision, even when scaling production.
Relatable Scenarios and Real-World Examples
Scenario 1: Launching a New Product Across Multiple Markets
Imagine a SaaS company launching a new product in multiple regions. The initial request is for a core set of campaign assets—a promotional video, social media graphics, and email templates. Using efficient workflows, we quickly produce these core assets, saving time that forms the creative return. We then use that return to create variations localized for each target market, adapting visuals and messaging to fit cultural nuances. This approach speeds up the campaign launch and ensures each market feels targeted.
Scenario 2: Responding to Shifting Campaign Priorities
A marketing leader needs assets for a campaign that suddenly shifts focus mid-project. Because we saved time during the initial production phase, we can reinvest our creative return into adjusting the campaign assets. Instead of starting from scratch, we refine existing assets, adjust messaging, and iterate based on the new direction—all without compromising delivery timelines.
Scenario 3: Adding Creative Flair Post-Approval
Sometimes, clients need assets approved and ready to go in record time. With streamlined production, we deliver on that request, then use the creative return to enhance the work—adding creative flair, improving visuals, or incorporating sophisticated animation. Clients get the assets when they need them and see quality elevated before final deployment.
Demonstrating the Impact of CER
The value of CER lies in its ability to produce high-quality creative work quickly, without cutting corners:
- More Impactful Campaigns: Extra time allows for variations that better target different audience segments, making campaigns more effective.
- Reduced Stress for Marketing Leaders: Marketing leaders don’t need to compromise between speed and quality. They can rely on us to deliver both, reducing the burden on internal teams.
- Stronger Brand Identity: By refining and polishing creative output, we ensure every piece is aligned with the brand’s identity, maintaining a consistent and high-quality presence.
Why Internal Teams and Traditional Agencies Can’t Match This Approach
While internal teams and traditional agencies may deliver creative work, they often lack the ability to balance high-volume output with consistently elevated quality. Here’s why:
- Limited Flexibility: Internal teams are often stretched thin, unable to pivot or adapt creative assets as market demands shift. Their focus is divided across multiple responsibilities, making it difficult to achieve the same efficiency and quality reinvestment as CER.
- Traditional Processes: Traditional agencies may be bound by rigid workflows focusing heavily on planning and review stages, which slows down production. This makes achieving the same speed without sacrificing quality challenging.
- Lack of Reinvestment Mechanism: Internal teams and traditional agencies usually don’t have a structured reinvestment approach like CER. Once an asset is produced, there’s rarely time or capacity to enhance it further.
Creative Efficiency Return as a Game-Changer
At Perpetual, we understand that our clients are under pressure to deliver results—quickly and at scale. Creative Efficiency Return is our solution to the volume vs. quality debate. It ensures that efficiency doesn’t mean sacrificing creativity but gives us the space to elevate every piece of work we deliver.
We believe that time saved is time to create. By using our creative return wisely, we help our clients stand out, maintain consistency, and succeed in fast-paced environments without the stress. It’s not just about getting the work done—it’s about making sure that every asset, every piece of creative, carries the impact it was designed for.
Ready to see how Creative Efficiency Return can transform your creative process? Reach out to us today to explore tailored solutions that fit your needs and help you achieve both speed and creative excellence.
