Creative Cloud sales guide overview > Prepare to engage
Target personas
It's important to understand what type of customer you are speaking to before you start the sales conversation. IT managers have different needs and concerns than a creative manager or user. Do your research before the call to identify your contact's role in their organization. And use the target personas below to get a better idea of what their responsibilities, deliverables, and challenges may be.
IT manager
Get to know the specific requirements of IT.
Titles | Responsibilities | Deliverables | Challenges |
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IT leaders: CIO/VP of Information Systems and Technology IT Director IT Manager IT admins: Chief Architect Enterprise Architect Management Information Systems (MIS) Manager Operations Manager Systems Manager |
IT leaders: Transform the organization to digital, and keep the business profitable, successful, and high-growth Understand how to efficiently run the organization under resource constraints Develop digital strategies that present company to customers for the most consistent, engaging, and effective outcomes Develop mobile and web app strategy that is not costly and heavily dependent on IT or engineering Recruit, retain, and grow great talent IT admins: Support the dynamic needs of creative teams with range of creative tools, mobile apps, and cloud services Manage and deploy software efficiently Understand cloud solutions and how to integrate with current technology Mitigate security and compliance risk Budget and forecast appropriately and efficiently Integrate with existing IT infrastructure |
Deliver the products required by their workers and end users— users both inside and outside the organization need creative apps and services, like Photoshop, InDesign, and UX products to do their jobs and enhance the branding, design, and creativity of the organization Determine the best way to deploy the apps and services to their users Evaluate the needs of users to ensure the organization is efficient, effective, and productive |
Mitigating security risk Purchasing the most appropriate and industry-leading tools and apps for the organization Deploying software and apps across the organization in a timely manner Tracking user licenses and staying compliant Ensuring solutions don’t indirectly drive up the cost of IT, such as more help-desk calls, unnecessary additions to the IT footprint, or difficult deployments that strain IT resources Buying solutions that fit within the IT infrastructure |
Creative leader
Get to know the specific requirements creative leaders.
Titles | Responsibilities | Deliverables | Challenges |
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Chief Creative Officer Executive Creative Director Creative Director Associate Creative Director VP of Design Design Director Creative Group Head Creative Lead |
Drive creative vision/expression at the intersection of marketing, technology, product, and advertising Equip teams of designers, art buyers, artists, copywriters, sellers, and marketers with campaign assets needed to deliver on content velocity Plan advertising, oversee the creative process, guide and approve the creative team’s work, and often work directly with clients to present that work Follow the latest trends in design, technology, advertising, and marketing Help attract clients Hire creative staff |
Design of products, services, and events for customers, vendors, and internal and external systems Creative input includes collections of images, icons, templates, fonts, and other asset libraries that match brand standards Creative output spans print, web, social, and digital platforms Iteration on ways to collaborate, edit, and store files |
Always innovating and maintaining a competitive edge Delivering higher volumes of content in more efficient ways Streamlining collaboration among teams and extended resources across locations and devices Maintaining brand consistency Stretching flat or decreasing budgets Publishing content across channels, platforms, and devices Hiring creative people Keeping up with the latest creative technology |
Graphic designer
Get to know the specific requirements of art directors and graphic designers.
Titles |
Responsibilities |
Deliverables |
Challenges |
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Art Director Junior Art Director Creative Director Associate Creative Director Senior Designer Designer Senior Graphic Designer Graphic Designer |
Drive creative vision/expression at the intersection of marketing, technology, product, and advertising Equip teams of designers, art directors, art buyers, artists, copywriters, sellers, and marketers with campaign assets needed to deliver on content velocity Plan advertising, oversee the creative process, guide and approve the creative team’s work, and often work directly with clients to present that work Follow the latest trends in design, technology, advertising, and marketing Help attract clients Hire creative staff |
Design of products, campaigns, services, and events for customers, vendors, and internal and external systems Development of collections of images, icons, templates, fonts, and other asset libraries that match brand standards Designs for print, web, social, and digital platforms Review and approval of designs, artwork, photography, graphics, and assets created by other staff members Iteration on ways to collaborate, edit, and store files |
Increasing need to deliver innovative content to market faster Establishing and maintaining brand differentiation with assets Flat or decreasing budgets Scaling content creation from concept to production across all of the channels (3-second videos, TV, mobile, social, banners, and more) Finding the right imagery for each project Collaborating efficiently with freelancers in different locations, and conducting client reviews Keeping up with the latest creative technology |
Business communicator
Get to know the specific requirements of business communicators.
Titles | Responsibilities | Deliverables | Challenges |
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Marketing Director Marketing Manager Business Strategist PR Officer Communications Officer Sales Manager Operations Officer |
Define and effectively communicate company strategy and operations Manage sales teams and set quotas while providing training and mentorship Oversee and develop marketing campaigns Conduct research and analyze data to identify and define audiences Write and proofread copy Organize promotional activities Develop and communicate company policies |
Engaging marketing materials for social media campaigns Business and sales-related presentations and press releases Marketing copy and visuals, in accordance with branding Ideas and strategies Branded communications and statements for the press and customers |
Keeping up with brand consistency Standing out from the competition Having access to the latest assets, like logos, icons, product shoots, or copy Managing a growing quantity of assets Adopting new technology Finding easy-to-use tools with a low learning curve Creating high-quality outputs Reducing time to market for product launches, marketing campaigns, and communications |
Video producer
Get to know the specific requirements of video production.
Titles |
Responsibilities |
Deliverables |
Challenges |
---|---|---|---|
Video Producer Broadcast TV Editor Broadcast Journalist Advertising Video Pro Film Editor Audio Engineer VFX & GFX Artist Audio Mixer |
On-time & on-budget pre-production, production, and post-production management and oversight Managing collaborative production projects (VFX, MGX, editing, color, and sound), often across several teams and locations Creating engaging, branded visual stories Editing and delivering finalized assets across various formats and regions; expertise in compression, delivery formats, and broadcast standards Creating a stylized visual and auditory aesthetic for each project Harnessing the latest technologies of production to push the limits of creativity Multi-cam editing of live and scripted content Organizing the metadata and archiving of large sets of assets |
Short-/long-form programming Feature films and documentaries 15-, 30-, and 60-second advertisement videos for broadcast and web delivery Music videos Web, social, and experimental video (such as video walls and AR/VR) Visual effects, transitions, and graphical data Mastered sound mixes Color mixing Ingest and meta-tagging of footage Archiving of footage and finalized projects |
Editors are working with an increasing number of assets and varied formats and need a robust tool that can handle all of the demands of the modern video production process. Lack of collaboration tools and rendering inefficiencies can slow down production. Video editing takes highly skilled and experienced editors and motion artists, but with the increasing demand for video content, the current tools do not meet the ease-of-use requirements for the modern videographer.
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UX/UI designer
Get to know the specific requirements of UX/UI designers.
Titles | Responsibilities | Deliverables | Challenges |
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UX/UI Designer Product Designer UX Lead UX/UI Architect UX Design Engineer Interaction Designer
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Develop and construct designs from initial request to development handoff Collaborate with product managers, program managers, and engineers Understand the problem and user needs Conduct discovery research and user testing Create flows, wireframes, prototypes (low- and high-fidelity), and design finalization Create animation within the digital experience Define the behaviors of buttons, transitions, and other user affordances |
Interactive, clickable prototypes Wireframes of screens and interactions Storyboards Sitemap UI kits User guides/storyline
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Finding ways to get their design work done faster and create better processes for team (designer, developer, stakeholder) collaboration Keeping up with emerging technologies (like voice interface) and continuing to learn, adapt, and design for new creative formats Navigating daunting learning curve when implementing new tools Reducing frustrations and slow-downs when moving back and forth between tools Figuring out how to spend less time on tedious design tasks and more time on actual design work |
Government
Get to know the specific requirements of government.
Titles | Responsibilities | Challenges | Engagement approach |
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C-level:
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Push agency to improve process efficiencies, reduce infrastructure costs, and improve engagement with constituents and employees Foster long-term technology plans for the agency and leave a positive legacy Lead a culture of innovation and achievement that is measurable and drives the mission forward |
Increasing constituent reach and engagement to support the mission Resolving headaches from duplicated content and slow-to-respond communications Unintegrated or legacy systems that continually add to the bottom line for support, updating, and maintenance and are potential cause for security concerns Vendor pricing and contracts that add pressure on budgets and planning
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The objective is to gain access and address critical agency issues that Creative Cloud can help solve. Start by getting access through LOB/IT management (decision makers). Show that you’ve done your homework by validating the critical agency issues you’ve learned about from LOB/IT management with their management. Work with them to prioritize issues to be solved. Show how Adobe can help and support with value-focused reading—briefs, customer success stories, and white papers. Consider introducing them to other C-level customers who can share how Adobe has helped them. |
LOB:
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Lead programs/projects with management expertise around risk, scope, schedule, contributors, and quality Create partnerships and lead consultancy with content teams and outside organizations Lead program-level communication, feedback, and public engagement Drive program or project reporting and releases for stakeholders and partners to amplify agency communications or announcements |
Delays in compelling content production or multiple revision cycles Coordination with communications department on program or project schedule Keeping team members in sync and working with up-to-date content Accessing team content, which is often stored only in certain physical locations |
The objective is to help build the business case for using Creative Cloud to deliver on a program or project. Share value-focused content like customer stories, infographics, white papers, and brochures. Show how their project vision quickly translates into content. Map the team’s content workflows as blueprints and provide the combined ROI. Add dialogue with IT and content teams for collaborative buy-in.
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IT:
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Oversee the implementation, operations, and maintenance of information technology Direct cybersecurity strategies and standardize and streamline operations and services, on premises or in the cloud Merge and integrate selected technologies with the strategic business objectives of the organization Lead cloud strategy, defining both short-term goals and long-term vision, and create cloud governance policies for applications and data |
Lack of interoperability among agency applications or data Complicated software licensing, maintenance, provisioning, and migration Complex administration, with multiple management interfaces User management and directory synchronization that can’t be automated Fear that content is insecurely duplicated or put at risk Inability to scale up or down in complex environments as agency use demands Disconnected or isolated workstations that are unable to connect to the internet and/or internal networks for security reasons, making named user deployment impossible |
The objective is to help IT demonstrate easy administration and integration for the rest of the agency. Showcase simplicity and dashboard-style administration. Reference relevant documentation or manuals to preview easy ramp-up or updates. Take on a consulting role with technical sales and support. Be influential on licensing scope and user access. |
Procurement:
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Easily implement licensing and contract creation and maintenance. Ensure that acquisitions are made according to policy, regulation, and transparency compliance |
Unexpected changes in product or service pricing or contract terms Multiple rounds of validation or approval for purchases Delayed purchasing based on protests or fitness failures Managing standards and mandated compliances Managing multiple government acquisition contract vehicles |
The objective is to build trust and ensure compliance. Call directly and engage early on license use and scope changes. Emphasize licensing flexibility and how to customize for agency needs. Use periodic, small touchpoints with the greatest visibility into ongoing license commitments Solicit feedback, as procurement is a likely funnel point from internal users. |
Creatives:
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Design content and applications quickly and effectively to engage the public and employees Continual access to work files, whether working remotely or collaborating with others Easy upgrade of legacy content and files, with assurance that new content is standards-based and will work as expected Adherence to agency content policies, compliances (such as Section 508, FIPS), and style guides |
Siloed or fragmented stores of creative content Wasted or abandoned effort; needless or tedious repetition Old creative tools that force hand-editing tasks that can’t be streamlined or batch processed Expanding professional skills in industry-leading Adobe Creative Cloud Ever-increasing demand for content creation compounded by no increase in resources to support |
The objective is to create a champion for Creative Cloud and expand agency use beyond core tools (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro). Show how cloud-based content is essential to today’s pace of work. Frame engagement in terms of work product or mission success. Use value-based discussions; focus an shorter workflows, fast results, access to design assets, AI-powered design workflows, and the ability to work on the go and across departments. Show faster design workflows to help justify cloud access. |