Who enjoys writing creative briefs… raise your hand?!
I know writing creative briefs can be challenging because the process will force you to be comprehensive, very specific and oh, yes….BRIEF!
As much as you may struggle to write these marketing documents, consider your audience (copywriters, creative directors, art directors, production mangers, web developers) and how they may struggle to read creative briefs that are far too long or worse yet, painfully incomplete.
So here are my top 5 “what not to do” in a creative brief, along with an outline of what a good creative brief should include.
#5 Do not be long winded. Remember it’s called a creative brief for a reason. Creative staff usually bill by the hour so they are counting on you to cherry-pick and synthesize the critical marketing information they need into a concise creative brief document.
Fortunately creative briefs do not need to follow AP style or read like term papers. So be generous with bulleting your content, breaking topics into smaller paragraphs and using sub-heads to help your readers skim the brief.
Avoid cutting and pasting massive amounts of content from your client’s website, aim instead to thoughtfully net things out for your creative team in a succinct manner. Yes, this means thinking about what really matters most to the creative team relative to this particular marketing project.
If the client has results from a market research study or survey, pull out the salient findings and include only a few charts to visually reinforce those key findings. Often the research findings report will have an executive brief and this is usually plenty for the creative team to chew on.
#4 Do not forget to state what you want your marketing project to achieve. This seems obvious but it can be overlooked as we are distilling down so many other pieces of the puzzle. Stating what your client wants to achieve should be as specific as possible. Consider short-term and long-term achievements to put this into perspective for your creative team. Consider talking about the desired behaviors you wish the target audience to pursue or the perceptions, attitudes and beliefs you wish to shape in your target audience’s mind.
#3 Do not leave out relevant background data. Information about key competitors is very important so your creative team can be aware if their big idea will sound just like your client’s competition! Include meaningful descriptions of target audiences by market segment, such as demographics, psychographics, geographic location, how and why they buy your clients’ product/service/cause. And of course include, brief descriptions of your client’s good/services, their mission, core values and current positioning strategy is also highly relevant. Since background data can take up a lot of real estate in your creative brief, organization is key (see the recommended outline below).
#2 Do not start the creative meter until the client has read and approved the creative brief. I know it’s tempting to let the client off the hook and get the creative work going as soon as possible but I’ve found that short-circuiting this step only leads to trouble. You don’t want to be the account executive who is always begging your creative team to review a revised creative brief, which in essence appears to be “starting over” to your creative team. Nor do you want to be the person who has to write off billable hours because there were no clear upfront agreements, via the creative brief, with the client.
#1 Do not assume your creative team has read your brief. So you may be tempted to think that once your masterpiece of a creative brief is in the job jacket, your job is done. However following up with your creative team is essential in order to discuss the creative brief, answer questions and clarify anything that may have been overlooked. I usually call a “start-work-meeting” to review the brief with the creative team and send the signal that a) I care that the brief has been received and understood and b) that I expect creative work can now commence.
Your creative brief should contain some basic components, see below for an outline to get you started. Happy brief writing and remember what an important role your creative brief can play in guiding your creative team to that perfect creative deliverable!
Creative Brief Outline
Project Name:
Client Name:
Due Date:
I. What do we aim to achieve?
What is the purpose of this project; short term and long term goals/objectives of this project (ex. desired response rates; lead generation goals; desired calls to action/resulting behaviors; shaping target audience’s perception, attitudes beliefs; building brand awareness; building brand preference and loyalty).
II. Client Background
About our client, who are they, what do they provide/do, what is their philosophy, their core values, how do they currently market themselves.
III. Target Audiences
Who are they, how does the client segment/categorize them (i.e. by industry, behavior, demographics, psychographics, personas, geography, a combination of these attributes); do we have any research insights from marketing studies or secondary research that highlights current perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and why do they buy from our client.
IV. Competitive Landscape
Who are the top direct and indirect competitors our client faces; how do they position themselves; how does our target audience “see” them relative to our client; how do their sales compare to one another and to our client—who is the market share leader; what are the major strategies competitors are using to market themselves.
V. Messaging Strategy
What does our main message need to convey and how do we support that message?
Convince (target audience):
That (what’s the main message or benefit):
Because (supporting facts):
Other copy points (secondary elements/facts to include):
Tone (brand personality traits):
VI. Production, Timing, Budget Considerations
What does the creative team need to be aware of about budget, formats, brand guidelines, client pet peeves, hard deadlines, distribution, media specs, other marketing materials which may “live” alongside the creative deliverable from this project.
VII. Additional Relevant Research
What market research or competitive intelligence do we want the creative team to be aware of (i.e. competitors’ ads, web pages, promotions).
