- October 9, 2014
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How To Brief Your Creative Team
Creative people often talk about breaking rules and thinking “outside the box.”
But the truth is, they need to know the rules, and the size of the box, in order to properly channel their creativity. That’s why you need a Creative Brief.
We’ve written previously about the importance of a Creative Brief in producing an effective direct marketing message. Now let’s get into the nuts and bolts of the key questions that need to be answered before handing off the assignment to your creative team. Once you’ve answered the questions, meet with your team to walk through the brief. Use the questions below to make an outline or template for your own Creative Brief.
Creative Brief Outline
Submitted By (Whose baby is this?): Include the name, phone and email of the person responsible for the project, as well as the date of the request.
Project (What is the assignment?): Describe the scope of the project. If it’s a brochure, what size and how many pages? What kind of mailer? How big a billboard? What length video or commercial?
Where will it be seen?
Goal (What do we want to achieve; how will it be measured?): Whether you want greater awareness, more traffic, followers, subscribers, or sales, decide what success will look like before you begin.
Background/Overview (Why are we advertising?): Describe the market situation and the reason for the campaign at this time. Is it a seasonal promotion, a clearance sale, or perhaps a new product launch?
Target Audience (Demographic/psychographic/geographic data): Who are we trying to reach? Where are they and what do we know about them? Include data such as age, income, occupation, lifestyle and interests, if possible.
Competition (Who are we up against?): Sum up what is known about the industry in general and your competitors in particular. Provide links to competitor websites or other supporting documentation if necessary.
Supporting Points (Can we verify product claims?):Why should the audience believe our claims? Is there a guarantee, product testimonials, or third-party endorsement of some kind?
Main Message (A one-sentence summary!): What is the single most important thing we want to communicate? The one big audience takeaway?
Call To Action (What do we want the audience to do?): Do we want readers or viewers to click, call, share, enter, reply, or buy? What audience response will help ensure a successful campaign?
Budget (How creative can we get?): Give your creative team realistic production budget so they don’t come back with a costly concept that’s unaffordable to produce.
Deadlines (When do you need it delivered?): Provide a schedule with dates for first draft, completed concepts, approval times, as well as delivery dates for printers/publishers/media, plus a launch date.
Mandatories: (Legal disclaimers; restrictions; phone number; website URL; copyright/trademark; logo usage.): This is the place to mention all the elements that absolutely must be included, from phone numbers and websites to copyright information.
