- A creative brief is a document
that directs creative development.
Makes sense, right?
Creative development is the creation of visual
and written components or what many refer to
as the graphic design and copy.
I'm sure you're familiar with creative materials
for touchpoints like email, websites, videos, or print outs.
Creative briefs are important
because they set and manage expectations,
meaning the finished creative product
delivers the intended result
to help your brand when in market.
A creative brief can vary by organization,
but typically includes these components:
the communications objective.
This is a concise summary
of what you need to accomplish in market.
This objective is specific to the creative aspect,
so it's not a business objective.
The target market.
This describes who you need to engage and influence.
Competitive insights.
This summarizes your competitor's activities
like a new campaign, a new product launch
or a new service they might be offering.
Benefit.
This answers one simple question:
from the customer's perspective, what's in it for me?
In my experience,
this is the single most important component
in the creative brief.
It captures the key message or key takeaway of the creative.
The benefit should connect with the target emotionally
and be relevant, motivating, and differentiating.
Support.
Some people call this the reason to believe or proof points.
The support answers one simple question:
from the customer's perspective,
why should I believe the benefit?
This tends to be a rational reason
why to believe the benefit.
This is a critical component of the brief
to establish credibility.
Brand personality.
These are keywords that direct the tone
or look and feel for the creative.
Executional guidelines.
This could include legal restrictions
or formats needed for each touchpoint
like maybe guidelines about size or color.
Logistics.
This includes the schedule, deadlines, budget,
and approval process,
meaning, who from your company needs to be included
at which step in the process?
In some companies, especially larger ones,
there can be many stakeholders
involved in the creative brief,
from writing to final approvals,
like people who work in marketing, the business unit, legal,
or the executive team.
While all these people are important,
remember, the creative brief must inspire
and engage whoever actually develops the creative,
whether it's an external agency or internal creative team.
Writing a creative brief can take hours, but it's worth it.
It saves you time and money
because everyone is aligned on direction
early on in the process.
It provides an objective tool to evaluate creative concepts.
Instead of subjectively reviewing work,
you can compare the concepts to the brief
to make sure the creative will deliver the intended result.
These are common elements to include in your creative brief,
but they can vary by organization.
So consult with all the appropriate internal disciplines,
decision-makers and any external partners
such as your agency
to make sure you have an effective, inspiring brief
that will lead to great creative.