The Importance of a Creative Brief

This post is directed to marketers but of value to creatives.

One of the first questions I'm always asked is: do we need to write a creative brief?

For many, this simple task seems like a burdensome chore. But there is nothing more instrumental in getting a great final creative product than writing and agreeing on a good creative brief. Notice, I stressed the word "good".
The Creative Brief (and it deserves the capitals) at its barest tells the creative what needs to be created and, more importantly, why it needs to be created. Without that information up front the ability for the project to come off the rails increases exponentially.

It becomes this simple, if you can answer these questions in your Creative Brief, then your final creative product will answer them as well.

1. Who is the creative for?

(Also known as the target audience. Please don't say "everyone" or "all of our users". An unfocused target will guarantee unfocused and ineffective creative.)

2. What do you want them to know or think?

(After interacting with your creative what is the one thing you want the target to know or think? You only get one! If you have a robust marketing plan, you should have other opportunities in your communication continuum to address your target. You should not need to tell them everything all at once.)

3. What do you want them to do?

(Also known as the "call to action". I can assure you that if you have no idea what you want the target to do after interacting with your creative, they won't either. I'm constantly amazed at how little thought is given to this. And a personal pet peeve is the answer, "We don't need them to do anything. This is an awareness campaign.")

There will also be the inevitable process questions around: budget, timelines, sign-offs, etc. but I leave those to the project manager-types whose boats get floated by that sort of stuff. (Don't get me wrong, a great project manager is worth more than their weight in gold!)

There are a few rules to getting a phenomenal Creative Brief:

First, it's called a brief for a reason. Keep it brief. Tell the creatives everything they need to know but don't use the Creative Brief as an opportunity to show your boss how much you know about everything. Creatives do not have the longest attention span (myself included) if the brief becomes wordy or MBA-speak. Keep it short and sweet.

Second, really think about what you're writing. I know this seems self-evident but you would be amazed at how often I've looked at Creative Briefs only to see boilerplate answers that read more like a succession of PowerPoint slides. Put some real thought into it and the Creatives will put some real effort into your project.

Third, have the confidence in your creative team to allow them to surprise you. We all know what we expect. But the death of a creative team is to constantly deliver what the in-house marketing team expects. Worse yet, to be corralled by that marketing team into those expectations. I always loved to hear after a presentation, "Well, that wasn't what I was expecting." Then I know the creative team had done it's job. Be open to something new, unusual and unexpected. That's how breakthroughs are achieved.

Finally, you're all on the same team. If you treat your Creative Team as an extension of your own team, they'll behave that way. And expect from them what you'd expect from any team member--a thorough understanding of the business and a hearty contribution.

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