A GOOD BRIEF

What is a brief

To understand what a brief is let us understand the role of those who write it

What is a brief?

• If a servicing persons responsibility was to mediate between the client and the creative then we would not be here talking about this subject

• It is the servicing persons responsibility to give a sound marketing perspective to advertising and to make sure that advertising achieves its objective

What is a brief?

• Could you believe it, all of this is done through a piece of paper

• Through what we call a creative brief

What is a brief?

• A brief is a simple document that clearly outlines what advertising has to do

• How is it to be done• For whom is it to be done• A document that takes into account the

brands need and provides the creative with the necessary ammunition to

A good creative brief

Is brief and single mindedIs logical and rooted in a compelling

truthIncorporates a powerful human insightIs compatible with the overall strategy

Is the result of hard work and team work

The good the bad and the ugly

• The basic purpose of writing a brief is to provide a clear and concise direction to the creative team

• A spring board on the which the creative team can take creative leap

The good the bad and the ugly

• But good briefs do a lot more than that. They not only give direction but also provide inspiration to the creative team

• While a bad brief does the opposite. They are very vague and clueless

How to tell you have a good creative brief

• When you read one you’ll be able to easily and quickly imagine all sorts of ideas for ads

• If your mum could read and understand it

Writing the creative brief

The 7 questions to 7+

Leo Burnett creative brief format

What do we want advertising to do? Who are we talking to? And what insights do we have about them? How do we want them to describe this brand-How would they talk about its future essence and personality? What is the single most important thing we want them to take out of the advertising? How can we make this believable? Is there anything else worth thinking about that might help us get great creative work?

Are there any executional mandatories?

1. What do want the advertising to do?

What do want the advertising to do?

• Clearly state what do you want advertising to achieve. What is the problem we are trying to address and what opportunities can we exploit. Understand clearly that advertising is just one part of the marketing mix and therefore can only achieve objectives that are influenced by it

• Try to be specific about what you want it to achieve

What do want the advertising to do?

• Try to be specific about what you want advertising to achieve:

Increase involvement, create preference, convince new users Etc

• Advertising can only take a customer to the showroom but it cant make him buy the car

What do want the advertising to do?

• This is were your advertising strategy comes into play. You know what you want advertising to achieve, now clearly define how.

What do want the advertising to do?

• Good (Mercedes E-Class) Build an emotional connection with the

E-Class by evoking the serene experience of driving Mercedes

• Bad (Goldstar TV) To create awareness for…Goldstar TV.

Couldn’t have been more vague

The DNA of a good brief

• Remember a good brief is one that is always based on a solid strategy and an irrefutable human insight

What Is an Advertising Strategy?

• The backbone of a good brief is its strategy

• The objective of an advertising strategy is to identify the means to the end. To specify the marketing task that advertising would perform

• It is one coherent idea about how the advertising is going to work

What Is an Advertising Strategy?

• Quite simply it answers these questions:– What is the advertising going to do?

(Role)– Who is the advertising going to do it

to? (Target)– How is it going to do it? (Content)– Where and when? (Media)

Elements of the Strategy

Role of Advertising– Advertising is a collection of words

and pictures, so what can it realistically achieve?• Generate awareness, familiarity, top-of-

mindedness• Inform, demonstrate, argue, claim• Create images, associations, feeling• Address a negative

Target Audience

Defining the Target– Who do we need to aim our advertising at?– How do they perceive the brand?– What sort of relationship do they have with

it?– What are they like as people?– What are their motivations for purchase?– What makes them susceptible to the brand?

The Content (How)?

• The one thing that we can say to the target audience about the product that will motivate them in such a way as to achieve the advertising objective

• It should be:– Single-minded– Focused– Simple

This Is the Spark to Light the Creative Flame

Where and When (Media)• Media strategy and creative strategy

need to be developed together• How much have we got to spend? What

will it buy?– Choice of media– Time length / space– Time of advertising (seasonality of

sales, Christmas special?)

These Should Be Detailed on the Brief:However, Keep an Open Mind

2. Who are we talking to?

&

What insights do we have about them?

Who are we talking to?

• Stop treating your target audience as objects and so avoid describing them as “AB housewives between 20-40 years” or “Cool urban teens”. Remember that your consumer is a real living person

• Your target audience must be focused otherwise you will leave your creative team clueless

• Define whether the target audience is a current user, lapsed user, medium user or light user.

What insights do we have about them?

• Before we try to uncover consumer insights let us understand what is an insight at the first place

Insights

An insight is a simple human truth that evolves from our understanding of the world around us

A human insight is more than…

• Just a thought• Any observation obvious in

retrospect

It taps into an emotional hot spot. A bundle of emotional confusions… wonder, desire, shame, inadequacy, boredom… whatever

Have you ever…

Heard a story, anecdote or simply a feeling from

someone else andFELT….

…relieved about discovering that you are

not the only one who feels that way

“When my house looks shabby I feel ashamed and try to avoid calling anyone

home”

…your entire being agrees with it - heart, mind, body

and soul?

“For me going-back-home is about anticipation, faces from

the past suddenly popping back and forgotten conversations

suddenly recalled”

…Heard something and felt the urge to contribute at least one personal story or anecdote to

build on it?

“I once had a teacher who was really interested in my

giving him the wrong answer so that he could make me feel stupid…

Whenever I actually gave a right answer, I could see

irritation and disappointment on his

face”

Stuff that makes you feel like that

…is anINSIGHT

How does one get to it?

A lot of it is about…

Search of your mental library

• All of us have lived our lives on this planet, in these surroundings, with fellow men and women we communicate to

• Scores of experiences and relevant observations come alive when we recollect them

• Most of us have experienced similar situations or have similar reactions or thought processes

• Catch yourself unawares in the act of living

Candid Observation

• One of the things “insight sensitive” people are good at

• Whether you are a good creative guy or a Star planner– You observe people play out the drama of their daily

lives – All plays out and unfolds in front of you as people go

about their daily lives – Ultimately, we are not “buyers” who live to purchase

things, we live life and also purchase a few things we feel good about

Anecdotes

• Listen for anecdotes – at focus groups, on the field, from consumers of your product, or those of competitors

• Or anyone talking about his interesting life experiences

• Friends, family, your Mom• Because true insights lie buried in these

anecdotes or little stories

How to communicate the insight?

Can you pick it out?

If you feel and know…

• That you have hit upon the insight, you may not always be able to articulate it well

• It takes a little practice to pick out the insight from a story where it lies buried and then to articulate it well

• In the meantime, convey the anecdote to somebody else who is good at articulation

Do not begin “thinking” for an insight.

It is more like Wordsworth recollecting the tune,

“long after it was heard no more”

3. How do we want them to describe the brand?

How do we want them to describe the brand?

• How do want them to describe the essence and personality of your brand

• Don’t use manufacturers line such as “Mcdonalds offers you a great time and great taste” Speak to your consumers in their own language.

How do we want them to describe the brand?

• Your brand is a combination of rational, emotional and self expressive benefits that it delivers. So how do you want the consumer to relate to it and describe it

• Every brand needs to have a brand essence because it is your brands essence that drives the tone, style spirit of your communication

How do we want them to describe the brand?

• Good Vicks knows how I feel when I’ve got a

cold. Its like your mum when you were a kid. Full of warm human understanding and able to put everything right

• Bad Vicks is the best solution for cold. As I

constantly suffer from cold I always make it a point to keep Vicks with me

How do we want them to describe the brand?

• While you might thing that in your brand you have a winner, be realistic and clear about what your brand can do for the consumer. Be absolutely simple and single minded about this

• Make sure that in your communication you are not making promises that your brand cannot deliver

4. What is the single most important thing we want them

to take out of advertising?

The single most important thing…

• Remember while your consumer is most important for you, you may not be that important for him. He is busy and indifferent to most ads and he has choices for everything

• So make it easier for him and most important of all make it relevant and important to him

• So make promises that are deliverable, unique and benefits that can make a difference to his life

• Though you might be advertising for a bar of soap, or a car or a soft drink you must understand that you are not just competing with your competitors but with every other brand that is being advertised

• You are competing for that little bit of space a consumer has in his mind to retain things

• So if you are not single minded, your communication will be lost in the clutter of all other ads

The single most important thing…

• Good (Danish Light Beer)• Beer without the belly

• Bad (Liril)• Liril icy mint. Ice try karoge

The single most important thing…

5. How can we make this believable?

How can we make this believable?

• Now think of those elements in your brand that deliver the promise your communication is making

• Your promise is only as good as its support

• Give rational reasons to your consumer to believe in the promise

• List only those supports that are directly relevant to your promise

How can we make this believable?

• Good (ICICI) Reduced interest on car loans

(only 9% as compared to 11% from other banks)

6. Is there anything else worth thinking about to help us get

great creative work?

Is there anything else worth thinking about to help us get great creative work?

• Don’t list down facts that are nice to know

• If it doesn’t help your creative team, it is not required

• This is best opportunity to put on the creative cap

• If written well, can enable a creative person to take a creative leap

• Good We need to focus on the fit yuppie

and implicitly reposition the regular beer as not meant for fit people. However we also need to be mindful of the fact that Danish light is not a health drink

Is there anything else worth thinking about to help us get great creative work?

7. Are there any excecutional mandatories?

Are there any excecutional mandatories?

• This is purely for brand identity, corporate guidelines, legal mandatories. Basically the do’s and don'ts

Lets do it again..

Is brief and single mindedIs logical and rooted in a compelling

truthIncorporates a powerful human insightIs compatible with the overall strategy

Is the result of hard work and team work

Summary

• A good brief is one which is based on a solid strategy and an irrefutable insight

• Is logical and rooted in a compelling truth• Is single minded• Clearly defines the problem and role of

advertising• Talks the consumer in his own language• Provides a spring board to the creative team to

take a giant creative leap• Results in advertising that is clutter breaking

Leo Burnett creative brief format

What do we want advertising to do? Who are we talking to? And what insights do we have about them? How do we want them to describe this brand-How would they talk about its future essence and personality? What is the single most important thing we want them to take out of the advertising? How can we make this believable? Is there anything else worth thinking about that might help us get great creative work?

Are there any executional mandatories?

And finally…

• Remember, a good brief is like a G-string:

Concise, covers the essentials and very inspiring.

• A bad brief is like a pair of boxer shorts: Broad and boring but it covers your ass.