THE PERFECT CREATIVE BRIEF

Devin LiddellDirector/Strategy

hello

Why the first time didn’t go so well.

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What is the FUNDAMENTAL TENSION

within creative briefs?

MIT Study: Why don’t police sketches work?

But what about these?

TextTextText

Why are political cartoonsso recognizable?

The brain loves big, exaggerated features.

Not details.

The fundamental tension within creative briefs:

COMPREHENSIVE versus CONCISE.

PART ONEWHY WRITE A CREATIVE BRIEF?

Why write a creative brief?

• You want high-quality, e!ective, measurable creative work

• You want to save time and money

• You want fair payment or compensation

• The project is su"ciently large, high-profile, important, or long-term in nature

BETTER WORKGREATER EFFICIENCY

OPTIMAL PRICING

PART TWOTHE STATE OF THE CREATIVE BRIEF

The state of the creative brief

• Less frequent

• Less prepared

• Increasingly important

“I don’t have time.”

“I don’t know enough.”

“I want you to do it.”

Memo Forms

Memo Forms

Fax Cover Sheets

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Routing Slips

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Routing SlipsInvoices

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Routing SlipsInvoices

Service Agreements

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Routing SlipsInvoices

Service Agreements

Di!erent Kinds of Invoices

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Routing SlipsInvoices

Service Agreements

Di!erent Kinds of InvoicesPrint Estimates

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Routing SlipsInvoices

Service Agreements

Di!erent Kinds of InvoicesPrint Estimates Project Briefs

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Routing SlipsInvoices

Service Agreements

Di!erent Kinds of InvoicesPrint Estimates Project Briefs

Emergency Phone Trees

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Routing SlipsInvoices

Service Agreements

Di!erent Kinds of InvoicesPrint Estimates Project Briefs

Emergency Phone TreesThe Sheet With the # Codes to Punch for Long-distance Client Calls

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Routing SlipsInvoices

Service Agreements

Di!erent Kinds of InvoicesPrint Estimates Project Briefs

Emergency Phone TreesThe Sheet With the # Codes to Punch for Long-distance Client Calls

Billable Hours Reports

Memo Forms

Fax Cover SheetsSta! Contact Lists

Routing SlipsInvoices

Service Agreements

Di!erent Kinds of InvoicesPrint Estimates Project Briefs

Emergency Phone TreesThe Sheet With the # Codes to Punch for Long-distance Client Calls

Billable Hours Reports

Job Sheets

Approval Sticker Things

The creative brief is not a tactical document.

THIS IS A STRATEGIC DELIVERABLE.

A creative brief coexists with a project brief.

When is it okay to ONLY use a project brief?

Just a project brief will do:

• When all of the strategic and creative questions have already been answered.

• When the deliverable is entirely tactical.

• Examples:

• A reprint of existing collateral featuring a di!erent partner logo.

• A branded giveaway in which the giveaway has already been identified.

Who should write it?

900 Seconds(Break)

PART THREEINGREDIENTS FOR A BRIEF: 5 CORE ELEMENTS

01: The Big Picture

• High-level background information

• Declarative statements; “this is what’s happening” and “this is what we want to do about it”

• The biggest obstacle to success

02: Business Objectives

• Ultimate goals and/or criteria for success (e.g., increase awareness, generate sales leads, improve morale)

• Why right now is the ideal timing

03: Creative Objectives

• Criteria for success (e.g., expression of brand attributes, desired emotional impact, alignment with other initiatives, relevant synergies)

• Mandatory elements that inform the creative direction (e.g., product shots, use of spokesperson)

04: Audience & Response

• Who the target audience is and what they care about (e.g., demographics, motivations and inspirations, turnoffs, etc.)

• What we want them to do and why they should do it

• The single most important takeaway from the experience

05: Competitive Landscape

• The competitors

• What they’re doing (e.g., notable marketing activities, strengths and weaknesses, description of competitive pressures on business and creative objectives)

What about a description of the deliverable(s)?

What is the cost of defining the deliverables?What is the cost of not defining them?

5 Core Elements • The Big Picture

• Business Objectives

• Creative Objectives

• Audience & Response

• Competitive Landscape

PART FOUR5 WAYS TO MAKE A BRIEF LIVE . . . OR DIE!

01: Written format + verbal presentation

• Writing is about being exact; carefully selected language

• Not the same as a cover sheet (e.g., “see attached PowerPoint”

• A tool for an advocate/evangelist

• A set-up for great creative

02: Brevity

• Longer does not mean better; remember that they’re called “briefs”

• Not a work in progress

• A one-pager or “a brief within a brief”

03: Clarity

• Relevant information in context

• No tribal language

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

04: Opens more doors than it closes

• Leaves room for the creative to achieve the objectives in unexpected ways

• Uses brand guidelines to set the stage for breaking new ground (instead of breaking the rules)

05: Compelling language

• Write the manifesto

• Put the energy into the brief that you’d like to get out of the creative

Inform. Invest. Inspire.

5 Success Indicators • Written format + verbal presentation

• Brevity

• Clarity

• Opens more doors than it closes

• Compelling language

Lunch(eat)

PART FIVEEXERCISES

Write this brief.

900 Seconds(Break)

Using the content you’ve just developed, sketch out a new

creative brief format.

Q/A

devinl@pbdh.com

Thank You