Role of Creative Briefs: Robert Harris

Role of Creative Briefs
Robert Harris
File source: www.masslearning.com
© 2002 masslearning.com
• Document that provides an outline of

the creative task and the basis for
creatives to develop their solutions.
• Used for setting creatives on the task of
developing ideas for a new campaign.
• Written document that encapsulates all the
important points needed to develop creative
ideas for a Marcomms campaign.
• Creative Briefs should be short (1-2 pages),
although a recent Guinness brief was 100
pages long!
• The brief tends to be brief, while a Marketing
Communications (Marcomms) Plan has much
more detail.
• The brief should follow at least the SOS
(Situation Objectives & Strategies) and
3 M’s (Men/Women, Money, Minutes)
of the SOSTAC Planning System.
• Brief has to be provided to several
agencies pitching for business, so
balance has to be reached between
confidentiality and revealing sufficient
information for a pitch to be developed.
• It is managed by an Agencies Creative
Team. This may either be a single
person or more usually a Copywriter
and Art Director. They are interested in
images and do not like to get bogged
down with too much marketing
information. The Creative Team may
also include designers, layout artists,
photographers and film makers for
larger projects.
• The creative brief needs to convey

sufficient information to develop ideas
through a greater understanding of the
brand and the brands market.
The brief follows a relay race in the
Marketing Communications
development process
STRATEGY
DEVELOPMENT
CREATIVE
BRIEFING
CREATIVE
OUTPUT
Gary Duckworth (Duckworth, Finn, Grabb, Walters Agency)

• A Creative Brief should be brief, but it
does not have to be creative! The brief
is not the same as a briefing – although
between them they should provide
direction and inspiration to the Creative
Team (Duckworth, 1977)
• Creative briefing is a process, not merely the
issuing of a document. The writing of a brief
forces the author(s) through a discipline that
answers questions that may otherwise be left
vaguely defined or too open. Conversely, the
briefing is an expensive task where creative
people can see the different routes made
possible by the briefing.
– Robertson, C (1977), Creative Briefs & Briefing. Ch.4

in “How to Plan Advertising” (Cooper, A, ed) 2nd Ed - Cassell
Contents of a Creative Brief
• Contains typically:-
– Situation
(Where you are now)
• Market channels, segments, target audiences,
trends, competition, market share, position,
current and previous campaigns, strengths and
weaknesses, USP’s, brand features/benefits,
organisation/corporate branding issues
– Objectives
(Where you want to go)
• Marketing objectives, marketing
communications objectives, problem or
opportunity definition, methodology for
effectiveness criteria and evaluation
– Strategy
(How we are going to get there)
• Statement of fit between marketing strategy and
corporate strategy, campaign strategy
– Control
(How will we know when we have arrived)
• Agency and client should agree success and failure
parameters, key criteria, measurement tools
– 3 M’s
• Men/Women:
Who makes decisions, team composition, reporting
structure, contacts for support
• Money:
Budget
• Minutes:
Timescale, deadlines for pitch and agency selection,
campaign launch framework
Variations (Robertson 1997)
• Why are you promoting?
– Objectives/mix roles
• Who is the promotion aiming to influence?
– Segmentation variables –
lifestyle/psychographics
• What do you wish to communicate?
– What needs to be said, proposition?
– Copy platform “The big idea”
or or
– Creative theme Brand values/identity

Variations (Robertson 1997)
• Why will the audience believe the
message?
• How do you wish to say it?
– Tone/voice
• Likely response to communication?
– Will it be believed
• Any restrictions?
• Any special requirements?
– Media requirements, timing?
• J Walter Thompson researched 40
Agency Creative Teams to establish
what makes a good brief. They were
found to have:-
• Trigger words
– Words/phrases that can trigger an idea.
• E.g.. Persil releases clean – release and liberation
• Take Black Magic out of the kitchen and into the bedroom
– moved the brand away from ingredients
• Correct amount of facts
– Not too many or too few
• Relevance
– To the product, audience and time/context
• Clarity
– Clear and explicit briefs work best
• Open, not close doors
– Don’t be too prescriptive
– Be visionary
– Be a gardener, not a gatekeeper!
Finally
• The brief and briefing process will allow the
agency to prepare the pitch. Some forward
thinking agencies will work on pre-pitch initiatives
to help cultivate large accounts.
– E.g. One agency delivered a framed poster to Kiss

FM’s MD bearing the strap-line – “We will put your
name on everyone’s lips”. Saatchi, pitching for the
same business covered Kiss FM’s HQ with pink
balloons on Valentines Day.
– Publicis booked a billboard opposite the Guardians HG

and ran flattering ads during the week of the pitch, that
changed each day.
Creative Brief Template
Date:
Project:
Project Champion:
• Background:
– Please summarize this program and what you want to
achieve:
How will you measure the success of this program?
• The Audience:
– Who is the Primary Audience?
What should be avoided in talking to this audience?
What do they believe before we tell them anything?
Who is the secondary audience?
• Objectives:
– What objectives are you trying to achieve?
– What are the priorities of those objectives?
– Can you suggest strategy or positioning to achieve the
objective?
• The Message:
– If you could get one sentence through all the clutter, what
would that be?
– If they asked you to prove it, how would you do that?
– What other major points do you want to communicate?
• The Medium:
– What is the best way to reach this audience?
– Is there another way?
– Are there existing pieces that this piece must work with?
– How will this piece be delivered to the audience?
• Anything Else:
– Any other design objectives or special circumstances?
– Are there any mandatories that must be in the piece?
• The Deadline:
– When must the message get to the audience for maximum
effect? (i.e. trade shows, events, product intro dates)
– When must we deliver the finished work?
– Budget:
How much money do you have to spend on this project?
– Has this budget been approved? By whom?
– What quantities do you need to produce? (for printed pieces)
• The Responsible Parties:
– Who needs to sign off on final execution?
Example Brief 1
High and Wired new Production
• Product
– Circus season, holiday entertainment for the family (Attach
to the brief an outline of the event, or project, the exhibition
and a profile of your organisation, along with past
promotional materials).
• Title of event
– Under consideration. Possibly "High and Wired". Ideas
welcome.
• Location
– An inner city park, near a swimming pool and close to bus
and rail links.
• Dates
– Opens Boxing Day, runs for a minimum of three weeks, with
an option to extend for a fourth week.
Example Brief 1
• Goal
– To sell 25,000 tickets at £12 each; secure a major triennial
sponsor; and pave the way for regular seasons at this
location.
• Target audience
– Families, visitors to city, regular attendees of physical
theatre and circus.
• Key messages
– Fantasy, funny, no animals, premier circus company with
attitude, grown-up fun and children will love it, the summer
holiday 'must see', first ever season by this company in this
city.
Example Brief 1
• Channels
– fliers and poster advertising; quality dailies and
limited tabloid newspapers
– MOR (middle of the road) radio station, possibly
television, if able to secure sponsorship
promotions:
• Uncle Toby's cereal package promo
• Smith Family appeal
• our web site
• theme park (both organisations will promote the other
through on-site display and linked ticket offers)
Example Brief 1
• Creative requirements
– a 12pp DL flier (100,000 with extensive direct mail)
– A1(site signage) and A3 poster (cafes)
– prototype press advertisements (mono 15cmx3col)
– radio commercial (possibly TVC, do not cost yet) 30 sec and
15 sec
– event logo for use on package promotions, advertising, etc.
– merchandise prototypes: must have very low retail price and
be designed for the under 10s
– copywriting of the positioning line, radio commercial and
general copy editing
– web site design (needs to be linked to ticket agency which
has e-sales)
Example Brief 1
• Points to note
– A designer needs to know, for example, whether the mail
house has a machine enclosing the flier. This means a
concertina fold will not work, as machines cannot insert
fliers that do not have a blind edge.
• Outcomes
– A bright, sophisticated, flexible design that captures the
physicality, fun and fantasy of the show and translates well
to small-scale use and mono advertisements. The overall
design of the publication must be sympathetic with the sharp,
contemporary look of the company. But…the No 1 message
is the show.
• Timing
– Give critical dates for delivery of the design.
Example Brief 1
• The role of the designer
– The designer will be an integral member of the marketing
team, reviewing and assessing results as the campaign
unfolds.
• Your estimate
– Please allow in your cost estimate for two sets of author's
corrections for all items. Also, give the cost of providing
high resolution scans and an allowance for photography,
license fees or illustrations. It is important to be clear about
all possible charges before work commences. You also need
to ensure the designer considers all the elements, such as
photography.
Example Brief 2
Writers Club Website
• PROJECT NAME:
– Writer’s Club Web Site
• PROJECT STAKEHOLDER:
– Annie LePlume, V.P. Marketing, Book
Publishing Company Inc.
• DESIRED LAUNCH DATE:
– April 2003
• DEVELOPMENT BUDGET:
– $500,000, plus $3,000 / month hosting
Example Brief 2
• BUSINESS OBJECTIVES:
– This new Web site will provide visitors with the opportunity to
achieve a very special goal: getting published in paperback.
We expect this promotional site to:
• Attract new visitors to our site through promotions with writers’
clubs. For example, the XYZ Writers Club of America has 8,000
members who are specifically committed to getting their novels
published.
• Increase traffic and retention on our corporate Web site through
direct participation (visitors submit entries, read, rate, and review
other members' stories) and due to the nature of the contest (new
stories/winners posted monthly).
• Increase minutes per pages.
• Promote our brand as a leading publisher of fiction.
• Attract high-level stakeholders and generate revenue in the $1-
million plus range.
• Increase online book sales by driving traffic to our online
bookstore.
• Obtain newsletter sign-ups and add these users to our marketing
database.
Example Brief 2
• PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
– The Writer’s Club Web site will allow visitors to submit
works of short fiction, rate and review each other’s
submissions, sign up for an e-mail newsletter and share
content with friends.
– Visitors will be encouraged to submit short stories (length
5,000 to 7,500 words), of which two per month will be
chosen as winners by a celebrity author judge or panel of
judges provided by Book Publishing Company.
– At the end of 6 months, winning stories will be published in
paperback as a collection of short fiction by Book Publishing
Company Inc.
– Each monthly winner will have the option to submit a
completed novel manuscript for review; one of twelve
complete novel submissions will also be published in
paperback form.
Example Brief 2
• MODEL WEBSITES:
– Some examples of similar features as well as desirable look-
and-feel include:
– http://www.ivillage.com/books/
– http://www.amazon.com
– http://www.writersdigest.com/
• USER PROFILE:
– The typical user will be a college-educated female, age 25 to
50, who is a frequent buyer of popular fiction. She will
probably access the site from home. Her motivations for
visiting the site include the desire to connect with women of
similar interests, the possibility of being published, and
curiosity about fiction created by women like herself.
Detailed demographic data to follow.
Example Brief 2
• FEATURE SUMMARY:
– The Writer’s Club site will consist of the
following major features:
• Home page
• Registration
• E-mail newsletter
• Submit a Story
• Journaling tool
• Editors’ publishing tool
• Story archive
• Rate and review
• Send to a Friend
Example Brief 2
• Home Page
– When users arrive at this page, they will find a welcome
message and a description of the contest with an introduction
to the celebrity judge(s). The bottom of this page will also
house a brief profile and photo of the last month’s winner.
We may also want to include a small photo of the judge(s),
as well as audio-recorded messages.
– The rest of the page will be dedicated to related links.
– At the bottom of the page users will be invited to sign in if
they'd like to submit an entry or read other stories.
– Clicking "sign-in" will bring the user to a registration page.
• Registration Page
– Before they can either submit or read a story, visitors will
have to signup and submit their e-mail, which provides them
with a membership in the contest.
Example Brief 2
• Monthly E-mail Newsletter

– Visitors Receive a monthly newsletter that does the
following:
– Announces the monthly winner
– Introduces new books
– Presents book discounts and promotions
– Links to the writing center on our Web site
– Highlights the monthly deadline
Example Brief 2
• Submit a Story
– When members select "submit," they arrive at a Submit home page.
This page will feature: How to Submit; Official Rules; FAQs (with
links to separate article pages where relevant) and a “Submit Your
Story Now” button.
• Clicking the “Submit Your Story Now” button will allow the user to
submit a story of 5,000 to 7,500 words via a Journaling Tool.
• After entering the story in the tool, they will arrive at a Thank You
page. This page will offer links to read and review other stories, or to
go back to the Writer’s Club. Also, auto-reply emails will be sent to
submitters.
• Each submission will need to be monitored before being published on
the site to confirm that there is no inappropriate content. Each
submission should enter a queue, which can then be reviewed and
either "accepted" (published) or "denied" (perhaps a form email should
be sent informing the party that their story could not be posted on the
site). Submissions will all be read a second time by judges to
determine the monthly winner.
• When the submitter is notified that the story has been posted, there will
be the option to send a friends-and-family e-mail inviting them to come
and read the submission.
• Winners will be notified via of e-mail of their success.
Example Brief 2
• Read and Review
– When members click "Rate and Review," they arrive at a
"Rate and Review" home page.
– This page provides links to directories of this month's stories
organized either by title or author.
– Visitors will be invited to be a "Peer Judge" and rate and
review the stories
– There will also be a self-updating list of the Top 10 peer-
rated stories here. Each story title will be a direct link to the
story. These stories could be identified with a "Top 10" icon
at the top; this icon would serve as a link back to the Top 10
list page so that members could opt to read all ten of the Top
10 stories easily.
– Each story will have a Rate and Review option.
– Each story will have a “Send to a Friend” feature
Example Brief 3
Website Development Project
• Project Summary:
– Your Company Ltd is an award-winning on-air branding
agency providing innovative solutions for the film and
television industry. Known only to a niche community in the
local industry, Your Company Ltd is seeking a redefined
online presence and identity – to promote the company’s
unique approach and vision to a global audience.
Additionally, Your Company Ltd would like to promote
additional capabilities including print and interactive identity
campaigns. The existing web site is a brochure site with
outdated content and client list. Immediate goals include
advancing marketing and promotion of the company via the
site at Promax, the industry’s major showcase tradeshow. In
addition, a significant goal is to recreate the site so it is
scalable and easy to update. Long-term, the Your Company
Ltd site will be a tool and a resource for clients and company
– with the eventual build out of a client communication area
and a corporate Intranet.
Example Brief 3
• Target Audience:
– Your Company Ltd’s target audience includes creative, studio and
financial executives. These individuals are looking at the web site
in order to decide who will provide the most innovative and unique
solutions for their branding efforts. These individuals may have
already heard of Your Company Ltd, and are looking for additional
information and company background for amplification and
verification. Experience, industry connections, and quality of
product are important factors in the decision-making process.
– Your Company Ltd's typical web site visitor is a VP of Marketing
for a high-profile television studio. He is considered ‘old school’
and has been in the industry for over 20 years, starting from initial
television production and set design. He has an interest in
technology, but rarely uses his computer for anything but email,
calendar and contact information. He is on a shared studio T-1
network connection, and when online uses the Netscape 4.0
browser – the one that came with the computer and has not been
updated. He is rarely online and usually only when directed to the
web. He looks at competitive studio advertising, marketing and
promotional efforts, and when away from work never goes online.
Example Brief 3
• Perception/Tone/Guidelines:
– Dynamic, experienced, contemporary, exciting, fun,
communicative
– Elegant, semi-corporate, high production value, high visibility
– Use current Your Company Ltd marketing & branding efforts in
a new and different way
– Information should have a fresh and conversational tone
– Easy to navigate and find information
• Communication Strategy:
– The web site redesign will provide direct communication
methods including film and television show profiles, featured
articles, and company information. In the first phase of
development, the site will be mostly a brochure-type site with
limited interactivity and database origination. In the next phase
of development, a password protected client area will be added
for current projects and communication, as well as an internal
company Intranet which will be used to facilitate internal
communication and company news.
Example Brief 3
• Competitive Positioning:
– Your Company Ltd has many competitors in the
development community, mostly smaller shops
with many partners who say they 'do it all.'
Highlighting the quality of production &
development projects, the high-level project and
client list, and overall attention to detail and
breakthrough branding and positioning efforts will
separate Your Company Ltd from its competition.
Attention to overall marketing strategy will also
help to differentiate the web site in the industry
eye.
• Single-Minded Message:
– innovative communication
Further reading
• Integrated Marketing Communications 2nd Ed.
– Pickton and Broderick Ch 20
• Marketing Communications 4th Ed
– Smith and Taylor Ch 6
• Cooper, A. (ed), (1997),
– How to Plan Advertising, 2nd Ed, Cassell
• IPA (2003)
– The Client Brief, Joint industry guidelines for
young marketing professionals in working
effectively with agencies caf, IPA, ISBA, MCCA,
PRCA
Robert Harris
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Role of Creative Briefs

File source: www.masslearning.com

• Document that provides an outline of

• The creative brief needs to convey

Gary Duckworth (Duckworth, Finn, Grabb, Walters Agency)

– Robertson, C (1977), Creative Briefs & Briefing. Ch.4

– Creative theme Brand values/identity

– E.g. One agency delivered a framed poster to Kiss

– Publicis booked a billboard opposite the Guardians HG

• Monthly E-mail Newsletter

File source: masslearning.com

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