the creative briefing process and why it matters
TRANSCRIPT
Why creative briefs matter
THE CLIENT PROBLEM
THE BEST POSSIBLE ANSWER
THE CLIENT PROBLEM
THE BEST POSSIBLE ANSWER
THE BRIEF
The best brief ever?
The creative brief
The most important piece of paper in our business(Yep, even moreso than an invoice)
Drivesales
Create a buzz
Generate leads
And so on…
Launch products
Change perceptions
Think about why clients engage us?
Think about why clients engage us
Think about why clients engage us
Ultimately they want us to take their business somewhere
The briefGives us a clear sense of where that place is
Provides directions to guide us
So we can work out the best way of getting there
The briefWithout it we’re…
Second guessing
The briefWithout it we’re…
Second guessing
Working in the dark
Risk getting lost along the way
And likely to miss the mark
The client brief
The creative brief7
Theclientbrief
From non-existent
to war & peace
The level playing
field they give every
agency
The wood, the trees, the leaves
Theclientbrief
Theclientbrief
Insight
The creative brief
Think &Inspiration
Direction
The client: Pope Julius IIThe agency: MichealangeloThe project: Sistine Chapel
Source: How to plan advertising – The Blue Book APG
Brief 1: Please paint the ceiling
Brief 1: Please paint the ceiling
Brief 2: Please paint the ceiling using red, green and yellow
Brief 1: Please paint the ceiling
Brief 2: Please paint the ceiling using red, green and yellow
Brief 3: We’ve got terrible problems with cracks in the ceiling. Could you cover it up for us?
Brief 1: Please paint the ceiling
Brief 2: Please paint the ceiling using red, green and yellow
Brief 3: We’ve got terrible problems with cracks in the ceiling. Could you cover it up for us?
Brief 4: Please paint biblical scenes on the ceiling, incorporating some or all of the following: God, Adam, cupids, devils and saintsrk
Or…
Brief:Please paint our ceiling for the greater glory of God and as an inspiration and lesson to his people.
No brief,no excuses
I didn’t have time to write the brief…
This won’t be the most interesting brief you’ve ever had…
Sorry it’s 12 pages long…
Every creative brief is an opportunity to do something great
Which means?
Client: Wow-ed Wins their trust Next brief guaranteed Likely to recommend us Accolades/Awards (for them and us)
Which means?
You: Feel great
The big things
So where do you start?
The where
The problem we’re trying
to solve aka. Our
destination
The big thingsThe who
Know the audience intimately
Who are we talking to
What’s stopping them
doing what we’d like
What do we know about
them
What do we want them
to think, feel and do
The big thingsThe what
Think like an onion peeler
What’s the most
important thing to tell
them
The big thingsThe why
Do you personally believe them?
The reasons they should believe us (the proof)
The big thingsThe house-keeping
Account lead Job number
Client lead Key dates
The creative brief
Supplementary information
How to prepare
Read Ask Prod
And let’s make a pact
Written creative brief everytime
Circulated 24 hours in advanceAnd read
Face-to-face briefing involving the full team – right from the start
Use the creative brief as our reference point there on in
And there’s more…Think about hosting the briefing out of the office
Garbage in…
Start with nothing and you get anything. So let’s start with something and who knows where it’ll take us…
www.earnest-agency.com @earnestagency