Successful communications programs of any type have one consistent element: at the beginning of the program's development, someone sat down and wrote a creative brief.
This person might not have called it a "creative brief," but the purpose was the same: to articulate the program's objectives, to outline the problems and opportunities the program will face in the hearts and mind of the intended target audience, and to consider the program's strategic direction.
The name changes depending upon where it's developed. Agencies often call them a strategy brief or client brief. Internal communications departments use slightly more generic names, like strategic plan or planning guide. At MasterCard, we used to call them "OST Plans" (objective + strategy +tactic). A colleague in Sydney doesn't have a name for his department's document per se, but his explanation certainly suggests one: "Our team sits down together and decides what the hell we're going to do before we waste time and money."
If you don't use a creative brief, you should. Here's why:
- It forces structured thinking and discipline upon the team. (Ask yourself how many ad campaigns run without a brief: why should communications have any less rigour?)
- It focuses the team to articulate the core messages so that the strategies and tactics best deliver those messages to the key audiences.
- It ensures there's agreement between the team and its client on the direction of the assignment. (You should not use the last PowerPoint presentation since the program often changes between "presentation" and "implementation.")
- It improves the quality of the ideas produced during the brainstorm.
Yes, there are downsides, but only if some general rules are not followed.
- Don't assign the job of completing the brief to the lowest ranking person in the team. Writing a brief should be a group activity, started at the earliest possible stage in plan development, and done through discussion, debate and buy-in among the team members and, whenever possible, the client.
- Don't think of a brief as answering boiler-plate questions. It's not the quality of the questions, it's the quality of the answers.
- Don't write a brief and then ignore it. It should be re-visited at key points in the campaign development. Are the strategies and tactics following the original direction? If not, why not?
- Don't overload the brief with more information than necessary. First and foremost, it should focus on strategy ... not the ideas (that's the purpose of the brainstorm), and not the resources behind the project (these important issues will become important after the brainstorm, when the ideas are honed into realistic tasks.)
I've developed a number of briefs for teams and agencies over the years, and below is the most comprehensive list of questions I've compiled for your team to consider in creating your own. A few instructions:
- Tailor the questions to your organisation or situation. Don't use them 'as is.'
- Formalise the brief into a standard template suited to your company.
- Train everyone how to complete one.
- Set up guidelines on how to use: where is the blank template stored on your shared drive, how and when does someone begin to complete it, determine the system for approving it as the project moves toward completion.
1. Objectives
- What is the specific business outcome this campaign/project/assignment must achieve?
- What role should/must communications play to help achieve this business outcome?
- How will we measure our success against these communications objectives, and if necessary, the business result?
2. Target Audiences
- Primary Audiences: Who is the specific audience which must change their attitude, opinion or behaviour so that we will achieve the communications objective and the business result?
- Secondary Audiences: Who will influence the primary target audience, both positively and negatively?
- Media: What traditional and social media will be critical to reach these audiences in a relevant and credible way?
3. Issues and Opportunities
- In priority order, what are the issues that will or may prevent us from achieving our objectives? (Note: The issues should only be ones which communications can make an impact. Important issues where communications can't help need to be noted and discussed with the other relevant parties.)
- Of the primary audience: what is 'the little voice in the back of their heads' saying about us, our products or services, the category or our industry?
- What opportunities, assets or drivers can we leverage against these specific issues?
4. Strategies
- For each prioritised issue above, what specific strategy will address, minimise, neutralise or eliminate a particular issue? (If you have three issues, you will have at least one strategy for each. Some issues may have two strategies.) See my blog entry How to tell the difference between an objective, strategy and tactic? if you need guidelines.
5. Messages
6. Resources
- What staffing is available to us?
- What is the approximate budget?
- What is the time frame for delivery?
- What materials, resources or skills do we have?
7. Initial Thought-Starters for the Brainstorm
- What is the most relevant and differentiating idea that will surprise consumers, or challenge their current thinking?
- What is the psychological, social or cultural tension between the current perception and the desired perception?
- What idea will help us start a relevant and compelling dialogue between us, our consumers, and their key influencers?
One last point: How long should a creative brief be? A general answer: roughly 2-3 pages. A specific answer: as long as necessary, as long as the writer is not repeating him/herself.
