Step 1: A Jargon Free Anatomy of a Creative Brief
Briefs can be big or small, loose or tight. OK, we’re not talking about your underwear here. We’re looking at the main elements of a creative brief, how to make it the touchstone for your creative project, and what your Unique Super Power is all about.
A creative brief is a document shared between teams to capture the essence of your idea and how to make it great. It can be short or long, but its main purpose is to focus your thinking and make sure everyone involved understands the project and why it exists. You’ve heard of ‘singing from the same hymn sheet’. This is the hymn sheet, and the musical score too.
Who Should Write It?
Some people think it’s the client’s job, others the agency’s. A good creative brief is a collaboration: it nails down the purpose of the relationship and exactly what results it should bring. As the brief is the project’s touchstone, it’s worth spending time on it and involving the key decision makers, so it fits the vision.
What Is Its Purpose?
A good brief should inspire and open the door to creative possibilities. It should filter out noise, distil information, and let you test your idea in a structured way. It shouldn’t contain marketing babble or drown you in information. Ideally, it presents one concise problem to solve.
What Format Should It Be In?
There are plenty of templates online, some bold and bright, some minimalist. You can use Word or Google Docs, or make it graphical and colourful, as long as that doesn’t distract from the information and it stays easy to edit. It shouldn’t be long: a couple of pages is good, a couple of dozen is not.
What Should It Contain?
This is the big question. Every creative project is different, but most creative briefs cover these areas:
1) A Description Of The Creative Venture – The Dream
If you already have a dream, try to put it into ten words. Then try to make those ten words inspire. The description in your brief can be longer, of course, but the constraint forces you to boil the idea down to its essence. Earlier we mentioned ‘tight’ and ‘loose’ briefs. A tight brief has much more detail, usually because the client already knows exactly what they need: ‘make our website mobile responsive and load in under 3 seconds’. A loose brief leaves more room for creativity: ‘we want a digital installation at an event that wows the public’, or ‘we want an event experience that engages the public and gives us a good push on social media’.
2) The Project’s Purpose
Here you fill in the blank: what is the purpose of the creative project, and what problem does it need to solve? You may find the purpose and your early ideas don’t quite line up. That’s fine; it’s why you’re doing this exercise. As with point one, boil it down and don’t generalise.
3) Outcomes That Should Be Achieved
Defining your goals early zeroes in on your dream and tests whether it has ‘legs’. If your goals and your dream are badly misaligned, rethink. Again, make them concrete. Not ‘get people to understand that exercise is good for them’, but ‘get 10,000 people to download our 5K running app and have 90% of them complete the Couch to 5K challenge’.
4) Your Superpower
USP usually stands for Unique Selling Point, but I think it’s more fun to call it your Unique Super Power. What will make this creative project stand up and be counted? What will carry the people who see it from thought, to feeling, to action?
5) Audience
Who is this project for, and how will you reach them? The most amazing idea isn’t so amazing if it doesn’t reach people and touch them in a memorable way. You need to make people think, feel and act. With so much competing for our short attention spans, who exactly are those people, what do they like to see, read or listen to, and how will you reach them?
6) Budget
Your budget largely dictates the scope of what you can achieve. Is it realistic, and does it let you make something of quality you’ll be proud of? Discuss it early, especially if you’re bringing in extra expertise or hiring equipment.
7) Timeline
Many creative agencies work to seemingly impossible deadlines: the job comes in and the quote has to go out the same day. A tighter deadline usually costs more, as everyone puts in extra hours to make it. Make sure the timeframe is achievable, even if it’s not wholly comfortable!
8) Deliverables
For digital work: which formats, resolution and file size? For an installation: does it only need to last its two-week run, or will it be repurposed or moved on afterwards?
Finally…
By now everything should line up. The project looks achievable in the time and budget available, the brief is exciting and holds some killer insights, and everyone feels inspired. If not, revisit the brief and work out why. If so, you’re ready for step two: creative brainstorming.
One parting tip: your brief is a touchstone, not set in stone. Deadlines may move, budgets shrink or grow, and the creative scope may expand if the killer idea doesn’t fit the other elements. Be flexible, and treat the brief as a spark that helps light up your project.
If you need a hand writing a creative brief, or would like Developing Dreams to help bring your idea to life or run a brainstorm, get in touch.