The
creative brief
The
Creative Brief is at the heart of any design or creative
project. It tells the person developing the ad (or logo,
or brochure, etc.) exactly what the ad is supposed to
do, who it’s supposed to reach, and how it will
be judged. It is the “spec sheet” for the
job, much as a blueprint and spec sheet are for telling
a builder what goes into a new house.
 Perhaps
the most frustrating thing for a professional creative
team is to get fuzzy directions up-front. When you don’t
have a complete grasp of the situation, don’t fully
understand the objectives, and don’t know the rules
of the game, it’s hard to create advertising that
will be outstanding. And mediocre advertising is a waste
of time and money.
That’s
why I won’t begin to think creatively about a design
or advertising project until I have a really tight Creative
Brief. If necessary, I’ll involve a marketing strategy
specialist to ask the questions and interface with the
client to develop the Creative Brief. There’s a
certain knack to distilling all the information down
to just what a creative person needs to deliver on an
assignment. And often the very process of putting the
Creative Brief together forces a deeper understanding
of business objectives, positioning, and marketing strategy
that are as important to a client as the advertising
we eventually develop.
The
real value of the Creative Brief, however, becomes evident
when we present the creative product and recommendation
to the client. A smart client will compare the recommendation
to the “spec sheet” to see how well it delivers
the stated objectives and how closely the criteria are
met. It’s not a subjective assessment of how well
you “like” something. It’s a question
of how well the advertising delivers the objectives that
were established up-front.
A Creative
Brief makes the development and approval process much
smoother and more objective. And it places the responsibility
for setting the strategy where it belongs – with
the client. We’ll be glad to offer our thoughts
on strategy, but ultimately that onus belongs to the
client. It’s his/her business, and the client must
be comfortable with the approach. |
