Creative Briefs and Briefing

Black Pencil Academy, Toronto

Agenda
1. 2. What is a Brief? Filling in the Boxes

3.
4. 5.

The Briefing
A Case Study Conclusion
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1. What is a Brief?

What is a Brief?
A creative brief is the most important piece of

paper an account team produces

It is a demonstration of how good you are Therefore, it is how a creative team

judges/curses you

What is a brief?
A distillation of everything you have learned All the information that must be conveyed by

the advertising
A contract for you, the Creatives and the

Client
A team effort

What it isnt ...

Set in stone Sole property of the planner A place to copy out the client brief

A place to show off every fact you know or

marketing term you have learned

Primarily for placating the client
The same as the strategy or the advertising
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The Advertising Process

Develop the Strategy

Write the Brief

Write the Ads

The Advertising Process

Advertising tries to get the consumer to do

something that will benefit the client The Strategy is the plan for achieving this goal
Who do we want to talk to?
What do we want them to do? What can we tell them about the brand so they will do it?

We develop the Strategy and the Creatives carry it out

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The Advertising Process

The Brief is their road map

If the directions arent good, theyll get lost

What Makes a Good Brief?

Direction + Inspiration

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Direction
What is the one thing you want the

advertising to say?
If you cant explain it to your friends in one

sentence, start again

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Inspiration
The most powerful advertising contains

insights that truly resonate with the consumer

One important insight should be at the heart

of your brief

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What makes a good brief?

Direction + Inspiration

One clear and compelling thought about the brand

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Why Briefs Go Astray

I didnt have time

The Client made me write it this way

There was nothing to say There were too many things to say We didnt have enough information The Account Team couldnt agree

Make No Excuses!
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Believe in the possibility of every assignment

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Every new campaign is an opportunity to reinvent advertising

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The Goal

The best briefs are so good you cant wait for the account team to leave your office so you can get started
Unidentified Creative

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Some General Advice

Get your story straight beforehand

Take your time

Keep it focused Be concrete, not abstract Speak English

Remember the goal is always great advertising!

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2. Filling in the Boxes

Filling in The Boxes

These can be confusing What goes where? What are they for?

Just remember, they all have to lead to one

main thought - the proposition

Include only what is both necessary and

illuminating

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1. Whats the reason for this brief?

What you need to explain:
What is the background/context for what we are

doing?
Why the heck are we advertising this brand

anyway?
What do we need the advertising to do for it?

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1. Whats the reason for this brief?

Objectives must be realistic Advertising objectives, not business

objectives
Keep it to the point

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1. Whats the reason for this brief?

The product has a severe saliency deficiency so it does not get into the targets consideration set. The leading brand sets the category values and our brand is seen as a me-too because of these dominant associations. Alternatively, a proportion of the target segment have a dissociated perceptual set with respect to the brand. The campaign objective is to increase saliency and to communicate a brand identity which is motivating and more appropriate to the products experiential manifestation

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1. Whats the reason for this brief?

Cheers main benefit is to keep colours bright, but most people dont know this. We need to make them understand so that they choose it for its own merits and not as a second best to Tide.

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2. Who are we talking to?

Be as specific and vivid as you can

Women 18-45 not very helpful

Neither is laundry list of meaningless

adjectives and media cliches Try to describe a real person But, dont tell whole life story Include only what will help Creatives to talk to them

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2. Who are we talking to?

Young adults 18-25. Someone self-assured, active and energetic, self-reliant, positive, optimistic, individualistic, self-centred, not superficial, irreverent, somewhat cynical, skeptical, savvy, fashion-conscious, honest, straight-forward, computer-literate, entrepreneurial, self-indulgent, hedonistic, likes having new things, doesnt change opinions to please others, doesnt change behaviour in order to be liked, thinks of him/herself as an individual but has a powerful need to fit into a group, preoccupied with sex/gender-related issues, has short attention span, wants instant gratification AND likes chocolate bars
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2. Who are we talking to?

A 19 year-old guy who likes to think hes the life of the party. Hes into South Park, Mike Meyers, etc. and is constantly repeating comic catch-phases like he wrote them himself. Hes a little too mainstream to be truly hip, but hes still very concerned with his image.

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3. What do they currently think?

This is not about their life in general Rather, their relationship with the brand, the

category, the advertising

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3. What do they currently think?

How interested are they in the product? How often do they use it? When do they use it? How do they feel about it? How do they feel about our brand vs. the competition? What do they ultimately want the product or brand to do for them?

Dont go overboard: only include what is truly relevant to the problem the advertising must solve

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3. What do they currently think?

PMB 99 If I work hard enough I will get to where I want, I dont like taking orders, What brands I buy says a lot about me, I hate anything that is hype and smacks of phoniness, If its too perfect, it cant be trusted

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3. What do they currently think?

They chew gum all the time but its not something they think about much. As far as theyre concerned, all gum is pretty much the same. Whats more, theyre completely turned off by gum advertising which they see as cheesy and trying too hard. Still, they might be persuaded that one gum was superior if it made its point convincingly and actually managed to be entertaining.

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4. Whats single message should this communication convey?

Many Creatives dont look at anything else!

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4. Whats single message should this communication convey?

The most crucial to get right and the easiest to go

astray Remember, the box says single-minded Be concrete, not abstract Err on the side of simplicity Distinguish between what you tell them and what you want them to think

One clear and compelling thought about the brand!

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Single Minded vs. Double-headed

Mr. Big is the biggest bar, bar none Mr. Big is the big bar that wont slow you down, now available in new Peanut Ripple flavour

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Concrete vs. abstract

Abstract ideas are much harder to

demonstrate
Abstract language can make you sound like

youre saying something important, even when you arent

Concrete language makes your point for you,

and doesnt let you hide behind it

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Abstract vs. Concrete

Brand X is a totally different kind of car Brand X is specially designed for women drivers

The Second Cup is the Ultimate Coffee experience

Second Cup coffee is the strongest coffee you can buy

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Deep Thoughts vs. Simple Thoughts

These days, its fashionable for advertising to

make Profound Statements About Life It makes us feel better about selling things to people It can also lead to cliched and generic advertising

More important to be pertinent than to be profound

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Deep Thoughts vs. Simple Thoughts

Dont be afraid that a simple idea is too dull,

just because it is simple

A simple idea is easier for the Creatives to

work with

Its their job to make it interesting

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Deep Thoughts vs. Simple Thoughts

Extra is the gum that will stick by you in todays hectic lifestyle

Extras flavour lasts a long, long time

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Proposition vs. Desired Response

Often confused

Distinction between what you tell them and

what you want them to think Desired response ultimately more important to brand But proposition more relevant to creative team as a starting point

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Proposition vs. Desired Response

Heinz is the thickest, richest ketchup

Heinz is the best tasting ketchup

Pizza Pops have a lot of stuff in them

Pizza Pops will really fill me up

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The Final Test

Write it out on a blank sheet of paper and ask yourself: Can I write an ad from this and this alone?

If you cant, probably no one else can either.

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5. Kick start!
For proposition to be credible, it must be

backed by evidence
Should be one of most inspirational elements

of brief
Give Creatives ideas they can dramatize Try to unearth interesting nuggets that might

inspire
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Proposition: Cadbury Milk Chocolate is the creamiest milk chocolate Support: Only Cadbury Milk Chocolate contains a glass and a half of fresh milk in every 225g Holy Shit Factor: All the milk in Cadbury Milk Chocolate comes from Cadburys very own herd of Irish dairy cows

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Brand Voice
How you say it, not what you say Most well known brands have an established

tone - an essential part of their equity

Dont list contradictions: energetic, peaceful

Try and do it in one perfect word

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Creative Considerations
Executional mandatories Media ideas and opportunities

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When you think youre done:

Re-read it

Sleep on it
Show it to someone older and wiser (not your

Dad) Get agreement from the Creatives Sell it to the client

And finally, be sure you havent used any of

the following words...

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Jerk-Off Words to Avoid

Ultimate Savvy

Experience
Virtual Aspirational Contemporary Edgy Synergy Breakthrough

Modern life
Empower Proactive Self-actualizing Hectic Extreme Clever

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The more we use language rooted in the real, ordinary world, the better equipped the creative team will be to communicate with it in the advertising

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Briefing

Paper plus Personality

Both parts of the briefing should inspire and

excite and motivate

One part is notoriously neglected

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What is not a briefing?

Slipping a brief under a Creatives door, or

the old leave-on-the seat trick A rushed, last minute meeting Something attended by client A formal, boring presentation A spoon feeding A one-time meeting with your Creatives

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How to Brief
Set aside enough time

Show the packaging

Show historic / competitive ads Touch, smell, eat product Get out of the office Visit the factory Use images, music, animals Get drunk together and brainstorm

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In Conclusion
Remember: its your road-map for the

creative team! Know exactly what you want them to do and make sure they can understand:
Speak English
Include only what is both necessary and

illuminating Focus on one clear and compelling thought about the brand

Put time and effort into writing and briefing

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Remember: Crap in = crap out

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