What makes a brief good though?

A creative brief is a document prepared by the management and creative team together and it is sent to the client and presented to the creative team as well. It is the foundation of the project and for the campaign’s success it is crucial to have a good one.

A good creative brief is focused, consistent and complete. It is also inspirational. It’s aim is not to solve a problem but to interpret the client’s vision in an exciting way that challenges the team to think. It has a distinct language that is easily understandable for all team members. It avoids jargon and fluffing in order to minimise misunderstandings between the team members. A good brief is not longer than two pages and contains all necessary information. This information is on the company, the project, the objectives, the audience, the key message, the deliverables, the competitors, scheduling, budgeting and contact information.

What information should be included in a good brief?

Company background and Project description

A good brief starts with a clear and short introduction of the company (e.g. nature of the business, company size, brand perception, brand voice) and description of what the project is about and why it needs to be done.

Objectives

When stating the objectives, being as specific as possible is key. A good brief clarifies the overall goal of the project (e.g. to increase sales), measuring methods i.e. how the success of the project will be measured (e.g. number of sold products) and how much time the creative team will have to finish. It is good to keep the goals realistic and attainable.

Audience

A good brief should have a thorough knowledge of the project’s audience. The brief should give clear answers to questions like ‘Who are the customers?’ or ‘Who is the target group?’ by describing demographics and consumer behaviour. It is essential that the creative team knows and understands the customer’s tastes, wants, desires, current lifestyles and habits. Moreover, a good brief provides information on what customers currently think of the brand and its product.

Key message

The brief’s key message is where the driving idea for the campaign is expressed.

Deliverables

A good brief should explain what type of documents and in which format and sizes are to be delivered for the project. These documents are called deliverables.

Competitors

Knowing the competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, their customers, their prices, market position and media strategy are all valuable and essential information for a good brief and a successful campaign.

Scheduling

Last but not least, a good brief should include the project’s timeline and deadlines as well in order to deliver on time.

Additional questions

In the brief it is important to include all additional questions the team members have. To make sure all questions are added it is advisable that the whole team is present when the brief is written.

At Airnip you will find the solution most suitable for your project. You can either choose from brief templates prepared by experts or you can create your own.