Client briefs - a dark abyss where even the most fearless of suits can walk out bald from having ripped their hair out.
- The first reaction, when called in for a brief:
From the none-too-savvy client, the brief often comprises of fluff coupled with rainbow sprinkles on top. They ask for ideas before the concept or tagline or campaign name is finalised. They ask for “something like the Ice Bucket Challenge — since it went viral”. Or worse still…
2. ‘My target audience is general public’
There is nothing more frustrating than when the client unabashedly lists their target audience as general public, because really, a 13 year old has the same preferences as a 30 year old.
3. Along the way, if questions are asked:
Got it, now I understand how to better propose ideas for your campaign.
4. And then comes the age old favourite: budget talks. After the client has provided us without whatever brief they have formulated, a diligent suit will then ask the million-dollar-question — what is your budget? Most of the time, the answer is NONE, all the while flashing that million-dollar-smile as well.
5. But the billion-dollar-question really is — when do you need this by?
Goodbye world.
It is a cold, cruel world out there in advertising, especially when clients are not the most organised, savvy or equipped. But, it’s not all doom and gloom. There is hope yet.
To match the 5 struggles we face with handling client briefs, here are 5 tips as well.
- Always make sure you have some semblance to answers for the 5W and 1H:
Who — #1 Who are you as a brand? #2 Who is your target audience
What — What are you trying to say?
When — When do you need it by?
Where — What platforms are you on/can you use?
Why — What are your objectives?
How — What are you looking at executing? A campaign, social media content, a video? An Ice Bucket Challenge?
2. Narrowing in on the who — when clients have a large spectrum of people they would like to target. Direct them to putting a priority on exactly which demographics are primary and secondary. If you are met with a blank stare and see the words ‘General Public’ forming on their lips, it’s time to whip out your consulting skills.
Explaining what the key demographics are on each platform, or even using yourself as a consumer to explain who would be interested in engaging with their brand, could help them see the light in prioritising their target audience.
3. Question and answer segments of a brief are usually a indicator of where the project is headed but also how to manage the client in future.
If the client tends to be the kind, as the meme suggests, avoidance-game strong, nonsensical or just filled with hot-air, you know that managing this client would some strategic work. Direct feedback may not be received well. Or, you might need to look for alternative sources of information rather than from the horse’s mouth.
Clients who out-rightly state they don’t know, or the company is still figuring that out or ask us as an agency to propose are usually easier to work with. While they may have higher expectations or standards, they tend to be open to sparring and (gasp!) taking our recommendations onboard.
4. Budget is always a difficult path to navigate through as people tend to get sensitive when it comes to money matters. Sometimes, when client refuses to divulge or really does not have additional budget, it’s best to leave the situation and come back armed with ideas with a price tag. ie. if you want to do this, it comes at this price.
Alternatively, set the ground for negotiation. Some clients are agreeable to changing the deliverables to better accommodate for this new idea. However, to negotiate, you need to know your cards. Enter the table familiar with your jobcard, deliverables, costings and have a sense of what you hope the result will be.
5. Timelines are not meant to be suicidal.
Negotiation skills should be a key criteria in a suit’s job description. If the timeline is impossible, we need to say so because otherwise quality of work will be compromised and worse, the client becomes spoilt. Instead, learn to compromise and negotiate a better deal so it becomes a win-win situation.
It may be promising only the first quarter of the deliverable rather than the full deliverable.
Secondly, set milestones rather than a single deadline. Milestones mean you can have sequential progress check-ins and if there are red flags, they can be caught earlier and, as the name suggests, flagged up earlier.
