How to write a good brief
““It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.” ”
What’s the best way to test a relationship?
According to the clinical psychologist Ramani Durvasula, it involves assembling a piece of Ikea furniture together.
Durvasula uses the Swedish manufacturer’s products as a communications exercise for couples in therapy.
Their brilliantly-confusing assembly instructions are often the spark that ignites a bigger argument.
A bad brief is a bit like a bad set of instructions.
Part of your job as a strategist is to help the creative teams get to their best work faster, it should reduce the amount of time wasted coming up with ideas that won’t solve the problem and provide them with what Maverick from Top Gun would call a “target-rich environment.”
Writing a clear and concise brief is essential for this to happen.
All of them, in some shape or form, will have the following key questions that need to be answered:
1. Objective
What is the objective and role of this communication?
2. Target Audience
Who is the target audience? What’s the insight? What’s the human truth (a problem or desire) that our brand (and product) is going to solve or fulfil)
3. Tone
What is the tone of the communication/brand?
4. Mandatories
What are the mandatory things that must be included? e.g. legal copy, logos etc.
5. Competition
Who is the competition and what are they doing?
6. Media Plan
What’s the media plan? (Sometimes selecting the right media channel(s) is part of the brief, other times it’s already set.)
7. Budget
What’s the budget? (Or as we like to call it, “show me the money”)
Here is a link to a handy Briefing Template you can use to help you write your own brief.
This is an excerpt from our upcoming Marketing Strategy course.
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