How to write a Creative Brief that will inspire great creative on your brand
At Beloved Brands, we use a branding approach Analyze Think performance Strategically t r e a v m i t S a s e a r e C Define d Inspire I Big the creative Idea Brand execution Brand Plan Analysis s i o n V i • Consumers e s , G o a l s V a l u • Category • Channels • Competitors e s K e y I s s u • Brand o n c u t i E x e • Advertising i e s a t e g S t r • In-Store • Innovation • Experience Create Brand Plans We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
Creative Brief 1. Why are we investing in communication? If you have ever opened up your computer and started to write a creative brief, on a blank piece of paper, without doing your homework first, then you are setting yourself up for major failure. That presentation would be called “how to write a really bad brief that will confuse your creative team” We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
Here are the 7 questions of a Brand Communications Strategy Who is in the consumer target? 1 (Who is the most motivated to buy what you do?) What are we are selling? 2 (What is your main benefit (rational/emotional)?) Positioning Why should they believe us? 3 (Support points to back up what you say) What is your organizing Big Idea? 4 (What is the Soul or Essence for the brand?) What do we need the communications to do? 5 (Strategic Choices) What do want people to think, feel or do? 6 (Desired Response) Brand Plan What message do we want our medical 7 professionals to deliver to their patients? (Role of the medical professional) We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
Transforming your homework in to a Creative Brief Brand Communications Strategy Creative Brief Who is in the consumer target? 1 1. Why are we investing in communication? 5 6 (Who is the most motivated to buy what you do?) 2. What’s the doctor/patient problem we 5 1 7 What are we are selling? 2 are addressing? (What is your main benefit (rational/emotional)?) 3. Who is the end consumer? 1 Why should they believe us? 4. Who is the expert medical influencer? 7 3 (Support points to back up what you say) 5. What are the Insights 1 7 6. What does our consumer think now? What is your organizing Big Idea? 1 4 (What is the Soul or DNA for the brand?) 7. What do you want your consumer to 6 2 see/think/feel/do? What do we need the communication to do? 5 (Strategic Choices) 8. What should we tell them? 4 2 9. Why should they believe us? 3 What do want people to think, feel or do? 6 10. Tone and Manner (Desired Response) 4 11. Tools we will use to reach What message do we want our medical 7 5 6 7 medical professional professionals to deliver to their patients? (Role of the medical professional) 12. Mandatories 4 Doing your homework ahead of time will make it easy to write a Creative Brief We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
What makes a great brief 1. Make sure you have a tight target: • Target those who are the most motivated by what you do best, and you will make your doctors think, “I want to recommend this” and consumer will think, ‘This is for me’. 2. Talk about the benefits not features: • Focus on what your consumers get or how they will feel. Do not just yell features at the consumer. Talk about the benefits to the doctors, not just features/data. 3. Drive one objective at a time: • Get involved in the conversation of your doctors/patients andtehn try to get them do only one thing at a time, whether you want them to see, think, feel or do. 4. Drive one main message at a time: • If you put so many messages, your target will just see and hear a cluttered mess. They will not know what you stand for, and you will never build a reputation for anything. Find a Big Idea to simplify and organize the brand messaging. 5. Connect with doctors/consumers where they are most likely to engage with the brand story: • Where you choose to stand out, can be just as important as what you say. While the tools are important, focusing solely on efficiency and ROI might lead to staying beneath the target’s radar. We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
Control Brand leaders always want options, so they write a big wide brief with many “strategic” options. But really, you want the brand “creative” options, not strategic options. You should write a very tight brief, based strategy on the strategy you decided on, before you even wrote the brief. Slow down and let your strategic thinking prevail. Give more Brand leaders try to control the outcome of the creative process so they write a long list of mandatories in the brief, they try to steer freedom on the type of advertising they want to see, or don’t want to see. You should allow the execution creative process to unfold, as you always hold the power of decision. Go faster with your instincts to not over-think great ideas. We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
The role of a creative brief is to “create the right box” Creative people are more “in the box” problem solvers, than they are blue sky thinkers. • Creative people are motivated by the challenge of the problem, more than the execution of a simple solution. X O B E H T Give them a problem. • The role of the brief is to create the right box, enough room to move, but enough direction that defines the problem. The smaller the brief, the bigger the idea will be. We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
What creative people don’t want from their client 1. Your Solutions: They find it demotivating to be asked for their expertise (solving problems) and then not utilized (given the answer) 2. A blank canvas: They prefer a problem to solve, not a wide open request for options. 3. An unclear problem: They need focus in order to deliver great work for you. 4. Long list of Mandatories: A tangled weave of mandatories that almost write the ad itself, yet trap the creative team from doing anything breakthrough, surprising or spectacular. Don’t be the over-directive type of brand leader We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
A good brief should be brief, not long! Good briefs should have: • one objective • one desired consumer response • one target tightly defined • one main benefit • two main reasons to believe Avoid the “Just in Case” List Take your pen and stroke a few things off your creative brief! We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
A big wide creative brief gives up strategic control over the advertising A good brief should set up “creative” options, but never allow more “strategic” options We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
Who is the audience for your creative brief? 1. The creative team: The obvious choice, but a mistake if you think the only choice. A good brief should focus the creative team on a tight problem. 2. Your boss: Brief allows them to understand the intentions of the work, from a strategic and positioning view, making it easier for them to approve the work. The brief is part of the managing your boss. 3. Main agency plus any related agencies, keeping all the work aligned and focused. It should allow every part of the marketing execution to support the main creative idea 4. The next management team , after the current one, helping to build longevity of a campaign and consistency in the brand positioning. 5. You, so that even within the project you can stay focused on the strategy before you see the creative. controls the brand manager from changing their mind or adding things. We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
The homework you should be doing
Who is your target? • The medical professional is a gate-keeper who will decide whether to accept your brand/message/product on behalf of their patients. Your brand may be their primary choice, part of a group of choices, or a back up choice. • Your consumer will decide on whether to use your brand the first time, whether to keep using and whether to make it a routine within their life. Your brand messages through the doctor must meet the needs of their patients. Think of having to work with both the medical professionals who will write the script and the end consumer who will decide whether to follow.
Who is your target? Doctor Patient Gatekeeper Motivation Influence Decision to try Script Keep using Recommend Ritual/Routine Delivers message Recommend to friends Influencer Decision-Maker We make brands stronger. We make brand leaders smarter.
The role of Creative Execution is to amplify your brand story and brand positioning so that your brand stands out in the cluttered marketplace. The creative must help your brand to connect with both medical professionals and the end consumers, to get both to see, think, act or feel differently about your brand than before they saw the message. Reco/Buy Heart Sharing Eyes Head We should focus on moving ONE BODY PART at a time. This sets up your overall objective in your brief.
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