What is an Advertising Creative Brief Adapted and Modified from Edward Boches, Boston University

1. understanding the creative brief
Marshall Pickard, Communications Professor: COMM 340

4. What is the creative brief?
It is a blueprint, a guide, even a source of inspiration.
It details our objectives, audience/community, message or
utility, the context in which we’ll engage, timing and budget.
In short, the what, who, where, when.

5. The brief is the what we are doing. The creative is the how.

11. 9 Key Elements of a Creative Brief
1. Basic problem or issue the communication must address or solve.
2. Communication objectives.
3. Target audience.
4. Insights to drive creative work.
5. Key benefits or major selling idea to communicate.
6. Reason to believe/supporting information.
7. Tone and manner/brand personality.
8. Deliverables (what is needed and when).
9. Measures of success (should be tied back to objectives).
FIGURE 8-3: Key Elements of a Creative Brief (p. 74)
Belch, George E., and Michael A. Belch. Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. 2020.

12. 11 Key Elements of a Creative Brief (Taylor)
1. Product or Service (What)
2. Advertising Objective (Problem)
3. Target Market (Who)
4. Strategy (How)
5. Proposition (Hook)
6. Support (Why?)
7. Competition
8. Mandatory Elements (Legal, logo, brand styles)
9. Tone
10. Response
11. Media Requirements (Where)
Taylor, Alice K. Strategic Thinking for Advertising Creatives. Laurence King Publishing, 2013

13. The elements of your creative brief
What you are creating as your blueprint and the roadmap
for you and your client to create an effective ad campaign.
Our Service-Learning Project (SLP) will use as our “Agency”
guidelines for our creative brief. This is our template.

14. 1. Product or Service Summary
What is the product or service you are selling? What is the
history? How is your client seen or perceived in the
marketplace?

15. 2. Advertising Objective
What is the problem you are trying to solve or the challenge
you need to overcome? Describe in a few, specific
sentences. Need to introduce a new product and get
attention. Want to reposition a product so that a new user will
consider it. Want to get current users to consume more. Etc.

16. An effective objective
1. To sell more seats in First and Business class.
2. To sell more seats in First and Business class letting these prospective
passengers know that American Airlines offers power-ports.
3. To sell more seats in First and Business class letting these prospective
passengers know that flying with American Airlines enables you to better control
and make good use of your time.

17. 3. Target Audience (TA) or Target Market (TM)
With whom are you engaging? Who is the primary focus of
your advertising?
Demographic – age, sex, income, marital status (physical).
Psychographic – interests, aspirations, lifestyle, habits,
beliefs, opinions (attitudes & values).

18. 4. Key Features and Benefits
What are the benefits of your product or service? How do
they appeal to the Target Audience? What makes you
unique? Major selling points? How can you solve the TM/TA
problem?

19. 5. Current Brand Image
What do they think about our brand now? How are we
perceived by the market? How are you viewed? How does
our audience see us? What adjectives describe us?

20. 6. Desired Brand Image
What do you want them to believe or to do? Do we need to
change perception, opinion, frame of reference? What
outcome do you wish to achieve?

21. 7. Direct Competition
Who is fighting for your TA attentions? Who are you directly
competing against? How do they advertise? What is their
market position?

22. 8. Indirect Competition
What are the alternatives? How do they solve the problem?
How do they appeal to our TA? Are there sociological or
economic factors?

23. 9. The Deliverables
Where will the advertising appear? What media will you use?
Where and when will the TA see the advertising? What does
the client suggest? What does your research suggest? What
is best?

24. 10. The Strategic Message
What’s the hook? What’s the offer? How will you strike a
chord? How do you bring them in?

25. Most often the creative comes out of the driving
brand idea (message)...
The driving brand idea. The single thing you are
going to say or do.

26. Essential
equipment for
life’s daily
adventures.

28. Low speed
crashes
hurt more
than you
realize.

30. Charmin’ makes
your bathroom
experience more.

32. But, the creative idea can come from other parts of the brief, too.

33. Advertising Objective (Toyota Sienna Mini-van)
Overcome lost market share.
Make the TS a purchase that is not embarrassing for
younger parents.
Significantly increase consideration among target audience.

34. Target Audience
“InSync Traditionalists”
Moms and Dads with attitude. Proud and happy to be
parents, subscribe to family values, but they
were professionals before they became parents. They are
hip, smart and in sync with the new techno, connected,
media hub and pop culture.

35. Current Brand Image
The currently think product is functional and reliable, but not in
line with their personality.
Desired Brand Image
Believe that the TS is actually cool enough and stylish enough for
them — the parents — not just designed with the kids in mind.

36. Our Insights
Today’s young parents are no longer isolated at home with babies and
toddlers. They can and do reach out to the broader world – almost
constantly. Social media is their lifeline and sharing information is a
consistent activity throughout their day. We knew from this that we could
enlist them to become our collaborators – not only in distributing our
message but in developing it as well. Because this target is so
consistently and actively on Facebook and YouTube, we kept our ear to
the virtual ground. We picked up on what they were saying so we could
elevate the fun for the follow-up launch of the even sportier SE grade.

38. Questions?
Marshall Pickard, Communications Professor: COMM 340

39. Sources
Belch, George E., and Michael A. Belch. Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications
Perspective. 2020.
Bosches, Edward. "The Creative Brief." Communications 417.5, 8 Sept. 2013, Boston University. Boston, MA. Lecture.
Taylor, Alice K. Strategic Thinking for Advertising Creatives. Laurence King Publishing, 2013.