All creatives have been there (and designers if you haven't, I guarantee you will at some stage), you leave a briefing meeting with no clarity about what the task at hand is. From the get go, you're tredding in quick sand. On the flip side there's nothing better than having the sparks of concepts starting even before you leave the briefing. In this document. My intention here is to keep things simple and help the standard of brief writing. I hope this helps in some way. Sean.

1. How to write a creative brief

2. Agenda
1. What a brief is not.
2. A well written brief should contain
four key elements.
3. How to complete a creative briefing form.
4. A single minded proposition.

3. The definition of
madness is doing the
same thing again and
again and expecting
different results.
(Yes I know, another Albert Einstein quote!)

4. A creative brief is not...
• A list of instructions
• A checklist
• A form to fill out
• A copy and paste job
• An easy document to write.

5. The goal of a good brief should be...
...well defined, with an interesting
single minded proposition.
This enables the creative to
hit the ground running.

6. A well written brief should
contain four key elements

7. Clarity
Clearly state the problem the
studio is being asked to solve.

8. Simplicity
Use straightforward language that’s easy to understand
(no jargon or marketing speak).

9. Accuracy
All the required information is
correct and to hand.

10. Interest
An interesting brief helps construct
interesting creative work.
Let those creative juices flow!

11. 1. Business need
2. Audience insight
3. Product insight
4. Single minded proposition
How to complete a creative briefing form

12. 1. Business need
• Why are we creating this campaign?
• Is it to raise awareness, or is it a reminder
to existing customers?
• Simply writing, ‘We wish to increase sales
and market share’ is not enough.
• We need more information i.e. is it to
increase market share compared to a
particular competitor?
• What is the communication intended
to achieve? Is it realistic?
Remember to keep it short,
don’t write an essay.

13. 2. Audience insight
• Every campaign should focus on what they know about the target
audience. Every demographic responds differently.
• Man aged 50 and over with a large household income, for example
(Richard Branson, Chris Tarrant etc).
• What do we want the target audience to do/think?
• Buy something? Use more? Switch brands?
• Try to get inside the consumer’s head.

14. 2. A few ways to gain audience insight
• Interrogate them
• Get the word on the street,
put up research surveys.
• Become them
• Read their magazines, watch their TV
shows, movies, listen to their music etc.
• Get close to them
• Visit a call centre, talk to sales people.

15. 3. Product insight
• What’s good/great about the product
or service?
• What is its main selling point?
• What can it do for the consumer, how can
they benefit from purchasing it?
• Is it cheaper?
• Will it change their lives!?

16. Single minded proposition
Audience insight
+
Product insight
=
Single minded
proposition
• What is the single most motivating
and differentiating thing we can
say about the product (or brand)
to the target audience to make
them act in the desired way?
• Single minded
– ONE compelling reason
• What’s in it for the consumer?
• Once written ask yourself, so what
(I call this the so what filter)?

17. A single minded proposition is...
• ...NOT a headline
• ...NOT the longest-sentence-in-the-world-
where-we-put-everything-we-have-to-say.
• ... the summation of the message for
the piece. Identifying what is THE
most important thing we have to say.

18. Is your single minded proposition...
• ...instantly clear and does it communicate
exactly what you want to say?
• ...thought provoking?
• ...full of strategic insight?
• ..benefitting the customer?
• DO YOU BELIEVE IT?
• ..If the answer is no to any of these, it isn’t an
engaging proposition.

19. A single minded proposition example
A new digital camcorder
• Product attributes
• Powerful zoom lens
• CCD imager with many thousands
more pixels.
A creative Single Minded Proposition
• The powerful zoom lens allows you to
spot an ant’s freckles from ten yards.
A flexible Single Minded Proposition
• The powerful zoom lens enables you
to focus on something very small from
ten yards.

20. Errors to avoid
• Briefs that contain contradictions
• Briefs that are repetitive
• Briefs with unrealistic objectives or an
unbelievable single minded proposition
• Briefs that are lazy (generic; nothing unique
or distinctive; could be for any brand in
the sector)
• Briefs that are too long (the catch all
brief with something for everyone,
chock full of jargon with no
single idea or focus.

21. Remember, you ARE part of the creative process!