Writing a Creative Brief

Welcome to your guide for writing a creative brief. Before you start, it’s important to note that a creative brief should not be easy, nor should it be a long document. Creating a powerful brief should be the end result of research, input and insight.

Never forget, It’s easier to complicate than it is to simplify. Good luck!

 

Part 1:
Gather all
the facts

A good kick-off will result in a good outcome. Take the time to ask all the questions and uncover every element of a project before you even type a word on a brief template. The questions you will want answers to are:

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Part 2:
Lame objectives
= lame creative

Measurable objective setting is important for more than just creative ideation - it will determine the media spend, channel selections, audience segments and more. Having a generic objective will create generic work.

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You should try and fill in this simple formula: (verb) (measure) from (x) to (y) by (time)

A bad Objective = Increase visits to the website
A good objective = Increase website visits by 20% in 3 months

Part 3:
Find your enemy

Now that you have a measurable objective you can start uncovering what barriers you will need to overcome. Developing a motivating problem statement will unlock a successful creative direction.

How to uncover a problem statement

  • Dig deep into the consumer research to develop out problem territories that you can interrogate

  • If you are short of time or budget, consider a problem identification workshop with a larger group to identify and agree on a single enemy

Never stop on your first problem statement, always interrogate it to ensure you’ve reached the true core of the issue.

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A problem should then always be frames as a motivating statement: “how do we…”

Part 4:
Make it single-minded

With a measurable objective and motivating problem statement in place, you are ready to develop the most important part of the creative brief, the single-minded solution statement. This is not the end campaign idea, but the platform for creative to ideate against.

What goes into a single-minded solution statement:

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If you successfully answer these 4 topics then you’re ready to start filling out the template below!