6. What is a Creative Brief?
(Discussion)
@TejDesai
7. According to Webster’s…
1cre·a·tive,adj. (krē-ˈātiv, ˈ
- krē-ˈ)
1. : marked by the ability or power to create : given to creating
<the creative impulse>
2. : having the quality of something created rather than
imitated: IMAGINATIVE <the creative arts>
3. : managed so as to get around legal or conventional limits
<creative financing>; also : deceptively arranged so as to conceal
or defraud <creative accounting>
1brief,adj. (ˈbrēf)
1. : short in duration, extent, or length
2. a : CONCISE
b : CURT, ABRUPT
@TejDesai
19. Thus a good brief must provide…
• The creative team a realistic view of what their advertising
needs to, and is likely to achieve
• A clear understanding of the people that the advertising must
address
• Clear direction on the message
• Instill a belief in the team that a great campaign is possible
before they can begin to create it.
@TejDesai
20. Having said that …
• Planning and Briefing processes work best, when creative
thinking and interpretation commonly precede the official
creative briefing stage
– And information gathering never really ceases, as one
stage of campaign development merges seamlessly into
next.
• Thus ideally creative people should be involved not as passive
recipients but as active participants as their thinking at an
early stage improves the quality of the brief and act as a
catalyst for the process of creative development itself.
As the Brief is merely a Means to an End!
@TejDesai
21. To illustrate this point better…
Steven Johnson – On where good ideas come from
@TejDesai
22. 5 potential pit-falls…
• Clients should NOT participate in Agency/Creative briefings
(though its imp. to get their thinking >> the brief’s foundation)
• Most importantly learn to filter information received from
clients & consumers. Boil it down to the few most useful
nuggets.
• Bear in mind, the purpose of the brief is NOT a Sales pitch but
to translate these benefits into a relevant content that the
consumers would seek
• Creatives write From a brief, NOT TO IT!
(Don’t limit them, liberate them!)
• A Brief tends to succeed in direct proportion to the level of
creativity present in both its ideas and presentation.
@TejDesai
33. How the Client How the Account How the Strategic How the Creative How the Business Head
explained it Executive understood it Planner wrote it understood it described it
How the project was What the Oprtns / How the Client was How it was supported What the Client really
documented Production installed billed @TejDesai
needed
34. The Fundamentals of a Brief
• Why are we doing this?
– (Campaign Measurement – MMOs + MCOs)
• Who are we talking to?
– (What do we know about them? – Insight)
• What is the message?
• How are we going to talk to them?
– (Thought Starters)
• Where are they most susceptible to receiving this message /
making a change?
• Practical considerations
– Brand Guidelines
– Specific deliverables
– Budget
@TejDesai
36. Exercise 1
• Write a Creative Brief to drive a Toothpaste Launch that
has both Hot and Cold sensations:
– Hot gel kills bacteria
– Cold gel gives freshness
(Make your own assumptions of the
Category, Objectives, TG etc)
And your time starts now…
Tick… Tock … Tick… tock…
@TejDesai
39. ...a need for briefs that enable
relevant, trans-media
story-telling creative solutions!
@TejDesai
40. “I fear the day that
technology will surpass our
human interaction.
The world will have a
generation of idiots.”
~ Albert Einstein
@TejDesai
41. “Transmedia storytelling is a
process where integral elements
of a fiction get dispersed
systematically across multiple
delivery channels for the purpose
of creating a unified and
coordinated entertainment
experience.”
~ Henry Jenkins
Former MIT Media Studies Professor
@TejDesai
43. *
Transmedia Brief
• What are the campaign goals and/or communication tasks?
A very clear outline of communication tasks, and how they will be measured.
This could include CRM, conversions, sales goals, awareness or good will for
the brand/product.
• What is remarkable about the Brand, Product or Service?
• Who is the target audience?
Which audience will actually deliver on the brand’s business objectives?
What is the desired action? Think of this audience as your aspirational
audience.
• Is there another group of people that has more persuasion
over the target audience?
This group of people might be more likely to engage with the creative assets
or act on the creative to influence the real target audience. Think of this
audience as your inspirational audience.
Source: Griffin Farley
@TejDesai
44. *
Transmedia Brief
• How does the creative foster a social experience?
Is the creative designed to entertain, or to act as a branded utility? To
challenge participants to submit and share responses? To spawn user
generated content, etc.
• Why would someone want to pass something like this to
others?
This is an area to reference social theories (i.e. custom or personalized, gift
economy, peer production, random acts of kindness, pay it forward, etc.) to
inform why this creative might be shared and passed along among friends.
• What are the existing creative assets (if any)?
List the creative assets that already exist, and allow room for them to be
used in new ways. Do new assets need to be created to help extend the
narrative?
Source: Griffin Farley
@TejDesai
45. *
Transmedia Brief
• How long do we have before the paid media begins?
This is a timing question that references how to use Owned, Earned and
Paid media appropriately.
• What are the benchmarks and metrics will we be following?
Are there platforms the client feels are most important to measure success
(acquisitions, Facebook or Twitter followers, video views, etc.)? If
not, identify the metrics that you will follow including
impressions, reach, interaction and most importantly sentiment.
Source: Griffin Farley
@TejDesai
47. Exercise 2
• Write a Transmedia Creative Brief to drive a Toothpaste
Launch that has both Hot and Cold sensations:
– Hot gel kills bacteria
– Cold gel gives freshness
(Make your own assumptions of the
Category, Objectives, TG, Media Habits etc)
And your time starts now…
Tick… Tock … Tick… tock…
@TejDesai
49. Thank
you
Tej Desai
Interactive & Engagement
Director, Lowe MENA
@TejDesai
@TejDesai
50. References & Credits
• Jon Steel – Author, Truth, Lies and Advertising
http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Lies-Advertising-Account-Planning/dp/0471189626
• Henry Jenkins – Former MIT Media Studies Professor
http://henryjenkins.org/
• Steven Johnson – Author, Where Good Ideas Come From
http://www.stevenberlinjohnson.com/
• Griffin Farley – Strategy Director, Engagement Planning
Lead, BBH NY
http://griffinfarley.typepad.com/
• Leon Phang – Creative Planner, Jung von Matt
http://www.theplanninglab.com/
@TejDesai
Notas del editor
Jeff Goodby described Creative Briefing using a Fishing analogy. Its an equivalent of a Fisherman’s guide – a person who takes you to the best place on unfamiliar water, shows you where to fish, and has some ideas about the best flies to use. The guide doesn’t do any fishing but makes sure the fisherman has an enjoyable and successful time.
The world of Harry Potter appears in books, movies, video games, clothing lines and much much more.The Matrix unfolds over features, animated shorts, comic books and video games. Heroes is a tv series, web series, graphic novels, books and online gamesStar Wars: Consumers became involved in the “story” through not only the films but also the comic books, novels, videogames and toys. And perhaps another example – Doctor Who.
In essence, it simply means using different media formats to create lots of points of engagement for the consumer to get involved in. One well-known example is Star Wars. Many people consider the franchise to be the ultimate example of transmedia storytelling in that consumers became involved in the “story” through not only the films but also the comic books, novels, videogames and toys. And perhaps another example – Doctor Who.It seems obvious today that any brand must have a “transmedia” story to tell in order to survive in our ever-fragmenting media world.