Creative Briefs and Briefing Black Pencil Academy Toronto

Creative Briefs and Briefing Black Pencil Academy, Toronto

Agenda 1. What is a Brief? 2. Filling in the Boxes 3. The Briefing 4. A Case Study 5. Conclusion 2

1. What is a Brief?

What is a Brief? • A creative brief is the most important piece of paper an account team produces • It is a demonstration of how good you are • Therefore, it is how a creative team judges/curses you 4

What is a brief? • A distillation of everything you have learned • All the information that must be conveyed by the advertising • A contract for you, the Creatives and the Client • A team effort 5

What it isn’t. . . • Set in stone • Sole property of the planner • A place to copy out the client brief • A place to show off every fact you know or marketing term you have learned • Primarily for placating the client • The same as the strategy or the advertising 6

The Advertising Process Develop the Strategy Write the Brief Write the Ads 7

The Advertising Process • Advertising tries to get the consumer to do something that will benefit the client • The Strategy is the plan for achieving this goal • Who do we want to talk to? • What do we want them to do? • What can we tell them about the brand so they will do it? We develop the Strategy and the Creatives carry it out 8

The Advertising Process The Brief is their road map If the directions aren’t good, they’ll get lost 9

What Makes a Good Brief? Direction + Inspiration 10

Direction • What is the one thing you want the advertising to say? • If you can’t explain it to your friends in one sentence, start again 11

Inspiration • The most powerful advertising contains insights that truly resonate with the consumer • One important insight should be at the heart of your brief 12

What makes a good brief? Direction + Inspiration One clear and compelling thought about the brand 13

Why Briefs Go Astray • “I didn’t have time” • “The Client made me write it this way” • “There was nothing to say” • “There were too many things to say” • “We didn’t have enough information” • “The Account Team couldn’t agree” Make No Excuses! 14

Believe in the possibility of every assignment 15

Every new campaign is an opportunity to reinvent advertising 16

The Goal “The best briefs are so good you can’t wait for the account team to leave your office so you can get started” Unidentified Creative 17

Some General Advice • Get your story straight beforehand • Take your time • Keep it focused • Be concrete, not abstract • Speak English Remember the goal is always great advertising! 18

2. Filling in the Boxes

Filling in The Boxes • These can be confusing • What goes where? • What are they for? • Just remember, they all have to lead to one main thought - the proposition • Include only what is both necessary and illuminating 20

1. What’s the reason for this brief? What you need to explain: • What is the background/context for what we are doing? • Why the heck are we advertising this brand anyway? • What do we need the advertising to do for it? 21

1. What’s the reason for this brief? • Objectives must be realistic • Advertising objectives, not business objectives • Keep it to the point 22

1. What’s the reason for this brief? “The product has a severe saliency deficiency so it does not get into the target’s consideration set. The leading brand sets the category values and our brand is seen as a “me-too” because of these dominant associations. Alternatively, a proportion of the target segment have a dissociated perceptual set with respect to the brand. The campaign objective is to increase saliency and to communicate a brand identity which is motivating and more appropriate to the product’s experiential manifestation” 23

1. What’s the reason for this brief? “Cheer’s main benefit is to keep colours bright, but most people don’t know this. We need to make them understand so that they choose it for its own merits and not as a second best to Tide. ” 24

2. Who are we talking to? • Be as specific and vivid as you can • “Women 18 -45” not very helpful • Neither is laundry list of meaningless adjectives and media cliches • Try to describe a real person • But, don’t tell whole life story • Include only what will help Creatives to talk to them 25

2. Who are we talking to? “Young adults 18 -25. Someone self-assured, active and energetic, self-reliant, positive, optimistic, individualistic, self-centred, not superficial, irreverent, somewhat cynical, skeptical, savvy, fashion-conscious, honest, straight-forward, computer-literate, entrepreneurial, selfindulgent, hedonistic, likes having new things, doesn’t change opinions to please others, doesn’t change behaviour in order to be liked, thinks of him/herself as an individual but has a powerful need to fit into a group, preoccupied with sex/gender-related issues, has short attention span, wants instant gratification AND likes chocolate bars” 26

2. Who are we talking to? “A 19 year-old guy who likes to think he’s the life of the party. He’s into South Park, Mike Meyers, etc. and is constantly repeating comic catch-phases like he wrote them himself. He’s a little too mainstream to be truly hip, but he’s still very concerned with his image. ” 27

3. What do they currently think? • This is not about their life in general • Rather, their relationship with the brand, the category, the advertising 28

3. What do they currently think? • • • How interested are they in the product? How often do they use it? When do they use it? How do they feel about our brand vs. the competition? What do they ultimately want the product or brand to do for them? Don’t go overboard: only include what is truly relevant to the problem the advertising must solve 29

3. What do they currently think? PMB 99 “If I work hard enough I will get to where I want”, “I don’t like taking orders”, “What brands I buy says a lot about me”, “I hate anything that is hype and smacks of phoniness”, “If it’s too perfect, it can’t be trusted” 30

3. What do they currently think? They chew gum all the time but it’s not something they think about much. As far as they’re concerned, all gum is pretty much the same. What’s more, they’re completely turned off by gum advertising which they see as cheesy and trying too hard. Still, they might be persuaded that one gum was superior if it made its point convincingly and actually managed to be entertaining. 31

4. What’s single message should this communication convey? Many Creatives don’t look at anything else! 32

4. What’s single message should this communication convey? • The most crucial to get right and the easiest to go • • astray Remember, the box says single-minded Be concrete, not abstract Err on the side of simplicity Distinguish between what you tell them and what you want them to think One clear and compelling thought about the brand! 33

Single Minded vs. Double-headed Mr. Big is the biggest bar, bar none Mr. Big is the big bar that won’t slow you down, now available in new Peanut Ripple flavour 34

Concrete vs. abstract • Abstract ideas are much harder to demonstrate • Abstract language can make you sound like you’re saying something important, even when you aren’t • Concrete language makes your point for you, and doesn’t let you hide behind it 35

Abstract vs. Concrete Brand X is a totally different kind of car Brand X is specially designed for women drivers The Second Cup is the Ultimate Coffee experience Second Cup coffee is the strongest coffee you can buy 36

Deep Thoughts vs. Simple Thoughts • These days, it’s fashionable for advertising to make Profound Statements About Life • It makes us feel better about selling things to people • It can also lead to cliched and generic advertising More important to be pertinent than to be profound 37

Deep Thoughts vs. Simple Thoughts • Don’t be afraid that a simple idea is too dull, just because it is simple • A simple idea is easier for the Creatives to work with It’s their job to make it interesting 38

Deep Thoughts vs. Simple Thoughts Extra is the gum that will stick by you in today’s hectic lifestyle Extra’s flavour lasts a long, long time 39

Proposition vs. Desired Response • Often confused • Distinction between what you tell them and what you want them to think • Desired response ultimately more important to brand • But proposition more relevant to creative team as a starting point 40

Proposition vs. Desired Response Heinz is the thickest, richest ketchup Heinz is the best tasting ketchup Pizza Pops have a lot of stuff in them Pizza Pops will really fill me up 41

The Final Test Write it out on a blank sheet of paper and ask yourself: “Can I write an ad from this and this alone? ” If you can’t, probably no one else can either. 42

5. Kick start! • For proposition to be credible, it must be backed by evidence • Should be one of most inspirational elements of brief • Give Creatives ideas they can dramatize • Try to unearth interesting nuggets that might inspire 43

Proposition: Cadbury Milk Chocolate is the creamiest milk chocolate Support: Only Cadbury Milk Chocolate contains a glass and a half of fresh milk in every 225 g Holy Shit Factor: All the milk in Cadbury Milk Chocolate comes from Cadbury’s very own herd of Irish dairy cows 44

Brand Voice • How you say it, not what you say • Most well known brands have an established tone - an essential part of their equity • Don’t list contradictions: “energetic, peaceful” • Try and do it in one perfect word 45

Creative Considerations • Executional mandatories • Media ideas and opportunities 46

When you think you’re done: • Re-read it • Sleep on it • Show it to someone older and wiser (not your Dad) • Get agreement from the Creatives • Sell it to the client • And finally, be sure you haven’t used any of the following words. . . 47

Jerk-Off Words to Avoid • Ultimate • Savvy • Experience • Modern life • Virtual • Empower • Aspirational • Proactive • Contemporary • Self-actualizing • Edgy • Hectic • Synergy • Extreme • Breakthrough • Clever 48

The more we use language rooted in the real, ordinary world, the better equipped the creative team will be to communicate with it in the advertising 49

Briefing

Paper plus Personality • Both parts of the briefing should inspire and excite and motivate • One part is notoriously neglected 51

What is not a briefing? • Slipping a brief under a Creative’s door, or the • • • old leave-on-the seat trick A rushed, last minute meeting Something attended by client A formal, boring presentation A spoon feeding A one-time meeting with your Creatives 52

How to Brief • Set aside enough time • Show the packaging • Show historic / competitive ads • Touch, smell, eat product • Get out of the office • Visit the factory • Use images, music, animals • Get drunk together and brainstorm 53

In Conclusion • Remember: it’s your road-map for the creative team! • Know exactly what you want them to do and make sure they can understand: • Speak English • Include only what is both necessary and illuminating • Focus on one clear and compelling thought about the brand • Put time and effort into writing and briefing 54

Remember: Crap in = crap out 55