Getting to better briefs

12th February 2009

What we’ll cover today

1. Why good briefing matters

2. What makes a good client brief

3. Specifically, what should be included

4. Beyond the brief

5. A practical example
1.Why good briefing matters
Why good briefing matters

• Effectiveness

• Time

• Cost

• Enthusiasm

• Accountability
2. What makes a good client brief?
Wherever possible, there should be a written brief

Committing to this formal process will help structure your own

thinking and minimize the risk of misunderstanding
All the homework should already have been done

The client should understand the product/service inside-out

and be able to bring it to life for the agency
It should be crystal clear

Avoid ambiguous language, fence-sitting or fudging

In particular, success must be clearly defined

What the communication must achieve, and

specifically how this will be measured
It should be single minded

There may well be more than 1 message to get across

in the whole campaign, but what is the most important one?
But still leave room for creativity

Where we are now and where we want to be

– not necessarily how to get there
The brief should be…brief

“I have only made this letter longer

because I have not had time to make it shorter”

Blaise Pascal
1657

All the important stuff must be included – but peripheral

material shouldn’t be included ‘for the sake of it’
You should be able to road test it

If the brief seems impossible to you,

having written it, it probably is
There should be a briefing meeting

Need to bring to life, clarify, inspire,

debate and explain “off the record”
There should be enough time

Try to avoid up-front delays, false deadlines,

‘unbalanced’ timelines
3. Specifically, what should be
included?
Where are we now?

• Financials

• Behaviour

• Attitudes

• Political/internal issues

• Other contextual factors

• And how all these have changed/are changing over time

A very clear summary of why this brief has come about

Where do we want to be?

• A tangible objective

• Ideally expressed in human terms…attitudinal, behavioural

Make sure it’s measurable – ideally quantified

Who do we need to talk to?

• Prioritised

• Quantified if possible

• Described as vividly as possible

The first point is crucial for Virgin Trains, where we

typically have multiple audiences
What do we need to say to them?

• Initial suggestion for the primary message

• As much (or as little) secondary support as required

As noted earlier, this section might need to be flexible,

but again your prioritisation will really help our thinking
Pitfalls

• Internal issues

• Wider political issues

• Research learnings

• Previous attempts

Without closing routes down unnecessarily,

It’s helpful to warn us about potential bear-traps
Practicalities

• Budgets

• Media commitments

• Timings (and rationale)

• Mandatories
4. Beyond the briefing
Some important issues post-briefing

• The difference between a client brief and a creative brief

• The need to talk asap if things change

Discussion