It's All About the Brief

From day one of my marketing career as an assistant brand manager in consumer goods, I learned the importance of a well-crafted and aligned-upon creative brief. It was drilled into me as I experienced the basic ins and outs of project leadership.

It is critically important at the onset, to take the time needed to define and articulate the strategy, communication objectives, and deliverables in a succinct and meaningful way. This approach ensures that the marketing/ business teams are synced up with the creative resources, setting up the project for success.

A couple key elements to include in a creative brief include:

• Business strategy

• Project and communication objectives

• Target audience and key insights

• Brand positioning and competitive point of difference

• Scope and deliverables

With a strongly crafted brief, the creative team can focus on just that – being creative, yet never losing sight of the business objectives. As creative ideas are brought to the table for review, the brief becomes a critical guide, enabling further discussion and refinement of ideas between teams.

It is an absolute fact that a simple, yet fine-tuned and aligned upon brief will help set a creative project on a path for success!