In the creative world, it’s briefs all the way. Whether you’re the client or you have clients, a creative brief is essential before starting on any creative project. Here are my top ten must-haves for any creative brief:
1. Give some history–What’s the product or service? What’s unique about it? Who is your competition? What have you done in the past? Why are you embarking on this new project? What are your weaknesses?
2. What’s the point?–Define your objective? What is your #1 goal?
3. Who cares? Define your audience. Who are you talking to?
4. What do you have to say? What’s the number one message you want to convey? What are your “b list” messages or nice to haves?
5. Do you want to make ‘em laugh or cry? What’s the tone? What kind of images will convey the tone?
6. Who’s doing what? Who will be on the creative team? Who is the point of contact? How will you communicate? Who are the decision makers on the client side? What will the approval process look like?
7. What’s the schedule? Got a drop dead deadline? Or is it more fluid? What are the contributing factors to the time line?
8. What’s the budget? Perhaps the most difficult piece to nail down, but it is essential to know how much money you have to work with to assess if achieving the objective is feasible.
9. What do you have already? What content do you already have that can be re-purposed for this project?
10. What kind of ROI will make everyone happy? How will success be measured?
Did I miss anything?
