This is the brief you prepare for a new project from a regular client. This brief assumes you know the client's brand, as well as how the product or service is positioned in the marketplace.
If you have not defined the brand and position you should prepare an advanced brief.
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Client / Client contact information:
Name, phone number and email address of the person or people on the client side. The 'client' being whoever pays for or approves the work.
Project:
Example: “New campaign to introduce Ready Credit for Citibank.”
Prepared by:
Name of the person who assumed primary responsibility for writing the brief.
Approved by:
Client: Date:
Agency: Date:
1) Background / Overview:
What’s the big picture? What’s going on in the market? Anything happening with the client side that the creative team should know about?
This is where you introduce the project to the creative team.
For an overview, answer the question, “Who is the ad talking to, and what is the one main thing we want to say?”
2) What is the objective, the purpose of the ad?
A concise statement of the effect the ad should have on consumers. Typically expressed as an action. And frequently focused either on what you want them to think, to feel, or to do.
3) Target audience: who are we talking to?
The more precise and detailed the better. Go beyond age and sex to include demographics and psychographics. Be sure to explain how the audience currently thinks or feels about the product category, the client's brand, or the specific service. As well as how they currently behave. See AdCracker's section on consumer involvement theory for some insights.
4) What's the single most important thing we want to say?
What’s the most persuasive or most important thing we can say to achieve the objective?
This should be a simple sentence. No more than a few sentences if absolutely necessary.
Avoid generalities because they result in ambiguous communications.
5) What are the supporting rational and emotional ‘reasons to act or believe?’
List the rational and emotional reasons for the target market to believe what we want them to believe, and do what we want them to do.
Include all the major copy points, in order of relative importance to the consumer. In other words, 'What else can we say to achieve the objective?'
6) Mandatory elements, helpful information & insights:
Here’s where you put all other details, such as information about the offer if it’s a direct response ad. Perhaps a description of the brand personality. And any mandatory elements such as the client’s logo, address, phone number and so forth.
7) Schedule: What do we need from the creative team, and when do we need it?
Write information about media, size and color. As well as deadlines for
1) initial creative review of rough sketch ideas,
2) review revised creative,
3) final internal creative presentation,
4) client presentation,
5) material delivered to publication.
Client service checklist:
[ ] Do we have all supporting information: previous ads, brochures, competitor ads - perhaps books or Web sites for reference. Do we have a complete package of information for the creative team?
[ ] If this is a long format communication - a Web site, brochure, or video - do we have an outline for the creative team that includes all the important copy points, as well as an indication of visuals, and graphs?
[ ] Is it clear from the client what must be in the communication, and what might be in the communication ? What are the client mandatories versus client preferences?
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