When it comes to putting together a successful advertising or marketing campaign, the creative brief is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. This document lays out all of the key information about the project – from its objectives and target audience to the message you want to communicate and how you plan to distribute it.
Without a well-crafted creative brief, your team may not be on the same page when it comes time to create compelling ads or website content. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know about putting together a killer creative brief.
What is a Creative Brief?
A creative brief is a document that outlines the key information about a graphic design or website design project. This includes the objectives, creative direction, target audience, message, distribution, project timeline and more. The creative brief ensures that everyone on the team is on the same page and aware of the goals of the project.
Without a brief, it would be difficult to produce a successful final project. Whether it is an advertising creative brief or a graphic design creative brief, you should know how to put together the best presentation for your audience.
Features of a Creative Brief
Here is a list of features you should consider implementing into your creative brief:
- Project Name: The name of your advertising or marketing campaign
- Company Background: If this is the first time you are working with a designer it is helpful to include a brief overview of your company, including its history and mission statement.
- Project Objective: What is the goal of your advertising or marketing campaign?
- Creative Direction: Where do you see this project going? How will it connect with the rest of your brand? Is there a specific visual approach you want to see?
- Target Audience: Who are you trying to reach with your advertising or marketing campaign?
- Competitors: Who is your competition? What are they doing that works well? What could you do differently to stand out from the crowd?
- Key Message: What is the one thing you want your target audience to remember about your company?
- Key Consumer Benefit: What benefit does your product or service offer to consumers?
- Attitude: How do you want your target audience to feel after seeing your ad or reading your content?
- Call to Action: What do you want your target audience to do after seeing your ad or reading your content?
- Distribution: Where will you be distributing your ad or content? This could include online platforms like Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn or offline channels like TV, radio, and print.
- Project Timeline: How long will each element of the project take and when do they each need to be done?
How to Elevate Your Creative Brief
Now that you know the basics of what goes into a creative brief, it’s time to start putting one together for your next advertising or marketing campaign. Keep in mind that your brief is a living, breathing document that will change and evolve as your project does. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
1. Define your objectives upfront. What is the purpose of your campaign?
2. Know your audience. The more you know about your target audience, the better able you will be to create messaging that resonates with them.
3. Keep it concise. A creative brief should be no more than one or two pages long. Any longer and you run the risk of losing your reader’s attention (and confusing them in the process).
By following these few tips, and researching creative brief templates and examples, you can create a strong foundation for your next advertising or marketing campaign. With a well-written brief in hand, you and your team will be able to hit the ground running and produce great work that achieves your objectives.If you have more questions, please reach out to Wyndetryst today.