Marketing Brief – What Should It Look Like?
The word "brief" in the context of marketing appears in Google search results as many as 12,000 times a month. Joe Talcott, former global marketing director at McDonald's, emphasises that a brief is a key tool for creative marketers.
The data contained in the guide comes from brief4U.com. A survey conducted among more than 250 agency managers reveals that as much as 30% of teams' time is wasted due to poor communication with clients, which also leads to significant costs associated with inaccurate briefs. A 2019 ANA report shows that fewer than 30% of respondents believe that relationships between marketers and agencies are built on trust. Why is this the case, and what mistakes do marketers most often make when creating briefs?
Marketing Brief – What Is It?
A marketing brief is a concise document in which a marketer writes down their expectations for a campaign, provides essential information about the brand, goals and expectations to be met, as well as other relevant guidance such as the available budget or the competitive landscape. It is simply a set of the client's expectations towards the agency, designed to stimulate the agency's work and keep the focus on the results to be achieved.
A good brief benefits both the marketer and the agency. This tool eliminates the trial-and-error stage and saves time and money, while also significantly facilitating communication between the parties.
Different Types of Briefs – From Advertising to PR
Briefs can take various forms and types, depending on the industry in which the brand operates, the specific nature of the problem to be solved, and the stage of the brand's development. One of the most commonly used types of briefs is the creative brief.
A creative brief stimulates the agency to do creative work. It focuses on precisely defining the target audience, the problem to be solved, and limits the amount of data and figures that are not relevant to the work of a creative team. When it comes to large-reach promotional campaigns, a media brief is used, while an advertising brief is used for advertising campaigns. The most comprehensive of them all is the strategic brief, which visualises the campaign concept in a holistic way.
The 5 Most Common Mistakes Made When Creating Briefs
According to the ANA report from 2019, fewer than 30% of respondents believed that the level of trust between marketers and advertising agencies was high. More than half considered it average, and nearly 17% considered it low. Building trust depends primarily on transparency of actions and good communication. A frequent source of conflict is an imprecise brief. What mistakes do marketers make when creating one?
- An incorrectly defined business problem or its complete absence – briefs often contain a lot of detailed information but fail to precisely define the business problem. This is a key element of a brief, and omitting it can lead to campaign failure.
- An imprecise definition of the target audience – Precisely defining the target audience is crucial for success. Omitting this point can lead to higher costs and weaker campaign results.
- Less is more – A brief should be concise and focused on essential information. The more transparent and synthetic it is, the better.
- A lack of consistency – Unclear information, generic content and an unclear hierarchy of goals make the brief illegible and inconsistent for the agency. Creating a list of priorities or using a technological platform helps organise one's thoughts.
- Copy and paste – Duplicating briefs and a lack of creativity leads to poor results. It is worth investing in original projects tailored to new trends and realities in order to capture consumers' attention.
The key to success is treating the brief as a crucial tool. A well-prepared brief is simple, consistent, interesting, inspiring for creative work, yet also transparent. Well-defined goals, a precise definition of the target audience, originality and an appropriate amount of time devoted to its preparation guarantee campaign success and client satisfaction.
Source: brief4U.com
Terms from the Article
Brief — Creative brief. A document that organises the task for an agency, creative team or production. It defines the goal, target audience, problem, insight, message, tone, channels, scope, schedule, budget, requirements and success criteria.
Why it matters: A good brief is half of a good campaign: a clear goal, audience and success criteria save rounds of revisions and arguments over taste at the presentation stage.
When it is used: Before every creative assignment: a campaign, production, name, identity, website.
What omitting it risks: Without a brief, the agency is guessing — the first presentation misses expectations, and revisions eat up the budget and deadlines.
PR — Public Relations. Activities that build an organisation's reputation and relationships with its environment: media, clients, employees, partners and communities. PR covers press releases, media relations, crisis management, events and brand narrative.
Why it matters: It builds what no advertisement can buy: credibility in someone else's voice. An editorial publication and a well-handled crisis weigh more than a campaign — because it is a third party speaking, not the brand about itself.
When it is used: Constantly: media relations, press releases, interviews, events; especially in a crisis and during changes within the company.
What omitting it risks: Without media relations, a company speaks only through paid channels, and in a crisis it is left without spokespeople and without trust.
