Creative deliverables can take a lot of time, and often several challenges arise along the way. Over the years, project managers and other creative professionals have used creative briefs to manage the stress of achieving successful creative results. Creative briefs have become essential elements for creative managers to mark the beginning of a project, and when done right, they can become a good reference point at every stage of the project. Here are some tips to help you write an effective creative brief.
Determine the outline
Understanding how to write a creative brief begins with the briefing process. This step requires you to thin down your great idea, ridding it of all the fluff, to establish a clear outline. Once done, your idea and the project’s context will be clearer from the beginning. Additionally, writing a creative brief will demand you to be thorough, which is even more vital for large-scale projects.
Larger projects will demand enough information on the brief to keep team members in the loop. That notwithstanding, many creative briefs have similar traits. You’ll often find essentials like the scope, objective, expected outputs, and more. You can compare a couple of creative brief examples to determine which one best fits your needs.
Brainstorm your objectives
The next section is where you set your creative project’s direction. Setting a clear objective for your creative project demands you to ask the right questions. It’s important to always start with why you need to do the project. Doing so pushes you and other primary stakeholders to reveal the creative project’s purpose. Binding everyone’s perspectives together can help you develop the specific details you need to word your creative brief’s objective.
You can continue with the who’s, how’s and when’s to add some context regarding the audience and partners, strategies, and timelines. They can all contribute to a strong objective statement for your creative brief. Ultimately, you can use the S.M.A.R.T. (smart, measurable, accurate, reliable, and timely) technique to streamline the objective-setting process.
Tailoring your objectives to these essential indicators can ensure your stakeholders better understand your aspirations. Another important consideration for this stage is to focus on goal compatibility. Ensuring your creative brief’s objective aligns with your company’s mission can help executives appreciate the project’s value.
Define your target audience
After setting your objective, it’s only right to zero in on your target audience. This step becomes easier if you did a good job of setting your objectives. This preliminary research can give you the right details for this section, and researching your audience can help you determine key details, including audience segments, demographic information, and audience behaviors.
Also, remember that your target may have varying needs. For example, the content you feed millennials may not appeal to the older generation; so, the more you understand your audience and their specific needs, the better your chances of expressing the specific details to your project stakeholders. It can also help you avoid miscommunication.
Know the budget
Content creation can be capital intensive, depending on your project’s scope, so it’s only right for stakeholders to have an overview of your costs before the project begins. You can also add a section about the creative project’s financial prospects. For instance, if it’s a print ad, you can present your expected reach and revenue based on the paper’s viewership.
All in all, the main purpose of a creative brief is to inform members of your team and other stakeholders of a forthcoming creative project. So, the best creative brief is one that has a clear message for all of its recipients. Therefore, it pays to proofread your creative briefs before final approval.