Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Without a brief, how will the various parties clearly define their goals and measures of success? By keeping things in writing, it ensures that communication and responsibilities are clear.

Dear Hans,

In short, a brief provides vital direction.

A brief clearly outlines what the client wants, what the client does not want, and what the agency will provide
or work on.

Would the client set out on a 1,000 mile road trip without a map?

Would the client face a roomful of reporters without knowing what questions might come up?

Would the client go to a party at a embassy of a country they would like to to significant business with WITHOUT knowing anything about the country, or about who might BE at the party?

No, they wouldn't.

Without a brief the client will be all over the map and you'll be chasing your tail trying to please them when in truth, they have no clue what the hell they want.

Clients that say "I don't know what I want but I'll know it when I see it!" are a pain in the ass. They're ALSO dangerous.

They're dangerous because, although their agency will deliver STELLAR creative work, the client will reject the work, or they'll tweak the daylights out of it and water it down so that it's less effective. THEN, when the creative work and the marketing message fails, as it invariably does in situations like this, THEN they'll have the balls to bellow that they've been robbed, that the agency is no good at it's job and so on.

All highly damaging to the credibility of the agency and all avoidable through the use of a detailed, fact-finding,
well-written, well-constructed and agreed upon brief.

Without a DETAILED brief it's nearly impossible to agree on a tight strategy.

The more detailed the brief, the tighter the strategy, the tighter the strategy, the more focused the marketing and the messaging becomes, and the more tightly focused their message is: SPECIFIC offers to SPECIFIC kinds of buyers with SPECIFIC needs, the better their results will be in terms of sales.

I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

Gary Bloomer
The Direct Response Marketing Guy™
Wilmington, DE, USA

A veteran advertising agency creative director has a great explanation of why he always insists on a Creative Brief. It's on his website here:

https://www.jcaggiano.com/creative%20brief.htm

(He spent a career at large NY advertising agencies, and now he's semi-retired but can't get advertising out of his mind except on the golf course.)

Hope the link helps.

Your loss of words is what is disheartening to the client.

The above said it best== to find direction. I have written briefs for agencies in addition to finding direction, I also review the competition and briefly show the voids.

To add to what Gary says" Clients that say "I don't know what I want but I'll know it when I see it!" are a pain in the ass. They're ALSO dangerous.

Dangerous is the best word. They are too close to the product to know what they want. And it's not about what they want-- it's what their target wants.