The commercial benefits of getting the brief right - plus a template you can download.
Brief for Success
Companies outsource. We can all agree on that. It’s because there’s value in hiring external expertise at both strategic and tactical levels.
For Marketing, agencies and freelancers can help with a wide range of creative and technical disciplines. Brand & Marketing Strategy, Advertising/paid search, PR, Creative, Campaigns, Web build, Content, SEO, Social…. and the list goes on. Small to med-sized organisations are unlikely to have the full suite of skills or capacity in house. Hiring in expertise makes sense.
But it often goes wrong. And it can be expensive.
Success and Value for money comes down to two things
1. The agency you choose, and
2. The brief you give them
This article will outline the importance of a good brief, the techniques to ensure your agency is engaged – plus a template to ensure you cover all the bases.
Crap in, Crap Out
A good brief is more likely to get you good work – and better results. A poor brief or impossible timescales - and you’ll get back what you deserve. Any agency will tell you – if you put crap in, you get crap back out.
How to get awesome
Let’s take a moment and consider an example from history. The Sistine Chapel. For centuries visitors have queued to look up and marvel at the creative brilliance.
We have a client (Pope Julius II) and the creative agency (Michaelangelo) - but what was the brief?
The brief would need to be one that allowed the client to express the objectives, but also one that allowed the artist to flex his creative skills to answer the brief (after all, that’s why he was hired).
Imagine if the brief had said “Paint the ceiling before winter to protect the plaster from cracking”? It’s still a brief. It gives a clear instruction and a timeline. Alas, it gives the creative agency no sense of expectation. If the Sistine chapel had ended up being painted pale blue with some decorative swirls it would have answered the brief - but we wouldn’t be talking about it today.
But suppose the brief said something like “We want the chapel ceiling to showcase all of God’s glory and serve as an inspiration to his people all over the world for generations to come”? That’s much more likely to get the creative agency excited and engaged.
That’s because the brief gives direction and inspiration to the agency. Gives them something to get their teeth into – and go the extra mile.
So here’s the point.
If the brief is too prescriptive you stifle any hope of your agency flexing their creative and technical muscle – you get back exactly what you asked for - based on your limited knowledge.
On the other hand, if the brief is too open, you get something completely off the mark – wasting time and money.
Imagine the first concept meeting for the Sistine chapel – positive energy, challenge and development – with client and agency both adding value.
But let’s return to modern day, because this is about more than creativity – There are some compelling business benefits for a good brief.
Improved effectiveness - means better positioning and message control
• More effectively guided creative work and media placement
• More thorough (media-neutral) campaign planning compared to resorting to the easy path of least resistance
• Insight-led propositions result in well-directed communications and consistent messaging
• Reaching the right client with the right message – improves success
Improved efficiency - means better financial control
• More cohesion in how teams across the business operate and galvanise in readiness for marketing launch and campaign activity
• Clarity of accountabilities & deliverables – marketing, agency and operation
• Reduced re-work, get things right first time
• Reasonable lead times & quality inputs result in more efficient spend.
A poor brief will lead to frustration and tension between client and agency – and the end result will only disappoint. It will feel like an uphill battle.
A quality brief and enough time for the agency to do their research, thinking, ideation and refining will improve your chances of success and a more positive working relationship.
Get the brief right and the rest of the process falls into place.
Success depends on Quality and Time
There are lots of pitfalls and traps waiting. If you want work to cut through and punch above its weight, you need to plan for success. Before you start you need to be clear on the proposition, objectives and goals - and how you plan to measure. You need to have budget in place. Business readiness is crucial too – ensuring IT is in place, training is complete and the operation is ready to handle enquiries or process new business. Delight your new clients.
Timelines are important too, with clear consequence management for changes and delays.
It’s called Brief for a reason
A brief should not be war and peace – the idea is to give context and direction, then let the agency do their bit. The brief should be exactly that – brief. One to two pages max. Tell a story:
Start at the beginning – with the broad context
Move to the middle – the problem to resolve/ the opportunity to realise
The end – What happens next, what good will look like.
Of course you can enclose an appendix for further reading – for example brand guidelines or research, but in essence they are not core.
Make an effort – the brief is an event
If you want great work, you need to get everyone onside and engaged. Think about the briefing as an event. An inspirational team talk before a big match. Hunt for the right (emotive) words in your brief. Words are bombs. This doesn’t mean you need to be theatrical – just be relevant!
Think about it – why would anyone else care if you don’t. If your creative team doesn't care, you’ll get dull, beige and average work – which means your audience won’t care either. But if the agency leave the briefing with the Wow planted in them, you’re more likely to get work that’s got added wow too. It’s an investment.
Nuts & Bolts
Be media neutral if possible.
Provide clarity on the nuts & bolts requirements of the deliverables you expect, such as concepts, copywriting, artwork, media placement and so on. Include technical specs (colour refs, pixels and banner sizes – that type of thing).
Be clear on limitations and considerations – eg, regulatory.
Communicate the budget, purchase order numbers and cost centre details - it will save headaches later down the line.
Schedule important project management milestones (if you need approval from exec or board for example, you’ll need to find out when they meet and book your slot!)
Some guiding principles
Aim high – focus on possibilities, not limitations
Ambition first, reality check second
Proposition is more important than the graphic design solution
Will you be proud to put your name on this piece of work (not just the end result, but how you got there). Take a tip from the man himself!
Michaelangelo: Grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish
Further Help
Feel free to use our briefing template. If you need help with your Marketing Strategy and approach, one of our GTM HIVE Fintech SaaS fractional experts can help you. Check out our available expert and their rates now.
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