The *sigh* Creative Brief
Stop worrying about it. Ask these questions instead.
It’s a long running joke that creatives hate creative briefs. Why is that? There is the information that I need and the information that someone wants to give me, and sometimes these circles of information do not actually overlap much in the middle like a nice venn diagram.
Briefs have come and gone and come back in importance over the years. I don't worry about them anymore because we all have the power to ask questions.
Some of this brief grief has to do with the overall purpose of the brief. Not all creative briefs are for creative. Sometimes they're written more for the client, and function somewhat like a scope of work. The client signs off on it, and maybe it's helpful for the creative team, but these are usually not.
Ed Tsue
A great take here.
The very first thing I need to know in a startup meeting is what my role is in the project. I listen differently and absorb different information depending on whether I’m the designer/art director, creative director or some other role. Surely if I’m the only AD in the meeting, I get it, but often there are multiple ADs present. A lot of people tend to address that last, but I (I think we all) need to know that first.
A lot of briefs spend a chunk of change on brand and tone for clients that are long-time clients, and I totally ignore this.
No One:
Me: Here are questions I would ask, brief or no brief:
Is this a conceptual job or executional job?
AKA are the client expectations something in their norm or they want to see something out of their norm? AKA is the project pretty straightforward or we need to brainstorm a bit.
What is the catalyst for this project now?
Meaning are there competitor pressures, the product is finally ready to launch, internal politics, etc.
Who are we targeting?
And you can’t say everybody. Don’t tell me 18-30 year olds, but also 31-56 year olds and 60+ as well.
What is the strategy?
Not the tactical strategy, but the brand or campaign strategy.
Are there insights? Is there data or research?
More information is more information.
What is the goal?
This can be a measurement or perception change or absolutely whatever the desired outcome is whether or not it has to do with a number.
What are the deliverables, or is this up for discussion?
It’s totally fine if there are specific deliverables. There was a time when no one wanted to “stunt our creativity” by telling us what media had already been purchased and/or budgeted (eeek), and you might imagine how that turned out. If this is a “let’s see what could be possible” moment, that’s cool too.
If there are specific deliverables, what are the general specs?
I am gonna want very, very detailed specs, but if this is a conceptual job, those can come later.
What is the due date or milestones?
I love it when this comes up at the end of every meeting and the room falls silent for a beat. Every time. Creatives sometimes get put into an artsy-adjacent stereotype of flighty and unreliable procrastinators. Might be true for some. But my actual experience is that creatives are some of the best at organization and time management. We’re often juggling a job that we’re not sure how long we’ll need to spend on (that has a due date) with another job that we’re not sure how long we need to spend on (that also has a due date) with another job where the revisions we expected are three days late, and by the way can you do this real quick. Shout out to all the PMs out there, it is tricky.
Whether or not I get my “dream brief” doesn’t really matter. People like to have things in writing, but ultimately, what’s important is to have a conversation about the project including some real talk that may not fit into a neat question box anyway. These are starter questions that probably elicit more questions. The important goal is to set a group of people up to move in an agreed-upon direction. Stop worrying about the brief – just ask the questions you need answers to.