Whether you’re preparing to write your first creative brief or are working on your hundredth, it can be tricky to understand how to maximize the impact of every word and idea in the document. We previously discussed how a strong creative brief creates a strong video campaign. But how do you make your creative brief strong?
As a reminder, the goal of your creative brief is to compile all the information needed to make your campaign successful and engaging. Every component of the brief is vital to the overall quality of your production. This means that your creative brief as a whole should be insightful, clear, and easy to understand. When you put in the effort and follow the tips we outline below, you will produce an effective and impactful creative brief!
Keep it Brief
Though this is fun wordplay, it is very true! You have to condense a lot of important information in your creative brief. To ensure that none of the key points are lost, your writing must be clear and concise. Say exactly what you need to say, and say it well!
If you are direct, people will remember everything more easily. Moreover, it’ll be easier for everyone to find the information they need, in case they need to reference the creative brief at any point in the production process. It’s a win-win!
Context is Key
When writing your project background, don’t shy away from really selling your brand, company, or message. The best thing to distinguish your campaign from competitors is for it to align with your signature style and skills.
Additionally, don’t be afraid to get exact with how you want the product or service to be represented. Clear memorable messaging in your creative brief ensures clear, memorable messaging in your campaign. This means that what you create will be impactful to clients and audiences!
Set Clear Expectations
One of the key goals of a creative brief is to communicate the expectations of success for the campaign. Avoid using general ideas of success. Tailor achievements and end goals to your current project. Then, write those out explicitly.
Creating clear ideas about the type of campaign strengthens your creative brief and project overall. For video campaigns, provide examples of the type of content you will be producing. Real-world examples reinforce the goals you lay out in your brief, preparing your team and stakeholders perfectly!
If you provide your team with specific goals, they will know exactly what to work towards throughout the project. If you provide clients and stakeholders with specific goals, they will understand any production decisions you make. Having distinct, shared goals results in everyone working towards the same things. This improves collaboration and communication, which boosts the success of your team and campaign!
Words Matter
How you say everything in your creative brief is just as important as what you say. Use specific word choice so there is no ambiguity about your intentions or messaging. Additionally, don’t be afraid to provide clear examples of the language you want in the video you are producing. The more examples, the better!
By using both concise and consistent language, your writing will convey your message perfectly to all readers. Moreover, the more precise your language is, the clearer the picture of your campaign becomes in the minds of your readers. This sets you up for a smooth and driven production process. It also reinforces the shared goals by providing a shared vision!
Define Your Audience
Once everyone is on the same page for what the campaign needs to say, everyone needs to know who they are saying everything to. Even if your project can relate to many demographics, focus on one target audience. This sharpens every aspect of the creative process, enhancing the engagement of your final product.
Specific descriptions of your audience are crucial in your creative brief. Don’t shy away from utilizing user or viewer personas! You can write brief example characters, including their background, goals, and pain points. This way, your team can customize the content according to the people you want to reach.
Be Transparent
While it can be tempting to shy away from hard numbers, your creative brief will be more impactful if you have budget transparency. If the numbers are available to everybody, then all of your decisions will be easily justified.
Furthermore, provide clear milestones in your project timeline. Details about the each step of the production process create a realistic timeline. This sets proper expectations, so everyone on your team understands the workflow. A clear timeline also means that clients and stakeholders know when to expect deliverables. The fewer questions there are about when things will happen leads to fewer questions overall!
Balance Creativity and Brevity
In the end, you should strive to write a creative brief that is as unique as it is direct. When you convey all of the necessary information, you will make a campaign that your client loves and that your team can be proud of.
It will take practice, but following these tips will ensure that you can incorporate skill and style into every brief that you write. We’re all about style and success at Plaid Pony Productions, so we’d love to work with you on writing your best, most impactful creative briefs!
