Marketing creative can only be as good as the creative brief that went into it. Yet creative briefs are frequently one of the more overlooked parts of the creative process. Creative briefs are often neither creative nor brief.
I like how Creative Director Howard Margulies voiced this in an AdAge article a while ago:
“Too often, the creative brief is joylessly “filled out” as if it were the worksheet to an IRS 1040 Schedule C. Values are plugged into fields. Facts substituted for insights. Data dumped in a hierarchical, unfiltered lump…
“When you write a creative brief, you’re not filling out a form. You’re crafting the story of your product and its reason to exist and thrive in the world. This is the first, and arguably the most important creative act of the entire process. And yet it’s often approached with all the delight of passing a kidney stone.
“Believe it or not, your creatives want the freedom of a tightly written brief. They’re looking to you for inspiration. Man up. Make them care.”
Here are a few related cartoons I’ve drawn over the years:
“Creative Brief” May 2011
“Brand Video” September 2015
“Is It On Brand?” January 2016
BC says
August 14, 2017 at 10:05 am“Believe it or not, your creatives want the freedom of a tightly written brief. They’re looking to you for inspiration. Man up. Make them care.”
Great when they do, not so much when they’re challenging every line item.
The cartoons all suggest marketing people are the problem, and no surprise that the quote comes from a creative director, but this is presenting a one-sided view of the challenge.
CC says
August 14, 2017 at 2:47 pmInteresting point BC, however I took the view that when the campaign goes well, it reflects really well on the marketing people as a result of their briefing – a little more glass half full…
I found both your comments and, to some extent, Tom’s approach to be very us-and-them. I think, or rather hope, the reality is that marketers and their agencies have greater synergies than that.
And ‘challenging every line’ just makes the campaign better – or find another creative you can synergise with.
LS says
August 14, 2017 at 7:23 pmMy favourite part? “List Key Messages …#96…” We’ve all been guilty of that. All hail the reverse brief!
Charles.C says
August 15, 2017 at 1:15 amWell, at some point i do think that it is creative director to make client’s “boring” brief to be inspirational to the creative team.