A creative brief is the foundation of your marketing materials. When managing a project, the creation of a creative brief should be done early on as it will help shape the course of the final product. Whether it relates to packaging for a new product offering or a logo for a branding relaunch, your creative brief will communicate what you need through the proper channels.
Regardless of if you’re using a creative brief template as the project manager or delegating the task to someone else, it’s essential to know what should be included to communicate what you need to move forward. Here are some key elements of an effective creative brief.
Mission Statement
Your creative brief should include a mission statement that captures the essence of your brand scheme quickly and succinctly. While much of the brief will discuss the hows and whats of your project, this portion explains who you are. It presents the face of your brand, its values, and its identity. This mission statement can be a direct cut and paste from your business plan if need be.
Project Background and Goals
After you’ve identified the values of your brand, you need to get into the specifics of the project you’re working on. What is the goal of the work you are doing? How should the creative components reflect this? This section may vary depending on if you’re working with a creative team for the creation of overall business branding or a particular offering or innovation. This section gives insight to the creative team who may not be involved in other aspects of your project.
Demographics and Target Market
After explaining who you are and what you’re doing, you need to describe who you’re doing it for. What are the demographics of your target market for this business or innovation? This range of details can include age group, geographical location, average income, gender, perceived values, race, religion, and more.
You may go as far as to create an avatar or a personified depiction of your ideal customer. The creative team will use this information to create what you need that both appeals to your ideal customer while conforming to your brand standards.
Problems and Solutions
This section is another area that may come directly from your business plan. It goes beyond describing the product or service you are trying to sell and explains why people would spend their money on it. What is the problem your target market faces? How is your offering going to solve that problem for them? This gives the creative team direction in imagery and wording for your creative project.
When presented to an advertising agency, it could shape the entirety of your advertising campaign. You may also include your unique selling proposition here, by identifying what sets you apart from the competition.
SWOT Summary
You may choose to include some bullet points from your SWOT– Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats— analysis. Who is your main competition? What are some of their strengths and weaknesses to be mindful of? What are some of your offering’s strengths and weaknesses to consider? This will help your creative team highlight your offering’s strengths while targeting your competition’s weaknesses.
Must-haves and Requests
You may include some elements that you feel must be included. Perhaps it’s colors that tie into the branding or space for mandatory regulatory information on packaging. As a project manager, it’s important to include only the bare minimum in this area. By delegating to a creative team or agency, you’re handing over a task to the specialists; give them some room to do what they do best.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur working on your brand or the project manager for a large organization, drafting an effective creative brief will keep your project moving forward in a timely fashion while producing the desired finished product.
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