8.04 – Writing Effective Creative Briefs
Creating effective marketing materials such as ads, brochures, websites, trade show booths, and packaging starts with a well-crafted creative brief. This document outlines goals, strategic elements like messaging and offers, target audiences, the basic purpose of marketing pieces, executional guidelines, and more. Whether the materials are designed by someone on your team, a freelance designer, an agency, or yourself, the creative brief ensures the end results align with your strategy and emotional selling proposition (ESP).
Key Elements of a Successful Creative Brief
Goals
Define what you want to accomplish with your creative strategy and each marketing piece. List measurable and realistic goals. Assigning one strong objective per piece is more effective than multiple goals, which can confuse consumers and weaken the impact.
Goals will vary. For example, not all ads should drive immediate sales. Some goals might focus on building brand awareness, identity, and long-term value, supporting both acquisition and retention efforts.
Offers and promises
Clarify the promise you’re making about your product or brand and the specific offer for each campaign. Offers may change often, while promises remain consistent. Each marketing piece should include a relevant offer backed by your brand’s overall promise. For instance, an offer could be “Buy One, Get One Free,” while the promise might be personalised care, a money-back guarantee, and exceptional service.
Supporting Statements
Your brand’s promise needs validation. Use testimonials, Net Promoter Scores, or return customer rates to support your claims. For example, if you promise customer satisfaction, provide evidence such as high ratings from satisfied customers.
Tone or Persona
Every brand has a unique personality, energy, and tone that resonates with consumers. This brand persona should reflect your values, interests, and attitudes, as well as those of your core customer. For example, Apple’s persona embraces innovation, self-expression, freedom, and creativity, appealing to consumers aged 15 to 50. Ads featuring silhouettes of people dancing and having fun create a mood that people want to experience.
Emotional drivers
Review the top emotions that influence choices in your product category for your core customers. Include key insights in your creative brief, such as:
- Which emotions are associated with purchases in your product category?
- Do you need to minimise customers’ fear and anxiety or build on their expectations for joy and security?
- What promises can you make about the emotional fulfilment your product and brand can deliver?
- How can you address industry trust issues?
- What are the key influencers of choice among your customers (e.g., social proof, authorities)?
- What are the disconnects around your product category or brand?
Wannabe Profiles
Appeal to your customers’ current identity and their aspirational identities. Young adults often envision future selves achieving dreams, while older adults may have nostalgic visions of their younger selves. Tap into these “wannabe” personas to attract and capture your target consumers’ attention and interest. Large brands use extensive research to create graphics, imagery, and experiences that align with multiple wannabe personas.
Colour Palette
Use the Pantone Matching System (PMS) codes to select colours that fit your creative strategy. Ensure consistency across all digital and print channels by listing PMS codes for your logo and supporting iconology in your graphic standards documentation.
Golden Triangle Pattern
In print and digital materials, people’s eye-flow patterns follow the golden triangle: upper-left corner, upper-right corner, diagonal to the left margin, then downward. Place key messages, offers, and calls to action within this triangle for higher visibility, recall, and response.
Constraints
Identify any constraints such as budget limitations or the need to avoid specific terms, concepts, or images. Document these constraints clearly in a brand style guide to ensure consistency across all presentations of your brand.
- Are there restrictions on logo usage, such as colour changes?
- Do you need to avoid looking like a particular competitor?
- Must all images be scalable for different formats?
- Do you need work that can be shown in both colour and black-and-white?
- Do you have rights to all selected images, fonts, and trademarks?
Execution
Outline the execution plan for all channels, ensuring your creative brief covers online and offline formats. Using digital asset management software can streamline the adaptation of marketing materials for various channels, saving time and money.
If marketing to multilingual or global markets, plan for content adaptation to ensure quick and cost-effective campaign execution. Automated creative technology can be affordable and efficient, allowing you to compete with larger brands.
Knowing in advance which channels you’ll use helps structure your ideas and provides a framework for consistent execution across print and digital platforms.
By following these guidelines, your creative briefs will effectively guide the development of marketing materials that align with your strategy, resonate with your audience, and drive results.
