A Brief Overview of the Creative Brief
Clients at Lime Valley may remember being asked, “What is happening in your marketplace?” or “What opportunities exist to influence buyers?”
Questions like these shed light on the client’s target audiences and the marketplace attitudes, and determine the opportunities for the client to step ahead of the competition.
In the advertising world, this is called a “creative brief.” In short, a creative brief is a detailed and concise outline of the key factors that can affect the direction of a marketing project.
A creative brief is the result of research, interviews, and client meetings. Understanding the perception and needs of the client and the client’s client is critical to a successful project process and end result.
Discussions are also had about the project scope and timeline, as well as the ultimate goal of the project, such as raising community awareness, building brand equity, launching a new product or service, or getting customer buy-in.
Analyzing the information in a creative brief helps develop everything from graphic design to photo selection to copy to illustrations, and is also instrumental in setting the tone of the message.
The creative brief ensures that creative is not done just for creativity’s sake, but has a role in communicating what has been determined to be important to the audience. Lime Valley President Brian Maciej said, “Many decisions made by designers and content specialists are seldom made by personal preference. Ultimately, decisions should and must satisfy an element of the creative brief to be effective.”
Creative briefs also help guide the project in terms of making sure it stays on target, on time, and on budget. The brief keeps both the client and agency on the same page from the start of the project through to its completion.
No two creative briefs are the same. Some projects require more intense details while others are more intuitive and straightforward. Nevertheless, a creative brief is a great tool in the marketing toolbox.
