The Brief: The Strategy Product 37
Defining the term 38
A brief is a focused point of view on what the communications need to do. - client
A good brief is kindling. It starts a spark. Nick Cohen, Founder Mad Dogs & Englishmen (creative)
Briefs Can Be an Agency Differentiator" (Hand out) 41
GENERAL STRATEGY BRIEFS vs. DIGITAL/DIRECT Focused on perceptions Often a story Tends to be big picture One-to-many (less personal) More art Television is in the DNA Focused on actions Often a roadmap Tends to be granular One-to-one (less cultural) More science Direct mail is in the DNA
The Business Objective The Communications Objective The The Creative Communications Idea Strategy Execution How will we make more money? What must our campaign do to achieve our business strategy? What message do we want to convey to achieve our objective? What s a powerful way to communicate our message? How do we express our creative idea in different media?
The Business Objective The Communications Objective The The Creative Communications Idea Strategy Execution How will we make more money? What must our campaign do to achieve our business strategy? What message do we want to convey to achieve our objective? What s a powerful way to communicate our message? How do we express our creative idea in different media?
What it comes down to: Apple 1984: Radical ease of use Zappos: Delivering happiness USA: The network for characters
Brief Formats Vary Triangles... Ladders... Charts... Documents... Before and after descriptions (or not) Cultural factors (or not) Thoughtstarters (or not)
A standard creative brief includes... 1. What are we trying to do? 2. Who are we talking to and what should we know about them? 3. What s the main idea? 4. Why should they believe this? 5. What tone of voice should the advertising have? 6. What practical considerations are there?
What s wrong with most client briefs? Life" Your Brand/Product"
What s wrong with most client briefs?
What s wrong with most client briefs? They don t answer the probing questions And instead, offer a claim
A Claim An Idea cleans dirt dirt is good
A Claim An Idea moisturizes your skin enhances your femininity
A Claim The ION is a reliable car with low cost of ownership
An idea The ION is the goldfish of cars.
What s wrong with most briefs, period? Simplify, simplify. Thoreau
Walking through a brief" 56
What are selling? (What is does our brand really provide?) Viscous liquid? Or hope?
What are we trying to achieve? (Role for communications)
The Killer Objective What do we want the work to make happen? What Type Of Response Do We Want? I want to be part of that. Tell me more. That reminds me Wow. That s surprising. I knew I was right. Sharing! Adding to to-do list. Time to eat!
Who are we talking to?
Paint a picture...
Keep It Human
Smirnoff Target Audience Young spirit drinkers. Aged just over drinking age, they are just beginning to experience the adult world properly. They have a desperate need to experience everything from sex to rebellion to feeling out of control. This is why alcohol is so important to them. They use it to help them lose their inhibitions and break out of their ordinary mundane world. They also use brands. They like to display brands which send the right signals about how they want to be perceived. These brands respect them and do not patronize them.
Audience Empathy Go beyond the numbers Go beyond the clichés Think in human terms Inform the strategy Sources: Observation Conversation Interpretation
Information Insight 18-34 year old single women For them, reality television is a post-work cocktail something to relax, gossip, and giggle over it s mindless, but they aren t
Information Insight Business Travellers Use USA TODAY at breakfast to arm themselves for the day s conversations, and as a comforting and colorful dinner companion before returning to their hotel room
Information Insight New Moms Likely to be quite young (under 25) or older (over 35), but in either case can t use their own mothers very different lives as a model for motherhood, and so are reinventing it with the help of their friendship networks
What s the main idea?
It s what all the fuss is about. This is the promise of your brief Gets lots of attention Becomes your brief over time Write loads of them Do not surrender to jargon! ( The premiere choice in state-of-the-art mobile utility ) Make it single minded
GETTING TO AN IDEA: STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT TARGET REALITY MARKETPLACE REALITY Strategic Sweet Spot BRAND REALITY 71
GETTING TO AN IDEA: STRATEGY AS SWEET SPOT TARGET REALITY Want the best in everything, but have a sense of humor about life MARKETPLACE REALITY Gummi bear knock off s everywhere The finest Gummi bears on earth BRAND REALITY The first branded Gummi bear 72
GETTING TO AN IDEA: STRATEGY AS SWEET SPOT TARGET REALITY Snowboarders think skiers are wimps MARKETPLACE REALITY All bright colors and jumps Tough Clothing BRAND REALITY Made in NY 74
Key Lesson: Strategic Alignment Means Not Thinking in a Straight Line
When Things Fit Together Good Stories Work In Multiple Formats
What is the tone?
Tonality matters Comcast: Likable, enthusiastic, progressive, and confident. Emerald Nuts: Funny, just weird enough to scare your gramma.
Please... Don t wuss out. Be specific. Avoid the safety of opposing pairs.
Before you hit print
Logic check If we say that about our brand (main idea) to that person (audience), will they be more likely to do what we want (why are we advertising)? Be honest.
The bad ad test
What to put in...
Things that support the main idea
What to leave OUT...
Things that confuse the main idea
Support for your main idea is often the source of inspiration for the creative idea.
Brief Exercise 89
Remember 90
Effective advertising can happen without an (original) strategy.
Bad advertising can happen to perfectly good strategies.
Briefing Thoughtstarters Why not? Do a beer brand briefing in a bar? Bring a member of the target audience into a Q&A? Tag items in a stage-set-bedroom with MRI-based indexes? Show video? Include a list of favorite shows and websites? Demonstrate the product? Bring the feeling to life? Do a fieldtrip? Please don t: Waste people s time Waste the agency s money Make the obvious even more obvious Please do: Make the creatives look forward to briefings Create shared experiences that bond the team Consider including the client 94
Remember To Play
A few minutes every day: Why? How?
Look Around for Ideas
? Product People Company
? Whattaya Got? Product People Company Why use it (Rational, Emotional benefit)? Why not? What s the world like without it? How much do people want it?
? Product People Company Who are they? Who aren t they? Beautiful Expert Real Fanatical
? Product People Company Our heritage Our culture Our values We understand you Obsessed (with quality, freshness, fish, etc )
Tell people who you don t want as customers
On the road of life there are passengers and there are drivers. Drivers wanted.
Use an audience insight to flout a category convention
Start a movement