How to write a Creative Brief that will inspire great creative on your brand
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How to write a Creative Brief that will inspire great creative on your brand
At Beloved Brands, we use a branding approach
Analyze Think
performance Strategically
t
a r i ve
Sm e at s
Inspire Cr Ide a Define
Big
creative the
Idea
execution Brand
Bran d Pl an
Vis ion An alysis
rs
•Cons ume
Values, Goal s • Cate gory
• Chan nels
• Com peti tors
Key Issue s • Bran d
ion
Exec utrtisi
•Adve ng
St rateg ies • In-St ore
• Inno vati on
• Expe rien ce
Create Brand Plans
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.
Creative Brief
1. Why are we investing in communication?
If you have ever opened up
your computer and started
to write a creative brief, on a
blank piece of paper, without
doing your homework first,
then you are setting yourself
up for major failure.
That presentation would be
called “how to write a really
bad brief that will confuse
your creative team”
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.
Here are the 7 questions of a Brand Communications Strategy
1 Who is in the consumer target?
(Who is the most motivated to buy what you do?)
2 What are we are selling?
(What is your main benefit (rational/emotional)?)
Why should they believe us? Positioning
3
(Support points to back up what you say)
4 What is your organizing Big Idea?
(What is the Soul or Essence for the brand?)
5 What do we need the communications to do?
(Strategic Choices)
6 What do want people to think, feel or do?
(Desired Response) Brand Plan
7 What message do we want our medical
professionals to deliver to their patients?
(Role of the medical professional)
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.
Transforming your homework in to a Creative Brief
Brand Communications Strategy
Creative Brief
1 Who is in the consumer target?
(Who is the most motivated to buy what you do?) 1. Why are we investing in communication? 5 6
2. What’s the doctor/patient problem we 1 5 7
2 What are we are selling? are addressing?
(What is your main benefit (rational/emotional)?)
3. Who is the end consumer? 1
3 Why should they believe us? 4. Who is the expert medical influencer? 7
(Support points to back up what you say)
5. What are the Insights 1 7
4 What is your organizing Big Idea? 6. What does our consumer think now? 1
(What is the Soul or DNA for the brand?)
7. What do you want your consumer to
6 2
5 What do we need the communication to do? see/think/feel/do?
(Strategic Choices) 8. What should we tell them? 2 4
6 What do want people to think, feel or do? 9. Why should they believe us? 3
(Desired Response) 10.Tone and Manner 4
7 What message do we want our medical 11.Tools we will use to reach 5 6 7
professionals to deliver to their patients? medical professional
(Role of the medical professional)
12.Mandatories 4
Doing your homework ahead of time will make it easy to write a Creative Brief
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.
What makes a great brief
1. Make sure you have a tight target:
• Target those who are the most motivated by what you do best, and you will make your doctors think,
“I want to recommend this” and consumer will think, ‘This is for me’.
2. Talk about the benefits not features:
• Focus on what your consumers get or how they will feel. Do not just yell features at the consumer.
Talk about the benefits to the doctors, not just features/data.
3. Drive one objective at a time:
• Get involved in the conversation of your doctors/patients andtehn try to get them do only one thing at
a time, whether you want them to see, think, feel or do.
4. Drive one main message at a time:
• If you put so many messages, your target will just see and hear a cluttered mess. They will not know
what you stand for, and you will never build a reputation for anything. Find a Big Idea to simplify and
organize the brand messaging.
5. Connect with doctors/consumers where they are most likely to engage with the brand story:
• Where you choose to stand out, can be just as important as what you say. While the tools are important,
focusing solely on efficiency and ROI might lead to staying beneath the target’s radar.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.
Control Brand leaders always want options, so
they write a big wide brief with many
“strategic” options. But really, you want
the brand “creative” options, not strategic options.
You should write a very tight brief, based
strategy on the strategy you decided on, before you
even wrote the brief. Slow down and let
your strategic thinking prevail.
Brand leaders try to control the outcome of
the creative process so they write a long list Give more
of mandatories in the brief, they try to steer
the type of advertising they want to see, or
don’t want to see. You should allow the
freedom on
creative process to unfold, as you always
hold the power of decision. Go faster with execution
your instincts to not over-think great ideas.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.
The role of a creative brief is to “create the right box”
Creative people are more “in the
box” problem solvers, than they
are blue sky thinkers.
• Creative people are motivated by the
challenge of the problem, more than
the execution of a simple solution.
TH E BO X •
Give them a problem.
The role of the brief is to create the
right box, enough room to move, but
enough direction that defines the
problem.
The smaller the brief, the bigger the idea will be.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.
What creative people don’t want from their client
1. Your Solutions: They find it demotivating to be
asked for their expertise (solving problems) and
then not utilized (given the answer)
2. A blank canvas: They prefer a problem to solve,
not a wide open request for options.
3. An unclear problem: They need focus in order
to deliver great work for you.
4. Long list of Mandatories: A tangled weave of
mandatories that almost write the ad itself, yet
trap the creative team from doing anything
breakthrough, surprising or spectacular.
Don’t be the over-directive type of brand leader
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.
A good brief should be brief, not long!
Good briefs should have:
• one objective
• one desired consumer response
• one target tightly defined
• one main benefit
• two main reasons to believe
Avoid the “Just in Case” List
Take your pen and stroke a few
things off your creative brief!
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.A big wide creative brief gives up
strategic control over the advertising
A good brief should set
up “creative” options,
but never allow more
“strategic” options
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Who is the audience for your creative brief?
1. The creative team: The obvious choice, but a mistake if you think the
only choice. A good brief should focus the creative team on a tight
problem.
2. Your boss: Brief allows them to understand the intentions of the work,
from a strategic and positioning view, making it easier for them to
approve the work. The brief is part of the managing your boss.
3. Main agency plus any related agencies, keeping all the work aligned
and focused. It should allow every part of the marketing execution to
support the main creative idea
4. The next management team, after the current one, helping to build
longevity of a campaign and consistency in the brand positioning.
5. You, so that even within the project you can stay focused on the strategy
before you see the creative. controls the brand manager from changing
their mind or adding things.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.The homework you should be doing
Who is your target? • The medical professional is a gate-keeper who will decide whether to accept your brand/message/product on behalf of their patients. Your brand may be their primary choice, part of a group of choices, or a back up choice. • Your consumer will decide on whether to use your brand the first time, whether to keep using and whether to make it a routine within their life. Your brand messages through the doctor must meet the needs of their patients. Think of having to work with both the medical professionals who will write the script and the end consumer who will decide whether to follow.
Who is your target?
Doctor
Patient
Gatekeeper Motivation
Influence
Decision to try
Script
Keep using
Recommend
Ritual/Routine
Delivers
message Recommend
to friends
Influencer
Decision-Maker
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.The role of Creative Execution is to amplify your brand story and brand
positioning so that your brand stands out in the cluttered marketplace.
The creative must help your brand to connect with both medical
professionals and the end consumers, to get both to see, think, act or feel
differently about your brand than before they saw the message.
Eyes Head Reco/Buy Heart Sharing
We should focus on moving ONE BODY PART at a time.
This sets up your overall objective in your brief.Target We summarize our great work into a Consumer
Consumer Target Profile that can be used in everything we do
Target Name Frustrated and Failed Attempters
• Veteran smokers, 40-55, who are willing to do whatever it takes to quit. They know smoking
Target
is bad for you and they know they should quit. There is a huge psychological part of smoking
Description
for them, because it’s part of their identity. It also helps as a stress-reliever and escape.
Their needs • Control the cravings, avoid mood swings, make healthy choices, maintain weight.
Their enemy • Not myself, failure, out of control personality, cravings.
• “I know I should quit. I’ve tried to quit so many times, it’s ridiculous. I’m not myself, I’m
Insights that grouchy, irritable, out of control. Quitting smoking sucks.”
tell their story • “I have failed quite a few times. The first few times, I didn’t realize how hard it would be. I feel
like an idiot when I can’t quit. I need to get motivated to try it again”
What do they • I have tried to quit 5 times. Each time I am motivated in the beginning and then someone
think now? offers me a cigarette and I fall off the bandwagon. I’ve heard of Graytine, but that’s it.
How are they • They live in denial until an event triggers contemplation. There is a huge preparation time
buying? before they actually quit. They go through the stages of change before they reach for help.
• See: Get noticed so consumers are aware of Graytine, consider asking doctor.
• Think: Graytine might be what I need to successfully quit.
We want them
• Do: Ask my doctor what they think I should do. Willing to follow their advice.
to think/feel/do
• Feel: Feel more in control with Graytine as part of their quit attempt, feeling less guilt.
• Whisper: Tell their friends about Graytine, and share the success they are having.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Target We summarize our great work into a Doctor Target
Doctor Profile that can be used in everything we do
Target Name Frustrated and Failed Attempters
• GPs who have regular conversations with their patients. They have been trying to get most of
Target
their patients to quit smoking, but will usually gently push, not to lose the patient. They try to
Description
start conversations, or wait for them to happen.
Their needs • Successful quit, easy to use, know the patient will succeed.
Their enemy • Seeing their patient fail. Fatigue over false promises.
• “I try to get my patients to talk about it first so i can understand how serious they are about
Insights that quitting. I never want to jeopardize the relationship by nagging them to quit”
tell their story • I’m always open to new products, if they really are better. But I’m somewhat skeptical. I don’t
want to recommend something unless I know it will help them succeed”
What do they • I’ve heard of Graytine, and I’ve seen some of the data. I normally ask the patient what type
think now? of products they’ve tried.
How do they • They might recommend a combo of patch/gum, and if they’ve already tried those, then they
recommend? might recommend a pill like Graytine.
• See: Get Doctors to notice Graytine, to know the data/science behind the brand
• Think: Graytine is better, so it might something I’d recommend.
We want them
• Do: Recommend Graytine to their patients.
to think/feel/do
• Feel: Feel optimistic that their patients will be more successful.
• Whisper: Tell their peers about Graytine, and share the success they are having.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.4 consumer types in Healthcare Marketing
Proactive Fixer Proactive Preventer
A milestone or event in someone else Have always led a healthy lifestyle,
Proactive has triggered them to fix their wrongs. exercising and watching what they eat.
Highly motivated in short term, they They address symptoms/issues before
will need help sticking with their new they become serious, early adopters
plans in longer term. on new beliefs and behaviors.
Reactive Reactive Fixer Reactive Preventer
An eye opening event (heart attack) A milestone or event impacted their
has led them to fix their wrongs. (quit outlook on overall health. They have
smoking). They need to fix, but still have a become a “new me” and want a holistic
reluctance/doubts, and will need help to approach to prevent what is happening to
move through a change plan. others. Motivated, willing to learn/listen.
Fixer Preventer
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Case Study: 360 consumer insights for quit smoking
2 What we see
(observations)
Smokers become agitated when
talking about quitting smoking.
1 What we read You can see how frustrated they
are with their failed attempts. 3 What we hear
(Facts/Data)
(Consumer Voice)
Consumers will attempt to Insight Statement (Connection Point)
quit smoking on their own “I feel guilty that I can’t
“I know I should quit. I’ve tried to quit so quit. I know it’s expensive.
7.2 times, before reaching many times, it’s ridiculous. I’m not myself,
for a quit smoking aid. But when I do, I’m really
I’m grouchy, irritable, out of control. not myself. I get so
Quitting smoking sucks.” irritable that I give up”
4
Consumer Enemy (Pain Point) What we sense
5 Life Moments “I fear quitting smoking will bring out the (Emotional Zones)
(Day in the life) monster in me, tuning me into the worst
Consumers lack the
version of my personality.”
Each time I quit, I’m miserable. confidence to quit, and they
I take it out on those around me, feel out of control when they
my friends, my wife. I think make an attempt to quit.
they’d almost rather I smoke
than have to deal with me.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Consumer Benefits Ladder
3
Functional Emotional benefits 4
In the patient’s How does that make them feel?
voice, answer, “So,
Emotional
Look at rational
what do I get?”
benefit, asking,
Functional benefits “So how does that
What do patients get? make me feel?”
Product features 1
2 What does your product do? Patients
Define target, need
Features states, enemies
Product-focused and insights.
strengths, claims, Target and insights
differences or What do patients want?
unique offerings.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Functional benefit cheat sheet
9 functional zones with 50 total functional benefits
Faster Updates
Keeps you Easier
organized to use
Safer Performance
Lasts Saves Helping hand
Hassle Advice
Longer time
Free
More
Works Solutions Teaching
powerful Better Efficient Integrated
Quality How it is
for you Simplifies Makes you smarter
made your life
Resale
Good value
value Reduces Prevents
Better Home Education
Soothes
Track Saves Helps Helps Mental
Success
you your Comfort you be Health
money family healthier
Lower Invest for
Moments Weight/Exercise
Risk future Life Stages
Social Variety Memorable
Cultural Latest Touch/Feel
Taste
Fashions Luxurious
Personal
Smell
Sounds Occasion Service
Style
In touch Rituals Responsiveness
Latest Sights Subconscious
Stay technology
Connected Sensory Appeal Experience
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Hotspex
Emotional benefit cheat sheet
8 emotional zones with 40 total emotional benefits
Informed
Competent Respect
Motivated
Trust
Inspired Wisdom Smarter Safe
Successful
Curious for knowledge Stay in
Special
Sense of control
optimism Reliable
Doctor
Interesting
Patient Honest
Values
Exhilarating
Feel free Feel
myself
Excited Family
Down-to--earth
Alive
Cool
Playful
Feel
Get comfortable Easy-
going
noticed
Popular Relaxed
Feel liked Nurtured
Friendly Intimate Compassion
Trendy
Like-able Happy
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Use the benefit clusters to brainstorm benefit statements
Graytine
Quit Smoking
10mg
Rx Strength
Use the clusters to begin the brainstorm,
using specific category or brand words.
Reduces
Helps you be • It will help me quit and I know I will be healthier
Prevents healthier • I won’t have any urges to smoke
Weight/Exercise • It will make quitting a little bit easier
Faster Performance • It will keep me strong and help me break my smoking rituals
More
Functional
powerful
Works Better • It prevents me from falling off the wagon
Lasts for you
Longer Easier to use
• Whenever I want a cigarette, I know I can beat the craving
• I will be healthier and not gain weight
Occasion
• It works for 24 hours so i will have no late night urges
Experience • I like the responsiveness from the first moment of the day
Rituals Responsiveness
Respect
• I feel in control when I quit
Trust
Stay in • I feel safer in quitting
Safe control Reliable • I like to know how the product works and what i will experience
Curious for • I feel more confident I will be successful
Emotional Informed
knowledge Smarter • I feel more knowledgeable about what I am putting in my body.
• I will feel more motivated to be successful in quitting
Inspired Motivated • I will feel inspired I will not gain weight
Sense of Successful • I want to quit, I just want to make sure I’m successful.
optimism • I am motivated by having something to help me beat the cravings
• I want to quit. I just need help to control my urges.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Sort through the possible benefits to find the ones that are
most motivating to consumers and own-able for your brand.
High
Feel it Helps me
working I will be be myself
able to fight I won’t
right away Feel the urge to have any
motivated smoke cravings I feel in
to quit control
when I quit
Losing Zone Winning Zone
How motivated
Easier to
are doctors/ quit
consumers by Dumb Zone Risky Zone
your benefit
I feel safer
I won’t gain
quitting
weight Feel more
smoking
confident
Low
Low How own-able is this High
benefit for your brand
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Building a winning brand positioning statement
To • Veteran smokers, 40-55, who are
1 (Target) willing to do whatever it takes to quit.
Graytine
Quit Smoking
10mg
Rx Strength
2 Graytine is the • quit smoking aid
(Category)
• Helps you stay in control, while
3 That you quit smoking, so that you are
(Benefit)
more successful
• In clinical tests, patients were 38%
more successful in quitting versus
4 That’s because
(Support Points) cold turkey.
• Patients felt more in control. Fewer
mood swings, urges to smoke and
potential cheating moments.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Can you describe your
brand in 7 seconds?
Big
Idea
Think about how to describe your brand in 7 or 60 seconds
or 30 minutes or even over the life time of the brand.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.How do you get your brand to become part of
the conversation between doctors and patients
Doctor
Consumer
Big
Idea
Brand
If you can’t describe your brand, how do you expect
medical professionals to do it on your brand’s behalf?
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.The work of the review and positioning assesses the inner
and outer elements of the brand to build a unifying big idea
Brand
Soul
Products Consumer
and Services Reputation
Big idea
must be interesting,
Inside the Brand Soul simple, unique, Outward Brand Reputation
inspiring,
motivating and
own-able.
Internal Healthcare Professional
Beacon Reputation
Brand Role
The Stabilizing Bridge
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Brand The Big Idea Blueprint
Soul
Products and Services Consumer Reputation
What is the focused point of difference Big Idea has to What is the desired reputation of the
that your products or services can win on, brand, that attracts, excites, engages
accurately express
because they meet consumer needs, and and motivates consumers to think,
separates your brand from competitors? the brand’s soul and feel and purchase your brand?
outward reputation. It
must be interesting,
simple, unique,
inspiring, motivating
Internal Beacon and own-able. Healthcare Professional
What is the internal rallying cry that Reputation
reflects your brand’s purpose, values,
What are the views of doctors and
motivations helping inspire, challenge
other healthcare professionals who
and guide the culture? These words
should come from your brand’s soul. Brand Role influence the usage the brand? What
would make them recommend or
What is the link between the consumer partner with your brand?
and the brand, reflecting the way the
brand services, supports and enables
the consumers to make the most out of
your brand? The brand role links the
internal and external sides.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Stop thinking that Communication is like a bulletin
board where you can pin up one more message
• Somehow Marketers have
convinced themselves that they
o r ks S av Taste can keep jamming one more
W t mo e s e r message into their ad.
Fa s g
ne y L on g great • People’s brain do not work that
st i n
la
way. They see 5,000 brand
messages a day. They may
engage in 5-10 a day. When they
see your cluttered messy bulletin
G ua ra All natural
nt
o r yo e e d ingredients
Pro ve board, their brain naturally rejects
mo ne u r
y b ac s c ie n n and moves on.
k ce • Not only are you not getting your
last message through, you are not
getting any messages through.
Think of Brand Communications like standing on top of a mountain
and just yelling one thing. It is very hard to yell a long message.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Can you explain your brand in 7 seconds?
7 second brand
Graytine
We help you
Inspire and A personal
Technology so stay in control
empower women moment of escape
simple, so that during the rough
to take control and from a hectic life,
everyone can be days, so you can
maintain their between work
part of the successfully quit
healthy body. and home.
future. smoking.
BIG IDEAS help simplify and organize brand messages making it easily understood and
remembered. The idea must be unique, own-able and motivating. The Big Idea must
gain a quick entry, be layered easily and have longevity over the life of the brand. All
activity on the brand must be organized under the Big Idea.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Once you have found your 7 second brand,
can you narrow it further to the 1-second brand?
1 second brand
Graytine
Simplicity Empower Moments Control
There is a power when you focus down to ONE word for your brand.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.What is your brand’s
shout from the mountain?
What is your brand’s Big
Idea that you can organize
everything around?The good and bad of writing creative briefs
Advertising Smart briefs have one very clear objective. Ugly
Objective briefs try to do too many things in one brief.
An ugly unfocused Brief A smart focused Brief
Why are we advertising? Why are we advertising?
Drive trial of Graytine stealing from Drive doctor recommendations of
mainstream competitors and AND get Graytine by positioning it as “Stay in
current users to use more often. control while you quit”
I see too many briefs that have multiple objectives and they wreck the brief from
the start. Stop this. You end up with 2-3 STRATEGIES that leads you to different
targets, 2-3 objectives, 2-3 messages. Your creative people will come back with
one ad for each objective.Then you now choose the objective based on the
creative you like…and that’s crazy.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Consumer Smart briefs use insights to bring the
Insights target to life.
A bad “stats driven” Brief An insights driven Brief
Data Driven random stats Insights of doctors and patients.
Consumers will try to quit cold • “I know I should quit. I’ve tried to quit so many
turkey 7x before they reach for a times, it’s ridiculous. I’m not myself, I’m grouchy,
quit smoking aid. 38% of smokers irritable, out of control. Quitting smoking sucks.”
say they have a fear they will fail. • “I wish all my patients could quit smoking. When
14% of doctors refuse to they bring up the subject, i know they are ready. I
recommend a brand. just don’t want to feel like a nag. Then they tune
me out and won’t listen to anything I say.”
The smart brief frames the consumer insights with the word “I” that forces you to get into
their shoes and put the insight in quotes that forces you to use their voice. These
insights add more depth to the story of the consumer so the creative team can build
stories that connect with your consumer. . The best ads are those where you can almost
see the insight shining through the work.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Desired Good advertising can really only get the target to do
Response one at a time: see, think, feel and do.
Ugly convoluted brief: A smarter and focused Brief
What is the Desired Response? What is the Desired Response?
We want doctors to THINK that Graytine is We want doctors to recommend
better. We want their patients to FEEL they Graytine to their patients who are
can stay in control. And we want them to struggling to quit smoking.
TRY Graytine and see if they like it. We
want doctors to FEEL confident.
I want you to choose ONE of think, feel or act, not a combination. The best
advertising can only move one body part at a time—so you have to decide, or else
your creative team will show you creative options for each of these strategies and
you will be randomly choosing your favorite ad not the ad that is on strategy.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Main Smart briefs focus on the consumer benefits, while
Message ugly briefs focus only on the product features.
An ugly feature oriented Brief A smart benefit focused Brief
What should we tell them? What should we tell them?
(Stimulus: benefit) (Stimulus: benefit)
• In clinical tests, patients using Graytine We help your patients stay in control
were 38% more successful in quitting during the rough days, so they can
versus cold turkey. successfully quit smoking.
• With Graytine, patients felt more in
control. Fewer mood swings, urges to
smoke and potential cheating moments.
Focus your main message stimulus on what consumers get (functional benefit) or how
it makes consumers feel (emotional). Also, narrow down to one thing, not a laundry.
The ugly brief lists out product features as the main message. It is a marketing myth to
believe that if you tell the consumer a lot of things, at least they will hear something. I
believe if you tell them too much, they will shut you out and not hear anything.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Bring the Creative Brief elements together.
Why are we advertising?
• Drive doctor recommendations of Graytine by positioning it as “Stay in control while you quit”
Insights of doctors and patients.
• “I know I should quit. I’ve tried to quit so many times, it’s ridiculous. I’m not myself, I’m grouchy,
irritable, out of control. Quitting smoking sucks.”
• “I wish all my patients could quit smoking. When they bring up the subject, i know they are ready.
I just don’t want to feel like a nag. Then they tune me out and won’t listen to anything I say.”
What is the Desired Response?
• We want doctors to recommend Graytine to their patients who are struggling to quit smoking.
What should we tell them? (Stimulus: benefit)
• We help your patients stay in control during the rough days, so they can successfully quit
smoking.
We make brands stronger.
We make brand leaders smarter.Questions
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