Creative Agencies and Buzz Around Creative Brief Samples

The creative world is spinning with Creative Brief Samples. I have been exploring popular search terms for this topic including creative brief templates, creative brief samples, format, outlines and, of course, the ever-famous use of the word “free” in the search.

Millions of responses!! I’m not surprised.

The creative brief is just so important to a successful outcome when delivering on your creative strategy. It lays out the main communication points for the team, shares the creative objectives, the current situation, audience, among other critical elements. Frankly, the brief set’s the tone of the work to be done and should consist of an opening dialogue that can be used to launch the team into the work. You know…Layout the persona of the work at the creative launch meeting.

At Function Point we see briefs used in two distinct ways.

1) As a creative intake form used to assist prior to putting the proposal together.

2) As a method of sharing the creative requirements with a broader team once the job is open.

Both are valid approaches depending on the culture of your studio.

After completing two highly attended webinars on the topic, I decided to do some further research into Creative Briefs and what people are doing. Here is a summary of what I found.

Some people are dissecting briefs into specific silo’s. Things like “Website Creative Brief” or “Email Campaign Creative Brief” are very common. But they are typically just a remake of the Classic Creative Brief with some specifics for size, or resolution being added in. The suggested template for a creative brief or layouts seems to have stayed the same for some time.

This to me is fascinating. I am trying to understand why, with the explosion in types of media, with the incredible changes in technology and how fast the advertising landscape is adopting new technology, the classic creative brief has not had a major go over. Well, this floors me. Let me ask you. How many people still have their original cell phones? Not many…Everything changed.

As consultants to 100’s of agencies, we at function point recommend a brief for each and every job. With the growing sentiment to crowdsource work, lower prices and keep margins so tight, your first interaction with a prospect or client must add value and show your ability to strategically position the client and your work. Using a creative brief is a must. Using a creative brief that addresses strategic aspects of the environment in which the client operates will place you one step ahead of the competition.

One site I found really addressed this and I’m pleased to say it is Tony Mikes at Second Wind.

Tony’s Blog post The Creative Brief May Not Be Enough These Days really resonated with me.

Tony purports, the brief has to evolve. It has to take innovation into account, address how governments influence business patterns, and the competitive landscape on a broader worldwide basis. These fundamentals add a real strategic component to the brief. And that to me is the key here.

Watch for more on the Creative Brief and a little exercise we are working on here at Function Point.

If you are looking for more information on how to write an effective creative brief, you should check out this blog.

So tell me! How do you work with Creative Briefs? Have you changed yours up?

Chris Wilson

Founder & CEO

Chris started Function Point over 20 years ago in his basement as a way to help professional service agencies run their businesses more efficiently. Since then he’s grown FP into an international success, working with over 600 agencies from around the world and continues to run the company from the head office in Vancouver, Canada.