A creative brief is a marketing team’s blueprint for a project: an outline of all the requirements, objectives, goals, and resources. It is the foundation of every successful creative marketing project or campaign and is written in order to ensure everybody involved in the project is on the same page. A creative brief helps set expectations between stakeholders and the creative team or agency completing the project.
Benefits of using a creative brief
The marketing team and the client will both benefit from a thorough brief. It is a way to show you understand your client’s needs and requests for the project and in turn have a great project outcome.
Benefits for the creative team or agency
- Everyone is on the same page, moving in the same direction together
- Provides necessary background and details for the project, and how to deliver that visually
- Being aware of any specifics to include or be sure to avoid in the messaging or creative
Benefits for the client
- Clarify to the client that the creatives understand the objectives, goals, and requests
- Enable the client to provide input on the project
- Clear communication about deliverables and action items on the project or campaign
Elements of a great creative brief
A successful creative brief should cover topics like the following:
- Project summary and deliverables
- What is this all about/problems we must solve
- Target audience
- Who is this intended for
- Communication keys
- Important points to be sure to include
- Design considerations
- Any technical requirements or instructions for the designers to know about
When you need a quick and to-the-point brief, 1-2 pages in length will work for you. But not all creative briefs are identical. You don’t always have to include as much information as possible, as long as your brief is clear, easy to look over, and of course, actionable, no matter the length. You should be able to understand the project and its defined objectives. Keep it concise, it’s called a creative brief for a reason.