When it comes to working with a creative person or business, the success or failure of the project often lies in the quality of the brief.
Whether you need a new logo, a website, a video, a marketing campaign or a blog post, the key element is putting together a well-thought-out brief. One that answers all of the questions your creative provider will have and gives them all the information they need to bring your vision to life. Without a good brief, your providers can never give you what you need, and your marketing efforts are much less likely to succeed. Of course, if you’ve never written a brief before, it can be difficult to know where to start and what to include. So today, we’ve put together a list of the main types of creative you may work with while running your business, and how to approach briefing each of them.
Designers
When it comes to design work, a good brief is absolutely essential. You likely have an idea in your head of what you want your finished design to look like, and for a designer to be able to deliver that, you need to communicate what that looks like. A good brief for a designer will become a guiding document for the entire process, spelling out exactly what the designer needs to do for you, when they need to do it by and the constraints they need to work within. It should also include examples of the kind of thing you like, as well as the kind of thing you want to avoid. This will give the designer a good place to start from and ensure they don’t spend a lot of time creating something that won’t be right.
Just in case that sounds like a lot to remember, here’s your briefing checklist for a designer:
- The objectives and goals of the new design
- Where the design will be used
- Budget and schedule
- Target audience
- Scope of the project (how much is involved)
- Available and required materials
- Overall style/look
- Any definite ‘don’ts’
Photographers
A photographer’s job is to get a message across from your business to your customers. To do that well, they need to know who that audience is, what that message is and how you communicate with your customers. This helps them plan out a shot list, get the right materials together and produce fantastic images that are consistent with your brand.
Here’s your briefing checklist for a photographer:
- Clear goals for the project
- The roles of people in the images
- Photoshoot details (time, date, location)
- Define how the images will be used
- Delivery date for the final images
Copywriters
Copywriters are the people who create the language of your business. They weave words into web copy, blogs and other marketing collateral. We all know how powerful words can be, so making sure you get them right is crucial. But a copywriter needs to be able to reflect you and your business in your copy -rather than themselves, and this means they need quite a lot of information from you beforehand. If you don’t create a good brief for a copywriter, they will string together some great words that read well, but don’t really speak to your audience.
Here’s what you need to include in a brief for a copywriter:
- The details of your organisation
- The project (rewriting your web copy? A blog post? A case study?)
- Who your target audience are
- Your key messages
- Any important resources
- Your business tone of voice
- Your dos and don’ts
Marketing Agencies
Marketing companies are a bit different, since they are often the connectors. They work closely with all the other providers and will develop multiple briefs to connect all the creative expertise to ensure consistency and excellence in everything you need. They will also be responsible for creating your strategy, so their needs might be a bit broader than those of a specific provider on a specific project. Getting your marketing brief right can be the difference between success or failure, so you should be willing to spend quite a bit of time on it.
Here’s your briefing checklist for a marketing agency:
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- Be clear about your goals and what you want to achieve
- Make sure your marketing strategy matches your business strategy
- Detail how much involvement you want in the process
- Include an overall budget
- Clearly define your audience
- Give background information
- Highlight your dos and don’ts
- Set timescales and feedback requirements
At PP8 Marketing, we work with businesses to help them refine and improve their marketing at every level. We have extensive experience in developing marketing strategies and plans and working with providers to create the content your business needs to succeed. If you need some help getting started or want someone to fully implement your marketing plan, we can help. We offer practical, commercially sound marketing support to deliver your plans and get things done. Get in touch today to discuss your needs with us and see what we can do.