This is a personal rant.
Whenever I'm part of a project where the creatives are handed some documents at a background meeting and it's called a "briefing" I want to scream and pound my head against the wall.
No one is fooled.
It's bad enough when one team of creatives is tortured by, um, subjected to this kind of treatment. But when multiple teams are sent their merry ways to concept with a hopelessly vague charge, it's just a crime.
The only redeeming thing about all this is that creatives have an uncanny ability to pull rabbits out of their hats. Over and over again. Such that everyone—planners, account people, even the creatives themselves—gets into the habit of planning for a miracle. Hell, they expect a miracle.
Why does this happen?
Is it group think? No one wants to speak up? Ingrained company culture? People like to spin their wheels? Or watch the creatives squirm while they're performing miracles?
Yeah, I realize I'm screaming into the wind. But I gotta ask.
Personal rant over.