4 steps to writing an inspiring Single-Minded Proposition.
4641939331_0fee32dc15 [I break down the single-minded proposition to its basic elements on The Brief Bros., my video podcast. You can also follow me on Youtube.] When I was a kid back in my hometown of Milwaukee, I loved basketball. Around the age of 13 I attended a week-long basketball camp hosted by the legendary coach […]
Sharpen your brief writing with this two-step brain teaser
If you were a journalist, what would you read to become a better journalist? News stories. By people recognized as good journalists. If you were a writer of fiction or poetry, what would you read to become a better novelist or poet? Other novelists and poets, of course. So if you write creative briefs at your […]
The problem with the creative brief is…
Lately, I have read a number of articles about the sorry state of the creative brief in the post digital age. In one particular online post, I came across this list of reasons why the creative brief may no longer be an effective tool: “1. The world has gotten faster 2. Technology has fundamentally transformed communication 3. […]
Five reasons why you don’t need a creative brief.
(Adapted from the second edition of How To Write An Inspired Creative Brief by Howard Ibach. Published by Juju Books, due in June 2015) I have heard these rationale spoken out loud by real, flesh-and-blood, breathing people who claimed to be alive. I suspect you have heard them too. Perhaps you have spoken them. You don’t need to […]
The creative brief is like a letter to an audience of one.
Creatives tend to zoom in on the single-minded proposition when the creative brief is handed out. It’s our natural tendency to ask, “What’s the key message?” But who we speak to is equally important. When we know who we are addressing, knowing how to craft the right message becomes easier. It falls on your shoulders […]
The creative brief as liberating constraint
Over the course of my advertising career, now in its 30th year, I have seen two kinds of creative briefs. The first is the “kitchen sink” version. The writer essentially had no idea what belonged, so everything went into it. The second version I’ll call the “Client Brief 2.0,” a kind of cut-and-pasting from whatever […]
The Marshmallow Challenge and trust
Last week, I wrote about the role of trust in the person who writes a creative brief. I offered a quick exercise to gauge the level of trust you possess in your organization. This week, I have a group exercise designed to build trust within a group. Many of you have likely heard about it, […]
Are you trustworthy? It’s a must for a creative brief writer.
I used to say that before you can write a single word on a creative brief, you need a strategy. It’s time to amend that. There’s an important precept that straddles the two: trust. Strategy must be in place before the brief can be written. But before you can begin the creative brief process, you, […]
Book Review: A Very Short Tour of the Mind
A Very Short Tour of the Mind: 21 short walks around the human brain By Michael C. Corballis (Overlook Duckworth, 106 pages, $17.95) The renowned essayist and teacher of literary nonfiction, Phillip Lopate of Columbia University, has said that the beauty of a personal essay is its “gift for candid, robust self-doubt.” While these […]
Warmest holiday wishes to one and all, and a Happy New Year!
This year the holidays fall desperately near my posting dates, so I will accommodate you by simply wishing you a wonderful holiday season. I will resume posting in 2013 with one proviso: I’ll be cutting back from a monthly post to four, possibly six posts. But I’ll maintain my schedule of posting on the third […]
