What not to expect from a creative brief.
My video podcast co-host, Henry Gomez, often says on our show, The Brief Bros., that an inspiring creative brief doesn’t guarantee inspiring creative. But it vastly improves the odds. His comment inspired me to ruminate on what great creative briefs should not be expected to do. I file this under “intellectual honesty,” which everyone, regardless […]
Why are creative briefs hard to write? Because briefs are about good writing.
Some observations about outstanding, inspiring creative briefs. First, they are short. They fit on one page, maybe a page and a half. Second, the best ones avoid using bullet points. If they do use bullet points, said bullets are written in complete sentences. At worst, the bullets are memorable phrases. Third, these great briefs, when […]
Think you know what a creative brief is? Allow me to surprise you.
What’s your definition of a creative brief? If you say it’s a road map for your creative team about your product, not bad. If you call it your brand’s North Star, I’d say good answer. But I want you to think differently about the brief. Here’s a twist I’d like you to consider: A creative […]
Who is the real culprit behind bad creative briefs?
The people who screw up the creative brief are not likely to read this essay. That’s too bad. They need a serious talking to. The thing is, I don’t know who they are by name, but I do know their identities by title or role within a client’s organization. Notice I don’t mention ad agencies. While […]
