Content creation is crucial for digital branding and marketing and gets challenging when the world is full of it. Streamlining content creation is way more difficult than production, which needs a consistent approach along with a creative brief. For instance, the creation of award winning web design employs the principles of graphic design, aligning it with the content brief.
How to Write a Creative Brief?
The components of creative briefs differ depending on the project’s kind. An award-winning web design brief emphasizes visual components more than a brief for copywriting. Sometimes, the elements are way too different in each document. But here are 12 essential components as found in the creative briefs of the most famous brands.
1. Project Name
Each person working on a project needs a unique, memorable way to refer to it. Conflict and confusion arise when everyone uses their signature for an endeavor. So, it must begin with a project name that fulfills this need by assigning a unique name to each genre.
2. Project Outline
A great creative brief will start with an overview of the project’s fundamentals rather than jumping immediately into the details:
- Your business or that of a client
- Project nature and significance
- Major project objectives
To be clear, this should not be viewed as a lengthy document by team members or stakeholders. It isn’t enough to serve as a stand-alone information source; it requires more documents to explain it. However, a summary can be helpful when the need arises.
3. Buyer Personas
The question of “Who are we trying to reach with this initiative?” may be answered in an effective creative brief. With this knowledge, it is easier to assess client needs along with business goals. It gains their trust and attention to lead the way. Buyer personas have shortcomings, whereas too few are visible in feedback.
You’ll get a significant edge if you base your persona-building process on customer insights. Find out their main concerns, objectives, driving forces, and reservations. Pay attention to the language they employ to convey those ideas and what prompts them to take action. It makes your audience feel heard and understood, empowering the brand’s authority. Moreover, be clear that having solid customer personas alone doesn’t guarantee your creative effort’s success.
4. Stimuli and Goals
The more the internal teams and outside partners comprehend a project’s purpose, the more it alleviates work quality. Describe the project’s scope and the audience’s problem that you aim to resolve. List the goals you want to achieve instead of skirmishes like “to generate more leads.”
Which indicators are crucial? How are you going to size them? How will you assess the project’s success on a statistic like brand awareness? What factors would make it measurable?
5. Analysis of Top Competitors
Not all of your competitor research needs inclusion in brief. Mention a concise summary of the advantages and disadvantages of your direct competitors. List any noteworthy risks they represent to the success of your project as well. It’s crucial how you plan to satisfy your audience.
Competitor information helps you understand how this project compares to the competition. The endeavor is a counter-strategic response to your rivals’ attempts to outperform you. Each group approaches its domain, intending to give your organization or client the upper hand.
6. Guidelines for Message
Every visual, textual, and acoustic has a message in branding and promotion. Therefore, creative briefs should have some form of messaging guidelines, whether they are for design, copywriting, or promotions. Choose a theme, a unique selling point, or a key message for your audience. In addition, consider specifying what messages, topics, or ideas need not be there.
7. Guidelines for Voice Tone
Determine the proper tone of voice for the message that best serves your brand message. Why is voice tone important? You may find an effective communication strategy by conducting voice of customer research. It helps to express the precise emotions in the message, depending upon:
- Your Audience
- Their Sentiments
- The Key Topic
- Type of Content
- Medium of Choice
8. Relevant Resources
What fulfills the requirements for your project? List both big and small deliverables. Mention any missing and existing resources that can assist in developing the deliverables. Also double check the essentials necessary for utilizing a resource at its full potential.
9. Budget Allocation
The strategy your team will use to get your desired results will depend on how much you allocate. Clarify the overall budget as well as other costs for specific teams or project components. Before that, ponder how to reduce the costs without impacting the outcome.
10. Project Timeline
Deciding the project timeline is challenging in creative proposals but essential. Meanwhile, it’s one factor that ensures its success and outcomes. A creative brief must lay out the workflow, setting time restraints for each deliverable.
11. Participants
You can avoid confusion and save time by outlining important participants in your project. Key individuals collaborate and connect contributions to the proper channel for problems or issues. Allowing individuals to cooperate ensures they receive the required approvals before progressing to the next step.
12. A Distribution Plan
Describe the distribution methods you’ll employ to reach your target market with your final draft. Of course, according to your audience’s taste and preference, these channels could be digital or traditional. However, make sure to include them in the brief so that team members know what to focus on.
Wrapping Up
The creative brief is a map that highlights the main landmarks but doesn’t include all the attractions. Harmony among team members and stakeholders is necessary to unify their efforts toward the goals. Keep it somewhat reflective yet simple, just like an award-winning web design or an iconic logo. Do you want to streamline content creation? Use this post as a guide to assist in your creative brief.
