A solid game plan is essential to ensure that your marketing campaigns are successful.
We are a frequent reader and would like to share how strongly we believe in the creation of a unifying strategy.
The same applies to the creative brief. This is especially important for marketers who work in “silos”, cultures or homes.
Sharing client briefs between account managers and creative directors, designers, copywriters and social media marketers without proper documentation can be like listening to Chinese whispers.
A creative brief template can be used to create a unified document that all key players of a campaign or project can use to source direction, information, coordination, inspiration, and other relevant details.
A poor brief from clients can confuse your team and make the campaign boring.
Let’s now discuss the steps to create a powerful creative brief template for clients and your staff.
You can also download our fully customizable creative short template right now.
What is a Creative Brief Template (or Creative Brief Template)?
A creative brief template is a document that captures the essence of a marketing campaign, or creative project, from its inception.
It contains essential information such as project goals, messaging and key insights to make it easy for team members understand and complete campaign tasks.
It is a document that translates the client’s vision, goals and ideas into written words.
This is a creative example of Netflix.
The creative brief can be provided by either client or agency.
Clients may have an in-house creative brief that explains the details of their company’s mission, positioning, or plan guidelines.
A marketing agency can provide their clients with a creative brief so they have all the information needed to understand the scope of the job.
It doesn’t matter who you might be, it is important that you discuss your brief with your team before creating it. This will provide you with enough information to create a powerful template that includes key players’ important and practical insights.
This 6-Step Checklist is a great read. It will help you create scalable marketing plans for small businesses.
What should you include in your Creative Brief Template?
Creative projects are not all the same. The creative briefs you create for them can also vary in terms of information.
A creative brief is a short document that provides information for clients and agencies.
There are some essential elements that every creative brief template should have. Let’s take a look at the essential elements of a creative short template.
- Campaign introduction and client
- Overview of the Campaign
- Campaign goals
- Introduction to the team
- Campaign assets and deliverables
- Target audience
- Creative considerations
- Analyse of competitors
- Budget breakdown
- Deadlines
A strategy document may have multiple pages. However, a creative brief template should not exceed two or three pages.
It has a brief included in its name. Try to be exactly that.
How to Create a Creative Brief Template
Now that you have an idea of what creative brief templates are, it is time to create one.
It’s not easy to create a creative brief. It can be difficult to find and manage all of the necessary information with minimal effort.
Let me walk you through the steps of organizing and understanding each element of a creative short template.
There’s more!
To perform every step effortlessly, grab our creative brief template.
Step 1: Introduce your brand and the campaign
First, you need to create a campaign title. This is an essential step to facilitate the exchange of ideas and their execution.
It should be as original, clear, and concise as possible. The campaign name is usually derived from the key message, call for action or slogan.
” Help Wild Life Campaign – World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The introduction or background brief for a client that you work with is another important detail to include in your template.
Agency background can help them distinguish between similar creative briefs.
How do you write a solid company background?
For a brief background, you can just talk about the company’s history. You can also include the project in your background brief. The company’s mission is the first thing you should talk about. Next, discuss how that led to this campaign.
Step 2: Give a brief overview of the campaign
Next, you will need to clarify some details about the campaign.
Talk about the customer problem that your campaign will solve. First, describe the problem and then explain how this campaign will solve it.
The campaign’s core message will be crafted by addressing the problem. Stakeholders can reach the campaign’s core by creating compelling content using problem-solution narratives.
You can create a persuasive campaign overview by simply looking at the corner of our template.
The campaign overview can also include information about the larger picture. Does your campaign belong to a larger project? It is important to mention such details in order for overall messaging consistency.
Step 3: Highlight the Project Goals
Your client may want something in return for the campaign’s money.
Now, you must define their business requirements. This means that you must write down their campaign goals.
When creating the campaign assets, give your team a reason to think about the goals.
You can set your campaign’s goal using the S.M.A.R.T goal method.
Step 4: Present the stakeholders
Now it’s time to determine which team member will be responsible for what tasks. You will need to note every person involved in the campaign’s creation.
It doesn’t matter how small or large the task, ensure that everyone in your team and client knows every stakeholder. This transparency makes collaboration more efficient and quicker.
A grid can be created that defines the roles of each team member in different departments. The following roles can be used to divide your team structure:
- The Decision Maker
- Approver
- Support
- Consult
- Be informed
Step 5: Get into the Campaign Assets & Deliverables
The section in which you briefly describe the campaign assets or deliverables requirements is the core of a creative short template.
This is the first thing that your creative team will focus on. Make sure to list every deliverable required for the campaign.
This section can also be used to describe any creative considerations such as:
- Tone of voice
- Notes for Messaging
- Positioning of brands
- Brand aesthetics
- Specific technical requirements
Take a look at our section of the free creative brief template that will help you to note down all your creative requirements.
Step 6: Identify your target audience
Understanding who is at the receiving end is key to creating great content. To put it another way, who are you targeting with your campaign?
Your team will be able to come up with creative ideas that appeal to the target audience if they have a clear picture of the buyer persona.
Preparing a persona is the best way to learn about your target audience. These are some things you need to keep in mind when creating one.
- Age
- Gender
- Localization
- Profile of a worker
- Interests
- Preferred networks
- Behavioral traits
- Pain Points
Step 7: Perform a Competitor Analysis
Your brief should include analysis of competitors. Your team will benefit greatly from a report on the campaigns of competitors.
You will be more confident when you understand what your competitors are saying and doing . This will allow you to create a unique voice that is distilled from all the mistakes made by your competitors.
Make a list of your competition and evaluate their campaigns. This will help you to identify the good and bad aspects of your campaign.
Interesting read: What is SWOT Analysis? How can it be used for Social Media Marketing?
Step 8: Set a budget and a time frame
Final, add the campaign budget as well as the timeline to the template.
It is a great practice to budget your expenses from the beginning. This will allow you to perform tasks during the campaign . This helps you stay on track financially, and it aids in your decision-making.
A timeline can also help you organize and better manage your tasks. When creating the timeline, it is important to take into account all feedback, subtasks and multiple repetitions you will need.
Do you have the time?
The creative brief is essential to align your client’s visions with the team’s efforts from the beginning.
A creative brief template is a must for any agency looking to organize the clients’ questions into a structure, or a leader who wants to create a memorable campaign for your brand.
Before you print your template page, make sure to meet with key stakeholders. They will help you identify any gaps or missing information.
Our free creative brief template is available for you to fill in with the details of your next product or marketing campaign.
Our best-in-class scheduling tool is a great choice if social media is an integral part of your campaign distribution strategy.
SocialPilot allows you to schedule posts for multiple networks simultaneously and have them go live at the right time.
Get your free trial now!
SocialPilot’s first article, 8 Steps to Create a Creative Brief Template (+A Free Template) appeared on SocialPilot.
Leave a Reply