Creating the Agency Brief

Merry Baskin Warc Best Practice June 2010

Title: Author(s): Source: Issue:

Creating the Agency Brief Merry Baskin Warc Best Practice June 2010

Creating the agency brief

Merry Baskin advises planners on how to add value while nurturing breakthrough thinking when preparing the client brief for creatives. Why do agency planners find it necessary to rewrite the client communications brief, transcribe it into their own formats and fill out their little boxes with their special headings before handing it over to the creative department? Is it about control? Is it because client briefs are notoriously inadequate? Is it because clients don't know how to inspire those tricky, non-conformist creative types? Planners are certainly trained to question everything in the client brief, not to take anything at face value and to keep asking 'why?' like an annoying toddler. In fact, developing the communications strategy, defining the role it has to play in addressing the brand's problem, and then transcribing it into a brief for the creative team is the pivotal stage when the agency starts to add value. It has been said that 90% of the creativity in great communications is in the brief. An exaggeration, perhaps, but it is the foundation for the disruptive, breakthrough thinking that can really make a difference to a client's business. This could be via a refocused interpretation of the brand benefi t or communications problem, or an original insight into the consumer or a fresh lateral perspective on the category the brand is operating in. The AA, for example, was transformed at the briefing stage from a car breakdown rescue service into 'Britain's fourth emergency service'. Distilling the communications strategy into the brief is an art in itself and demands intellectual skill, creative flair and discipline. The fundamental role of both the client and the agency briefs is to make the process of developing brand communications more effi cient and effective. In the case of the latter, its additional role is to inform and inspire the creative team in equal measure; to empower them to deliver more distinctive, engaging, creative solutions to brand problems more quickly than they would have otherwise. If shared with the client, it marks the fi rst step towards meeting agreed objectives and demonstrates that the agency understands the problem. For these stakeholders, it forms an agreed basis for judging the output.

Downloaded from warc.com

British Airways Club World: communicates step change in product and service

THE CREATIVE BRIEF'S CORE FOUR Cs

Concise Whether it is a noun, a verb or an adjective, 'brief' means short Forget this at your peril. Deciding what to leave out is tough. Clients invariably ask for too much and sacrifi ces must be made. Clarity and simplicity are also crucial characteristics; creative people do not speak marketing or client jargon; they have to communicate with real people. They should not get too embroiled in the client's version of events. Use precise, carefully chosen language. Consistency of internal logic within the brief is essential. It should hang together, with the pieces fitting snugly like a jigsaw, building to form a complete picture. Creativity If there is a leap at the briefing stage, there is more likely to be a leap in creativity. Or, put another way, if the brief is lacking imagination and flair, then you can't expect anything different from the creative team.

EVALUATING THE FORMATTING OPTIONS

There are various schools of thought on how the brief should be formatted. Most agencies have their own forms, reflecting differences in philosophy about how communication works, such as the Single-Minded Proposition (BBH, Saatchis in the 1980s) or Stimulus and Response (JWT). There is also a new school emerging, called the Critical Realism Framework. Advocates recognise the role of the sub conscious and emotions in how people process information and make decisions. This has implications for how a campaign should be evaluated, as well as briefed. The Single-Minded Proposition: being single-minded in your messaging ensures that consumers are more likely to take away a clear view of what you're offering. Success is measured by people's ability to recall and replay this message. Stimulus and Response: recognises that the consumer is not a passive, rational receiver of information but has a fundamental contribution to make in how communication is processed and interpreted there is a complex set of interactive variables at work, because communication works in many different ways. What you say to people is not necessarily what they
Downloaded from warc.com

hear. Critical Realism Framework: People are just as influenced by communications processed with low attention and minimal conscious recall as by rational factual messages consciously processed. Neuroscience has demonstrated that most of our decision-making is rooted in, and influenced by, our emotions. So, what you say in terms of messaging is less important than how you say it. Executional elements visuals, sounds, symbols, music, gestures, casting, location and context all contribute in their own right to any brand communication, over and above verbal content. Measuring success on the basis of message transmission is deficient. Tracking should focus on how people behave. Increased preference/favourability is communication's true objective. The wording and design of agency brief formats can also be tailored to suit the vagaries of the creative department and how they like to work. Whenever there is a new head of planning, a redesign of the agency's briefing form usually follows, often reflecting a preference for geometric shapes (triangles, arrows, Venn diagrams, flow charts and so on). Form, however, should not be allowed to dictate function.

THE SEVEN COMPONENTS OF THE BRIEF

1. The business background and commercial context of the assignment. A good brief must state the problem clearly a problem well defined is a problem half solved, after all. So spell out the specific goals or objectives you are hoping to achieve. Detail the attitude or behaviour change you are hoping to effect via your communication. British Airways example: Dramatise the feeling of mental recharging generated by flying Club World. Communicate step change in product and service, and hence a new, forward-thinking Club World that really is in tune with what people want. Make people feel: 'I want to try that.' 2. An illuminating definition and insights about the target audience that needs to be influenced or persuaded, and the barriers that are preventing them from doing what it is that we want them to. It should contain fresh insights about the consumer, the brand or the category. These open up communication opportunities because you can touch people at the heart of the matter. British Airways example: All business flyers, UK and overseas, whether flying BA or competitive business class, or in economy. Business for them is stressful, competitive and insecure, and long-haul travel offers an opportunity to escape from that stress, giving you time to yourself, to recharge your batteries (whether by catching up on work, or unwinding and relaxing) to be better able to face the tough business world again. They feel that BA used to be innovative and ahead of the field for business travel, but that it is now feeling tired, no longer leading-edge, and overtaken by more dynamic competitors, who have taken the high ground in service (Singapore) or product (Virgin). There is growing rejection of the business stereotype they want to be recognised as a whole person, not a suit, with thoughtful and genuine service, not lip service: 'Don't pigeonhole me I want choice, flexibility, I want to feel in control.' 3. The key message/proposition/stimulus/benefit/idea that you believe will engage the audience and persuade them/make this happen. The more single-mindedly focused and well defined the better, since the more complex and multilayered the thought, the less chance it will be noticed and taken on board, and the less effective it will be.

Downloaded from warc.com

Creative teams respond well to the confi dence and authority of a clear direction to make their creative leaps into the dark. It should not be written as a catchy headline, or in bad English, or using fancy fonts. Provide some tangible or factbased reasons to support your strategic argument. British Airways example: Club World helps you recharge mentally and physically. 4. The recommended media to complement this strategy, given the prospect's proclivities, the competitive environment and the client's budget. Context and share of voice are important markers. 5. Relevant brand values and suggested tone of voice, ie how to deliver the message. Often the most neglected part of the brief but an essential part of the relationship between the customer and the brand. It is best to choose strong words, not fat ones like 'friendly' and 'confident'. British Airways example: forward-thinking, contemporary, caring. 6. Any other relevant background data, legal requirements from regulatory authorities, mandatory client details or stimuli. The key word here is 'relevant' this is not a dumping ground for all the other stuff you could not squeeze in elsewhere. 7. Measurement criteria and methods for evaluating communications performance. In adopting the above, it is vital that you get to know your agency format, and make sure you understand the thinking and theory behind it before you start blindly fi lling in those boxes. And keep it short. Remember the audience the creative team, not the client, not the consumer.

FURTHER READING ON WARC.COM

Practical progress from a theory of advertisements by Stephen King, Admap, October 1975 Three steps to briefing creatives by Nick Southgate, Admap, June 2009 How to write an inspiring creative brief by David Barker, Admap, July-August 2001 How to write a great brief by Steve Henry, Admap, November 1997 Fifty years using the wrong model of advertising by Paul Feldwick and Robert Heath, IJMR Volume 50, 2008 British Airways Club World Relaunch by Nicky Buss, APG Creative Planning awards, 1993 Recall or response? Ad effectiveness monitoring: the real issues by Terry Prue, Admap, June 1991

OTHER READING
Excellence in Advertising, IPA Guide to Best Practice by Leslie Butterfield (editor),1999 How to Plan Advertising, APG by Alan Cooper (editor) 1997 TOP TIPS FOR TOP BRIEFS
Downloaded from warc.com

Your briefing form is a useful tool; learn how to use it Define the problem clearly Inform and inspire Aim to surprise and challenge preconceptions Spin your numbers make them come to life from a fresh perspective Be clear and single-minded Make sure it hangs together as a coherent whole Could you write an ad from it? Check you have the right measurement tools in place for maximum accountability Clearly define the role for each media channel

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Merry Baskin founded planning consultancy Baskin Shark in 2000. A former chair of the Account Planning Group and JWT planning director, she teaches planning craft skills all over the globe. She is co-editor of A Master Class in Brand Planning: The Timeless Works of Stephen King.

Copyright Warc 2010 Warc Ltd. 85 Newman Street, London, United Kingdom, W1T 3EX Tel: +44 (0)20 7467 8100, Fax: +(0)20 7467 8101 www.warc.com All rights reserved including database rights. This electronic file is for the personal use of authorised users based at the subscribing company's office location. It may not be reproduced, posted on intranets, extranets or the internet, e-mailed, archived or shared electronically either within the purchasers organisation or externally without express written permission from Warc.

Downloaded from warc.com