Expecting a good outcome from a bad brief, is like briefing a locksmith over the phone and expecting the key to fit your lock.
Over the past few weeks, we've replaced in-boardroom meetings with zoom chats, face-to-face creative briefings with ear-to-ear phone calls or eye-to-eye emails, in-cafe coffees with curbside takeaways and in-gym classes with cordial bottle / backpack loading sessions. We've also replaced our consumption of coconut water with chardonnay. But that's not important right now.
What's important right now is that we continue to keep the principles of brief writing at a standard that will deliver the best possible outcomes. Now is not the time to skimp on our briefs. Yes, even our short briefs; if only for a brief time, until face-to-face briefings become our new (old) norm. Dizzy? Me too.
Read on to learn about you can quickly write a cracking (brief) brief when you're time poor and you don't have the luxury of a face-to-face sesh.
Three shortcuts that won't make you skimp on your briefs
K.I.S.S, even when you're not in the same room. This may seem like a basic tip, but trust me when I say that articulating the who, what, when, where, why and how principles is a sure fire way of ensuring that your briefs are thorough, without being verbose. This approach provides a quick 360 degree view of the problem to be resolved, who you're resolving it for, why it needs to be resolved for them, and when it needs to be resolved.
Illustrate, without using an HB pencil. This works especially well if you've worked with your creative consultant before and they've produced a similar outcome for you. Providing samples of their own work (be it images, copy decks or full blown campaigns), will quickly provide a glimpse inside your head. Where your head's at may not necessarily be where you end up, but the visual stimuli will help the virtual brainstorm begin and will demonstrate that you value their work.
It makes sense to outline the dollars. Even if you don't know the budget, use your best judgement to provide your consultants with a ballpark figure. And if you have zero idea (which happens more often than not), ask your consultants for a budget, mid-price and high-end solution that provides a compelling solution to the problem - regardless of intended investment.
BUT, if you have the luxury of time and the logistics for strategy sessions, nothing beats the development of a thoughtful and single-minded creative brief. Until then, take the above tips for a spin. If only for a brief moment in our history.