The Creative Brief

What is the Creative Brief?

As previously mentioned, the creative brief is part of the Account Planners process in aiding the Creatives. 


The creative brief is there to give direction to the Creative team as they search for a creative concept (Wells, 2006). It is there to give clarity to all involved in the campaign. Typically it would include; the problem to be solved, the aims and objectives, the target audience, the positioning strategy, the type of creative strategy, tone of voice and execution considerations. Different agencies tend to have a different format that they follow. Some may be outlined by a number of questions such as 'What is the key benefit?' and other formats may include any additional points that will help the creative, such as the role of the communications as a whole.


Last year at Uni, we were given a live brief by Fallon and Radio One to produce an Account Planning document. The final stage of the document was to produce a Creative Brief. I found the whole process exciting and it highlighted the importance of insights in developing a campaign. The insight must be a reflection of the consumer and it can either be emotionally driven or for a functional benefit. For anyone wanting to get into advertising, have a look at Account Planning books and practise developing a creative brief. Even if you do not want to go into this area, Account Planners will often communicate with account management, creatives, the client etc. So knowledge of what they do will be useful.


I will soon upload key Account Planning books, so keep an eye out!!