Top tips from 7 creatives on writing better creative briefs (and what to avoid)
Knowing how to write a creative brief is a fundamental, and hugely important, skill for account managers to master. The best creative briefs will inspire the creative team and give them confidence in the account manager delivering it.
That’s why we spoke with XX creatives to get their tips on what makes a great creative brief, as well as what to avoid.
Here’s what they had to say…
Ash Billinghay
Ash is a Senior Creative Copywriter at Storycatchers who specialises in (to name a few) conceptual copy for advertising campaigns, tone of voice and content design/accessibility.
Top tip: Keep it short. Make the point of the brief obvious as soon as possible, leave out all the waffle as you can guarantee I’m only going to skim it.
What to avoid: Don’t book in an hour long meeting to talk about the brief. Leave me to look it over, start playing and see where I get to before a meeting makes it sound boring before I’ve even begun.
Nic Sowden
Nic is a freelance Art Director, idea maker, content creator and Style Consultant based in Sheffield. She also Co-Founded The In Good.
Top tip: It helps to know what the current relationship is like with the client. Just a one-liner: 'Client currently loving everything we are delivering' Vs. 'Client is new and looking to be WOW'ed after last agency let them down.’
What to avoid: Account managers should always avoid negativity when briefing - positivity and confidence only please!
Dan Greenwood
Based in Manchester, Dan is the Lead Designer at DGDD and has over 20 years’ experience working across all creative disciplines.
Top tip: As part of the creative briefing, chat with the team about the best way to bring the work to life and sell it in to the client. This is one thing that gets overlooked a lot and can make so much difference to how well the work is received by the client.
What to avoid: Try not to be too prescriptive, whether you’re briefing new work or amends. Rather than simply asking for the client’s solution to be done, explain and delve into the overall objective or the problem that the client needs to solve.
Rosie Cordingley
Rosie is a writer at Sonder & Tell, adept at crafting brand tone of voice with personality.
Top tip: Have fun when writing your brief. Typically, the creative team get bored easily so spice it up with pics/anecdotes/creative references you’ve come across.
What to avoid: Avoid ignoring the elephant in the room. Call out the thing that everyone’s going to pick up on/highlight as a barrier to this being great wor
Heather Seed
Heather Seed is a brand identity designer, art director and photographer offering design and photography services directly to her clients via Heather Seed Creates.
Top tip: Ensure you focus on the right objective and answer the correct question from the start. Remember to think about the bigger brand strategy and be specific about the target audience. Provide as much relevant insight as possible. It’s your job to sift through the rubble and provide your creatives with the gold to work with.
What to avoid: A list of mandatories are useful, as are facts, but it has to inspire, set off explosions in creatives minds. The right creative brief can set the stage for amazing campaigns, so avoid the same repetitive briefing format and location if possible.
Tommy Wilson
Based in Sheffield, Tommy is a freelance content marketer offering video editing and copywriting services.
Top tip: Providing links to pre-existing things you like (videos, articles etc) gets me on the same page far quicker than an hour-long meeting or pages of internal documents ever would...
What to avoid: Abstract language, instead of practical, tangible guidance.
Dom Rugman
Dom is a Senior Designer living in Sheffield with a focus on branding and communications design.
Top tip: Pick brains and ask questions until you have a concrete understanding of the problem and/or requirement. Then rewrite it in your own words (even if you have to Google a few of them).
What to avoid: Avoid the urge to relay client’s words verbatim, they’re often woolly and can lead creatives to an ambiguous understanding of the ask.
And there you have it! What would you add to this list of tips?
If you found this article helpful personally, or feel your Client Services colleagues might, then get in touch today to discuss how Blueberry Spark can help your CS team excel
