The document provides guidance on how to write an effective creative brief for an advertising campaign. It emphasizes that a good brief should be tightly focused yet creatively stimulating. It should begin by addressing the client's core business issues and goals. It then needs to define the target audience and articulate clearly what consumer behavior change the communication aims to achieve and what messages will be conveyed. The brief outlines key questions that should be answered including the marketing objectives, issues, audience profile, desired communication tasks and messages. It stresses the brief should be measurable and include budget details. Providing a well-written brief is important to help the creative team develop compelling work that meets the client's objectives.

1. HOW TO MAKE A
GOOD BRIEF

2. “GIVE ME THE FREEDOM
OF A TIGHT BRIEF”

3. “Every creative team has
horror stories of receiving
lousy briefs. Dull, vague,
confusing, thoughtless briefs.
What chance do they have of
producing sparking, fresh
creative work if the account
team doesn’t brief them
properly”
Tham Khai Meng – Worldwide
Creative Director, Ogilvy

4. Ogilvy Do brief
Most creative briefs ask
familiar questions.
The Do Brief asks tough
questions!

5. Creative Brief

6. Communication Brief

7. Types of questions that should be asked
1. It begins with the question about the client’s business
issues
2. It asks about what communication must get consumers to
do
3. It asks how communications will change behavior
4. It asks what we need to convey
5. It is channel-neutral and global

8. Why do we need to ask these
questions
To improve briefing quality
The help clients buy original work
Review the brand’s sales and position in the market to identify a business opportunity
Identify the key consumers segment for that opportunity
Analyze consumers behavior and attitudes in terms of the defined business opportunity
Articulate the role of communication in bringing about the desired behavioral change
To judge creative work – sales job done

9. The brief
Business Purpose of this campaign:
(What is the business trying to achieve)
Background:
(Market/Brand scenario, issues facing the brand/market today)
The Brand:
(Introduction, Features & Benefits, Past promotional activities)
Brand Positioning:
(Market/Brand scenario, issues facing the brand/market today)
Competitive Set:
(Who are we competing with? What are they doing to impact the market?
Competitive positioning by brand)
Marketing Objectives and Strategies?
(State your objectives for the coming year(s) including volume targets etc. where
possible. Attaching your brand plans to this brief would be very helpful)

10. Key Marketing Issues:
(Detail any issues you anticipate e.g. packaging, pricing, trade issues including likely timing)
The Target Audience:
(Demographic profile, if possible a brief psychographic outline would help)
The Task / Objective for Communication:
(What do we intend to achieve through our communications?)
Key Communication Messages:
(What messages do we want to deliver/seed among the target audience)
Key Target Benefit:
(How would this Key Message benefit the target audience?)
Supports:
(Why would the target believe the key message?)
Budget:
(Note if there are any constraints on budget phasing. What does the budget include? E.g.
agency fee, 3rd party costs, etc.
Any Other Relevant Information:
(Consider other implications on our communications planning e.g. new product launches,
targeting trade to aid distribution, visibility to employees, etc.; also any key links for
company to provide to agency for any additional information)

11.  Brief document sent by Ogilvy:
 Brief completion and confirmation by client:
 Meeting to discuss the brief:
 Proposal by Ogilvy:
 Discussion & finalization:
 Contract & execution:
Project key milestones:

12. A good brief
• Rooted in real client business issues
• Clear, consistent, make sense
• Creatively stimulating
• What we need the audiences to go as the result of seeing the campaign
• Measureable
• Clear scope of work, and expectation of client
• Timeline, budget, deadline

13. Practice – A brand called YOU
Business Purpose of this campaign:
(What is the business trying to achieve)
Background:
(Market/Brand scenario, issues facing the brand/market today)
The Brand:
(Introduction, Features & Benefits, Past promotional activities)
Brand Positioning:
(Market/Brand scenario, issues facing the brand/market today)
Competitive Set:
(Who are we competing with? What are they doing to impact the market? Competitive positioning by
brand)
Key Communication Messages:
(What messages do we want to deliver/seed among the target audience)
Supports:
(Why would the target believe the key message?)
Any Other Relevant Information:
(Consider other implications on our communications planning e.g. new product launches, targeting
trade to aid distribution, visibility to employees, etc.; also any key links for company to provide to agency
for any additional information)