Brief guide to Briefs

Why do we have creative briefs?

So give me some guiding principles

CLARITY

BREVITY

FERTILITY

Clarity?
Fishing analogy

CLARITY

BREVITY

BREVITY

BREVITY

BREVITY

Preparation H is of limited interest

to a bunch of twentysomething
creatives, but it is of incredible
interest to someone with piles.
Jeremy Bullmore (paraphrased)

FERTILITY

The brief writers role

Some rules
Dont believe the hype

Speak like and for a consumer, not a marketing gibbon

Creatives write from a brief, not to one

Briefs are organic and collaborative

Its not just a brief its a briefing

Brand

Date

Product

Job No.

creative brief
Brand Proposition

Whatever the client said in the last meeting, probably something generic.

What do we want
to achieve?

This is the space to write lots of

What is the one

key insight

Fill this space with as many irrelevant facts as possible. If you can stretch it out to six or seven paragraphs, do.

What do we want
people to do?

You will be tempted to write buy more stuf here. Dont. Instead go for something vague and unobtainable like feel like
the first time they had a bath or recall a fond memory of the old five pence piece.

How should we tell

them?

Make sure you include the word social in this section so you can enforce a Facebook group and Twitter hash
tag.

Why would they?

Because product X is The worlds most something product. If anyone questions it or asks why, just repeat yourself until
they go away.

flashy and EXCITING words to inspire the creative's.

Use different type fonts

if possible. Dont be afraid of listing multiple conflicting objectives either.

Brand

Date

Product

Job No.

creative brief

Acc/Man
IA

Have you engaged an IA?

Technical

Have you engaged technical?

R&I

Have you engaged R&I?

Deadlines

Last week

Budget

Minimal (plus its already been spent)

Format/Media

Write any media here, that way it will be more of a fun surprise when you reveal that the client only wants banners. Tada!

Audience specifics

You should be able to go into graphical and inane detail regarding the target audience. Give the guy/girl who represents
your audience a name, a job, a selection of library books they have borrowed and not returned and the details of who they
absconded with in 1991 after a minor mental breakdown behind Tesco express on a wet night in January. All gold to the
creative's. The more you give the better those standard banners are going to look.

Creative
inspiration

This is the place to provide all the links to the kind of work you want to copy, plagiarise and borrow from. They must be
good ideas if they have already been made and you will only need to make a few minor alterations to shoe horn in your
brand. Stealing of of ordinary internet people looks the best and will totally win loads of awards, but stealing of of other
ads and campaigns is also perfectly acceptable.

Creative
mandatories

This is a fun section, just write literally the first thing that pops into your head.

How to write one well

Have a consistent theme to the entire brief

There are no boring boxes (and make sure you fill in the right one)

Let your personality, or the personality of the consumer shine through

Use evocative, unexpected language

Every word is sacred. Dont waste or misuse a single one.

Dont fuck with the template to squeeze more shit in

The Apple Creative Brief Challenge

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

Brand Proposition

creative brief

Quality is closer to home than you think

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

GO

!
D
O

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

Make British Apples sexy again

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

GO

!
D
O

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

We want a country that says no to uniform, sub standard apples. Yay to lumpy! Yay to mis-shaped! And most importantly
yay to apples that taste better!

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

T
H
G
I
N
NS ES A
I
AN MAK
AT ACE E!
H
T
T IV
C
JE
B
O

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

Business objective / increase British apple sales by 50% by the end of 2010
Marketing objective / drive positive brand perception by 75% by the end of 2010

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

T
U
B
.
T
R TOO
A
SM BE
Y
MA MART
S

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

Improve perceptions of British Apples. Increase sales of British Apples.

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

IC
R
E
N
GE

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

We need to improve the perception of British Apples, raising the NPS score to 9

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

KE
R
MA

ES
G
T IN

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

We want to motivate health fanatics to ingest 33.3% of their antioxidants/vitaminC from locally grown british
apples
(we want to do this to increase the perception and sales of local grown brit apples)

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

H
C
U
M
O
E
O
C
T
N
E
I
SC

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

Fruits got pretentious. Tasmanian Loganberries, Brazillian Passion Fruit, and vast, glossy jet-setting Starkimson apples
from South Africa all typify style trumping substance. And its not even pretension for the sake of individuality: all the
internationally-sourced, chemically-enhanced, morpholine-bufed apples look and taste the same.

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

GO

!
D
O

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

Health fanatics are not bothered about the taste and look of produce they consume. From placenta munching to urine
swilling, as long as they know it is the best produce that gives their bodies the best health benefits, they are down pat.
Healthy people dont care what it looks like. They care about the facts and what it does for their health.

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

GO

!
D
O

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

Britain loves an underdog.

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

LD
U
O
W
S
Y
A
H

W EY? HT
TH NSIG
I
N
A

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

British people love a good cause, especially when its about British foodstufs. Chat to people about marmite or the correct
way to make tea and youll find passion on an exponential scale.

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

LD
U
O
W
S
Y
A
H

W EY? HT
TH NSIG
I
N
A

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

In general terms, apples have fallen by the wayside in favour of more exotic fruit, with British apples sufering at the hands
of cheap imports as supermarkets favour their bulk production. In 1987 there were 1,500 registered apple growers in the
UK, today there are just 400. Only 31% of UK apple sales are home grown, and all these imports also make for a massive
carbon footprint.

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

N
O
I
AT T
M
O R S IG H
F
IN T IN
NO

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

Consumers and supermarkets have no sense of loyalty to the British apple market

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

SS T
E
I N BU
S
BU LEM FUL
OB IGHT
R
P NS
ON
I
I
T
NO OLU
S

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition
What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

The good old 19th century saying An apple a day keeps the doctor away is as true today as it was back then but its
definitely not something we live by. Our hectic lifestyle is making people turn to the easiest and least time consuming
option even when it comes to buying fruit. This has resulted in that people are:
are eating more ready made portioned fruit from far, far away = expensive for the consumer & bad for the environment
drinking more juice (from concentrate) rather than eating fruit = bad for their teeth & a health risk with all that sugar
And even when they do eat or buy its usually the ones from outside the UK. Not that they know about it. Actually, when
asked most havent even thought about it and just assumed that its from the UK. They dont know & they dont know what
the diference is.

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

NY
A
M S.
O
TO IGHT
INS

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

Explore how being different is awesome

How should we tell

them?

G
Why would they?

D
O
O

!
H
IS

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Make the less obvious choice

GO

!
D
O

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Rescue the British Apple species

! V E)
D
O TI

AC
S
GO
A
VE

S
S
A
(P
Why would they?

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Sin. Eat the forbidden fruit.

!
T
A
E
GR

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

E,
V
I
T
C
E
J
OB NOT ION
IT
S
PO
O
PR

Remember how great British apples are and start buying them again!

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

E,
V
I
T
C
E
J
OB NOT ION
IT
S
PO
O
PR

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Buy more British apples

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

EE NS
R
TH ITIO
OS E
P
O
N
PR IN O

Enjoy the fresh taste, buy seasonally and feel proud to be buying British apples

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

N
O
I
CT
U
TR T
S
IN
NO TION
A
R
I
P
INS

Support British apples and experiment in eating them, sending a message to the
supermarkets to stock more

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

!
D
O
O
G

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

It looks ugly for a reason

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

!
D
O
O
G

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

British imperfection is beautiful

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

!
D
O
O
G

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Ugly tries harder

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

!
T
A
E
GR

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

The quirkier the better

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

!
T
A
E
GR

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Beauty is only skin deep

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

G
N
I
V
E
T
I
N
L
E
E
B
LI
C
E
TH HYPE

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Reignite the spirit of the Great British Apple

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

O
TW ENT
R
E
F
DIF DEAS
I

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Keep yourself and your local community healthy by eating more British apples

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

OT
N
AL NAL
U
T TIO
C
A
A
F
R
I
P
INS

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

When it comes to apples, British is best

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

AL
N
TIO
C
E
R
I
D

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Find Britains tastiest apple

Brand

Brand

Date

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Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

E
V
I
AT
V
I
R
DE

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

How do you nibble yours?

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

E
V
I
AT
V
I
R
DE

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Ugly tries harder

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

!
D
O
O
G

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Patriotism, and compassion for British farmers, they will feel positive about supporting the local economy.
There has, of late, been a real trend for locally sourced, organic produce: youve only got to listen to the likes of Jamie
Oliver and Gordon Ramsay etc.
Interest: the superior quality and vast variety of British apples is perhaps not something that is common knowledge. This
coupled with the trend for home cooking could inspire people to try something diferent.

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

!
D
O
O
G

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Its quirky and honest message around quality and patriotism.

Should make them feel like theyre being a little bit diferent and supporting the underdog.

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

!
T
A
E
GR

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Choose British:
Overseas foreign imports might look great on the outside, but under the skin is lurking fruit based demons:
Pesticides & Herbicides
Genetic engineering for size and colour decreases taste
1000s of Carbon Miles
Where as British apples, whilst slightly uglier, are natural and tasty and beautiful because of it.

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

!
T
A
E
GR

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Each of the 2000 variants of British apple, from Knobby Russet to Nutmeg Pippin, has its own distinct local flavour and
texture that tells a story about where it came from - the history, the farmers and the wildlife its orchard support. By finding
out more about the food they are eating, people will feel more informed and more satisfied with the value of their food
choices.

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

IC
T
LIS
A
RE
N
U

What do we want
people to do?

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

They should interact because they will learn something new.

Brand

Brand

Date

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Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

T
N
IE
L
C IE F
BR

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Eating more apples, particularly locally grown ones would not only see them healthier and happier and with a better
memory (eating apples prevents dementia), it would actually save them a lot of money as well as an average non-UK
perfect looking apple is 21p more expensive. But few people know this.
Locally grown apples are now clearly labelled in the supermarket so its easy to spot which ones are indeed from the UK.
Weve also launched a range of fresh apple juices which are available in most supermarkets. And, to inspire the UK
public, with each purchase you get a neat little receipe book on quick apple fixes, from apple crumble to apple sauce.

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

IC
G
TE E
A
STR TCOM
OU

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

Stage one: theyve read about the cause and want to try something diferent, theyre inspired to go out and find a British
apple.
Stage two: they loved it and start campaigning, fed up with the fact that their local supermarket isnt stocking what they
want.

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Brand Proposition

What do we want
to achieve?

What is the one

key insight

What do we want
people to do?

N
G
I
PA NOT
M
CA FS T
OO DUC
R
P
O
PR OOFS
PR

How should we tell

them?

Why would they?

We are creating a fun, engaging campaign which is based on facts rather than a hard sales pitch. We are appealing to the
health conscious side of our audience whom actually want good quality and we are arming them with information in a light
hearted way.
Think: I want to embrace natural produce grown on British turf

Brand

Brand

Date

dd/mm/yy

Product

Product

Job No.

DD0123

creative brief

Producer

Who is the primary producer?

Planner

Who is the primary planner?

IA

Have you engaged an IA?

Technical

Have you engaged technical?

R&I

Have you engaged R&I?

Deadlines

hh:mm dd/mm/yyyy

Budget

xx,xxx

Format/Media

Big Idea/Product/Event/Tool/Widget/Advertising/Website/Email & what sort of places will it appear?

Audience specifics

Are there any detailed consumer facts and figures that will help the teams get to a creative idea?

Creative
inspiration

Are there any inspirational websites, campaigns, artworks, programmes, whatever, that will help the creative teams

Creative
mandatories

Is there anything that just HAS to be included in the creative solution? Adaptability for multiple languages, inclusion of
logo, space for third party advertising, existing creative lines etc

Your task
Get into threesomes (and the occasional foursome)

Go discuss your briefs, what you found hard, what you would change

Quickly compose a new one page brief together

Consider how you would do the briefing

Bring it back to the group and present it in less than 2 minutes

Now go and practice