How to improve your creative results by using a clear process.

Creative Brief Intro

The goal of the creative brief is twofold: 1. inspire the team, 2. outline project goals and parameters.

If you are a brief writer, you need to realize your role is an igniter of the creative process. Without your spark, your team will not achieve a bonfire of results.

You must have a vision of what success looks like. You must sell the dream to your team. They must believe in you. If you are successful, the team will significantly exceed your expectations. That is actually what success looks like.

Too often, the brief is formulaic, unnecessarily long, lacks inspired thought. Work hard to avoid these traps.

“A vision without execution is a dream”

Bring forth your vision with flavor while delivering project goals and parameters.

Components of a simple yet inspired creative brief.

Use and adapt these as appropriate.

1. Situation
   A concise but comprehensive story to set the context of the project. Answer such questions as why is this important now, what is the purpose, why does this work matter? List all top-line internal or external situational challenges. Remember your role is to inspire, so setting a compelling context is a secret weapon in brief writing.
2. Goal
   What does success look like. A simple formula is helpful in goal writing — SMAC.

• Specific
  Make it clear what you want to achieve. Avoid being broad or vague. Clarity on what you want to accomplish is key.
• Measurable
  List a quantifiable outcome, such as KPI improvement or profitability target.
• Achievable
  Ensure the resources you’re allocating (people, skills, budget, calendar) allow for success.
• Compatible
  If multiple goals are present be sure to clarify how they work together.

3. Budget
Budget is so often misused. A great brief should use budget as a strategic ally. Don’t let the budget become: an arbitrary number that is assigned by management, a number similar to what we used last time, or is just an estimate of “what it’s going to cost.” Avoid all of these.

A budget should be thoughtful use of resources. An investment with a clear desired return on investment (ROI). A good first step is to quantify the financial impact of success. Look to your Goals. Will it drive incremental revenue? Will it drive efficiency and cut organizational costs. If there isn’t a clear financial impact, work hard to quantify how you will measure the value the project will drive. This value should be a clear multiplier of the project’s budget. For example, if you plan to invest $10,000 into this project, you should be driving 3X ($30,000) of value. Even if it’s not directly attributable, work hard to quantify value (# of emails acquired, goodwill with consumer segment, etc) If not, why do the project?

Why is this important? Several reasons.

• Someone is financially accountable to this project. Likely you. Having a quantifiable gain is important to justify the spend to CEO, CFO or whoever is managing company finances.
• You set the project, and therefore team, up for success. Often times creative success is very subjective. If you can tie a quantifiable goal, you are making the project measurable.
• It creates a performance based dynamic with your financial stakeholders. If the project is outpacing desired ROI, it’s a straightforward conversation to continue to invest in that project for greater results.

4. Calendar A calendar should blend hard and soft deadlines. It is an important to clarify the hard deadlines in advance, so all teammates are clear on major milestones. These are often for approvals, client presentations or go-live dates.

Soft deadlines are also important. These are internal milestones. These need to have a clarified progress expectation. Basically these internal milestones are the tool to provide intermittent check-ins. They allow for any course correction or intervention if the project is stalling for whatever reason. These internal milestones can be flexible, but they must be used to yield desired progress.

I like a simple calendar:

Kickoff
Formalized event that includes all key stakeholders and project participants. The Creative Brief is presented, key objectives are agreed to, but most importantly momentum is created and the team is eager to peel off and get to work.

Round 1 (R1)
The first formal milestone review. The project should be well beyond rough ideas and brainstorms. Key concepts are developed enough to see how they address the project needs. There should still be room for growth and adjustment that comes from feedback. Ideally this round is about focusing the projects direction so it can be efficiently executed. As the leader, verify the project is headed straight toward the desired objectives. If not, this is a time for course correction.

Round 2 (R2)
The second formal milestone review. This is often used as preparation for any broader presentation to executive management, client or other key stakeholder. At R2, ideas are very developed and formal approval milestones are reviewed. If the project requires additional production, this is typically where those resources are allocated. Everyone should feel aligned and excited about the projects direction. A majority of the effort is on execution. If you find ideas are still being vetted or any teammates are not aligned, pause the project and resolve. You must draw the line here. Ensure the team is being decisive and passes a milestone that changes from brainstorm to action.

R3/Final
The final formal milestone review. This review should feel significant, often could include additional key stakeholders. The project work should be complete. The presentation should recap the project objectives, ensure clear presentation of the work, including how the KPIs and other requirements are being addressed successfully.

5. Deliverables A clear list of desired accomplishments or assets that will be created from the project. Be explicit on what is expected and ensure the team understands each deliverable and why they are being requested.

6. Roles & Decision Making Do everyone a favor and ensure all roles and decision making responsibility are clarified at kickoff. For roles, ensure everyone on the project knows who is responsible for what. For each milestone or decision being made, clarify who has the authority or who will make the final call. Avoid ambiguity here for most efficient results. All projects need doers and clear path to approval. Once agreed, stick to it.

Two important action as the project unfolds.

Performance Check ins In between the R1, R2, R3 milestones should be ad-hoc check ins on parts of the project. As the project leader, these are important to keep a finger on the pulse of progress as well as ensuring you are identifying any key challenges teammates are having as early as possible. I prefer these to be unscheduled and accomplished as part of the natural flow of the project.

Debrief Once the project is completed and results are available, be sure to gather the team and debrief. Ideally this is cause for celebration because the KPIs are being hit. Regardless of the outcome, inevitably there are two buckets of information in the debrief.

• What can be optimized. Even the most successful projects can be improved. Look for ways to iterate on success and gain optimal performance.
• What can be learned. Every project will present learnings that should be memorialized for use in a subsequent project.

Communicate and celebrate.

A final suggestion is to ensure the project results and learnings are communicated throughout the organization. You’ll want to summarize the outcome and send along performance updates so folks in your organization are aware and appreciate the results. Make yourself available for deeper dives to discuss results or potential next steps.

Lastly, find ways to celebrate the projects completion and recognize stand out performances. All too often our busy schedules have us bouncing from one project to the next. Taking a moment to enjoy the accomplishment with your teammates allows the project to deliver fulfillment to those that worked so hard to execute it.