Project Brief: Your Strategy for Success

“The quality of the solution depends entirely on how well you state the problem.”

– Craig Frazier, illustrator/designer

In marketing, there is a single document that unites all of your vendors in planning new communication strategies and becomes the directive for what your advertising needs to do. It combines information about consumer behavior, your target market, your product, its position in the marketplace, and your product’s future goals. This document is known as a Project Brief. When there are multiple creators coming together to build your campaign, strong briefs become a shared roadmap that can strengthen your campaign.

Let’s discuss important sections that you should consider when uniting your creative team on a new campaign.  

DEADLINE

You might have a scheduled event or holiday by which you need materials prepared. But even when the completion date is arbitrary, (as the old saying goes…) a goal without a deadline is only a wish. It is always best to begin with your end in mind. Start any new campaign with a clear picture of what you want, and a realistic date by which you want it. Your creative director will help you work backwards from your deadline to identify key milestones in your production process and to determine how much time you should spend on each milestone. Your deadline (and your budget) will affect the deliverables your team can produce.

CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVE 

Before you can solve a problem, you must identify what it is. Thoughtful research will provide key facts and insight. Consider the following questions: What is your campaign’s most important attribute? What do you want people to understand, believe, or feel about your product? What common outcome should tie together all projects within your campaign? Reduce these answers to one, single-minded statement—one that is most relevant to your business goals and driven by your research, then make it your objective. This could be something really simple like selling a certain number of tickets or increasing website traffic by a specific percentage by a certain date. Be sure to identify an outcome that can be assessed post-launch, so later you can measure the success of your efforts.

AUDIENCE

We’re all different. We use different dialects. We have different political views, religious preferences, family obligations, diets, and exercise habits. Therefore, we all prefer different products to simplify our lives. Your business won’t solve a problem for everyone, so it’s important to create a profile of the specific consumer you’re addressing so your marketing speaks to the most relevant demographic. Define your ideal customer in terms of age, lifestyle, and interests. You might consider socio-economic status, personality traits, and geographic location. How do your buyers speak to one another? (For example, would they say “y’all or “you all”?) Look at your product from their perspective, then align your marketing efforts with traits that are specifically relatable to them.

COMPETITION

Within your industry, define your product category and assess your strengths and weaknesses: How is your brand perceived and how do you want it to be perceived? Who are your competitors? What competitive edge can you offer? Perhaps your price point is more competitive, or you cater to a niche demographic. Whatever the difference, embrace that and let it become the catalyst for your marketing.   

EVIDENCE

Your marketing campaigns can shout the greatness of your product, but few will believe it until there is evidence to back it up. What evidence can you provide that will support your benefit objectives? It might be market research, sales revenue, or testimonials. Do more than say you’re great — how can you prove it? And then, use your design aesthetic to validate it.  

MANDATORIES & LIMITATIONS

Consider the feel you want your campaign to portray. You might think of 1-3 adjectives that summarize your intentions such as whimsical, straight forward, competitive, or wacky. Maybe work with your creative director to create a visual mood board. Mention any restrictions including legal cautions, carry-over of a slogan, boilerplate, line items, type of casting, and corporate tags. Are there any partner logos that should be featured? Does your ad vendor require particular size dimensions or file types? Are there any brand standards your designer should follow? It may seem counterintuitive, but most creatives actually prefer to work with some constraints.   

REFLECT

After your campaign wraps, make time to evaluate and document the success of your efforts. Reflect with your team on what worked well and what could’ve gone better. A quick meeting can lead to improved future processes. As the old saying goes, “In business, you never lose. Either you win, or you learn.”

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For more help on crafting the perfect project brief, check out our workbook.