Creative Briefs and Working
with Advertising Agencies
17th February 2012
ACE Seminar
Jen Orkis
So you want to develop a
campaign…
A method to the madness
Analyze
Data
Program Staff
Develop
Creative
Brief
Program Staff,
Partners
Select
Agency
Program Staff, Partners
Develop
Executions
Test
Creative
Concepts
Agency
Develop
Creative
Concepts
Research Team
Agency
Pre-test
Materials
Research Team
Stakeholder
Review
Produce Final
Materials
Program Staff,
Partners, Agency
Agency
What is a creative brief?
Creative
Research
What is a creative brief?
• The beginning of the creative process
• A road map to inform and inspire the
creative team
• Informed by research, the
communication strategy
• A “creative contract” agreed upon by all
partners
Same same…but different
Communication Strategy
• National or project level
• Comprehensive
• Longer-term
• Long!
Creative Brief
• Campaign, activity or
material level
• Specific deliverables
• Short-medium term
• One page!
Who should be involved in
writing the creative brief?
• Everyone who will have a say in
approving the creative
– Program staff
– MoH, HEU, NACP, TACAIDS, RCHS
– USAID
– Service delivery partners
What’s in a creative brief?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Purpose
Target Audience
Communication Objectives
Barriers
Benefits
Tone
Channels
Creative Brief:
Safe Motherhood Campaign
Purpose
Develop a campaign to empower pregnant women and their
partners to take the steps necessary for a healthy
pregnancy and safe delivery
Target Audience Primary:
Pregnant women
Secondary:
Partners/spouses of pregnant women
Birth supporters (aunties, mothers, in-laws, friends)
Communication
Objectives
Increase the % of pregnant women who:
• Attend ANC within the first 16 weeks of pregnancy
• Attend ANC at least four times during pregnancy
• Test for HIV together with their partner
• Enroll in PMTCT services if HIV positive
• Receive 2 doses of SP for the prevention of malaria
in pregnancy
• Sleep under a treated net every night
• Make a birth plan
• Deliver at a health facility with a skilled provider
Barriers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Benefits
Tone
Channels
Culture of secrecy around pregnancy
Fear of the evil eye
Belief that you should not interfere with God’s plan
Unaware of need for birth plan, its benefits or components
Believe they’ll be viewed as a coward if they deliver in a health
facility, especially after the first child
Do not see need to go to the clinic or take medication if not sick
Fear the side effects of SP
Low male involvement
Distance to health facilities and associated costs of leaving
home/work and/or using money for transport
• To have a healthy baby
• So the mother and baby survive
• For peace of mind, no worry
• To feel supported by others during pregnancy
• To be able to communicate with your partner about pregnancy
Empowering, emotional
TV spots, radio spots, press ads, outdoor
TV and radio programs, song and jingle
SMS
Community outreach
Selecting an Agency
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Establish a proposal review committee
Identify agencies
Issue an RFP
Hold a bidders conference
Score submissions
Invite short-listed agencies to pitch
Adjust scores
Final selection, notification and
documentation
*Optional
Components of a RFP
• Terms of the contract
• Technical proposal requirements
– Capability statement
– Proposed staff
– Samples of previous work
– Strategic thinking and technical approach
– Initial creative ideas
– Sample media plan and schedule
– Proposed timeline
Components of a RFP
• Cost proposal requirements
– Estimates for typical communication
products
– Budget justification
• Creative brief
• Deadline and instructions for submitting
proposals
Things to Consider
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•
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•
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•
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Staff size
Current clients
Number of years in existence
Agency ownership and affiliation
Agency billings
Experience with health/social issues
Agency resources
– Creative, media, PR, research
Scoring Matrix
Agency
1
Agency 2
Agency 3
Agency 5
Agency 5
Agency 6
Reviewer
1
7
4
8
5
7
6
Reviewer
2
8
3
7
3
8
7
Reviewer
3
8
5
7
4
7
6
Reviewer
4
9
6
8
5
8
7
Reviewer
5
6
2
5
1
7
5
7.6
4
7
3.6
7.4
6.2
Average
Meet with the Finalists
• Meet proposed account staff
• Agencies give oral presentation of their
proposed approach and creative ideas
• Clarify and discuss ideas
• Consider going to their offices
• Do them all in one day
• Adjust scores
• Selection, notification and documentation
What’s a concept?
• A big idea
• Based on a strategy/creative brief
• Embodied in headline, a tagline and a
key visual
• Works for all messages, calls to action
• Will work on TV, radio, print
• Can continue to roll it out in different
ways
What is a concept?
• May demonstrate different benefits
– Beauty vs. good health
• May use different approaches
– Celebrity endorsement vs. audience
testimonials
• Could use different tone
– Romantic vs. humor
Why do concepts?
• There is no one solution
• Not sure of the most appealing benefit
• Need to see how the campaign will work
in multiple media
• Need to see how the creative ties the
whole campaign together
• Testing concepts gives you a better
chance of effectively reaching your
audience
A concept is NOT…
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•
•
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Different colors or fonts
Different models
Different informational messages
Different calls to action
Illustrations vs. photographs
Couples HIV Counseling and
Testing Concepts
Couples HIV Counseling and
Testing Executions
Malaria in Pregnancy Concepts
Safe Motherhood Executions
We’re not what they’re used to…
Hire an agency to
promote…
Have a budget
that’s…
Are approved by…
Are handled…
Measure results in
the…
Commercial
Accounts
Public Health
Accounts
A product or
service
An idea or behavior
Huge
Small
Few people
Everyone
In days/weeks
In months/years
Short-term
(sales)
Long-term
(burden of disease)
Tips for working with ad
agencies
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•
•
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Identify a single contact person
Hold regular meetings
Document key decisions
Come to a shared understanding about
the review and approval process
• Go back to the creative brief
• Health ≠ boring!