The perfect campaign brief
Liz Wakefield, MD, Upshot Marketing
© Copyright 2013 Upshot Marketing Ltd
The perfect brief…why?
The better your agency brief, the better and more accurate the results will
be. So if you’d like:
• better, more effective, measurable work
• cost and time efficiency
• fairer remuneration
read on for our six steps to briefing success….
© Copyright 2013 Upshot Marketing Ltd
Step 2: where are we now?
This is the section that describes the background of the brief - the
current position of the brand or the issue at hand
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What is the history behind the campaign?
What is the current status?
Why is there a need to change?
The brief should try to contain the following information (as relevant):
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product or service description
manufacturing or service delivery
distribution channels
market size (volume and value)
customer
usage data
the brand’s positioning
its history of brand communications
competitive brands/products
communications activity to date
© Copyright 2013 Upshot Marketing Ltd
Step 3: where do we want to be?
This is the section where you state the campaign objectives - the desired
destination of the journey.
Typical objectives are to effect improvements in:
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sales
usage
awareness
image
reputation
profitability
customer profile
shareholder value
and/or response levels
© Copyright 2013 Upshot Marketing Ltd
Step 4: who are we talking to?
This is the section where you outline the target market.
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All communications are designed to elicit some form of response from a particular group of
people. These target groups should be defined and prioritised as accurately as possible via
demographic and behavioural data, lifestyle data, product/service usage, attitudes, etc.
Equally important are the insights that you and your agencies already hold about these target
groups that can be leveraged to create the desired reaction.
Often your agency will conduct further research to generate even greater understanding – and
your existing insights will provide them with a useful and welcome platform to build on.
© Copyright 2013 Upshot Marketing Ltd
Step 5: how will we measure success?
This is the section where you outline campaign measurement
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You and your agencies need to know what success (or failure) will look like.
Measures should be put in place to establish whether or not the campaign delivers against its
desired objective.
How will the campaign be measured?
When will it be measured?
What benchmarks currently exist?
Who will measure it?
© Copyright 2013 Upshot Marketing Ltd
Step 6: practical considerations
The agency response(s) to your brief will have many consequences in
terms of implementation, so it’s important that all the key practicalities for
them to bear in mind are included in your brief.
These fall into four main areas:
Area 1: Campaign requirements
• What materials do you need?
• What formats?
• What quantities?
• Do you have copy written/ ready/ signed off?
© Copyright 2013 Upshot Marketing Ltd
Step 6.2: practical considerations
Area 2: timings
• What are the key delivery dates?
• What are the key payment dates?
• When should the key project milestones be set?
• What are the booking dates or deadlines for media?
• Should it consider the timings of other campaigns?
• Is there another related event? (e.g. a sales conference with a deadline that precedes the
media copy date)
• How do you want the creative timings to run?
• What phases of pre-testing research are planned?
• What are the logistics of production?
© Copyright 2013 Upshot Marketing Ltd
Step 6.3: practical considerations
Area 3: budget
• Tackle budget upfront to reduce the reworking of solutions; the need to reduce total costs and
to improve integration across the campaign.
• Your approach to setting the budgets may vary from brief to brief. Ideally, you will know the
budget from the outset, in which case it should be clearly stated and broken down into its
component parts.
• Sometimes ‘scenario budgeting’ will be required in order to give clear direction to the agency.
Area 4: approvals
• The final piece of detail needed in the brief is who has the authority to sign off the work that
the agency produces?
• This person (or people) should also be the one(s) to sign off the brief before it is given to the
agency.
© Copyright 2013 Upshot Marketing Ltd
Best wishes for a successful
campaign
© Copyright 2013 Upshot Marketing Ltd