The best way to better ads

I jumped the gun when I wrote my last blog about the creative process. In fact, I breezed right over the most important part. The part that allows any respectable creative to hit the ground running and rally around a rock-solid point of view: The Creative Brief.

To quote my last entry, "I re-read the creative brief until I can bulletize the entire thing into a few key nuggets of information."

Sounds good, right? The writer actually reading the creative brief? Imagine that. Some might even call it a miracle. [sarcasm] While there's nothing wrong with reading and re-reading the brief, there is something potentially wrong with the nuggetization process—thing is, with nuggetization comes interpretation, and with interpretation lies the potential for misinterpretation. Long story short, a creative brief should be boiled down to one, bullet-proof key message and some supporting information BEFORE it's presented to the creative team. That way, when it comes time for the creative presentation, you (being the almighty client) can rest assured that the ads you'll see will be clear, concise, and (most importantly) on-brief.

Sounds easy enough, right? Just give the creative team what they need and nothing more? Unfortunately, more often than not the "brief" is anything but brief. It's not uncommon to receive a 3-page epic journey outlining every possible insight, angle and competitive analysis. When I receive a "brief" like that, the first thing I ask is this: If you had to communicate ONE thing with this ad, what would it be?

NEWS FLASH: Your ad can't say everything. Ads that say everything aren't ads. They're brochures. Which is only okay if you're making a brochure.

Without that one, pointed, perfect, key pessage, the ad will suffer, the creative team will wander, the message will be muddy, and (if you approve this catastophic excuse for an advertisement) your potential customer will either turn the page or change the channel. I promise.

Account Executives worldwide have debated the elements of the perfect creative brief. Every decent agency in this fair city claims to have perfected the art of its creation. Books have been written. Semesters have been dedicated. And hundreds of hours of high-level meetings have been hosted—most of them debating the importance of the fourth, fifth and sixth bullet under "single key message." (What?)

I look for two things. The more specific, the better:

1) THE AUDIENCE. (Who am I talking to?)

2) THE MESSAGE. (What is the one thing I need to communicate?)

While most of the other elements of a creative brief are eventually important (including pesky little things like logos and budgets and deadlines) ultimately, the audience and the message are what spark the big ideas. And, who likes small ideas?

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Hey Andy, Thanks for your

Submitted by Maikel van de Mortel (not verified) on Tuesday, March 30.

Hey Andy,

Thanks for your blog post and sharing your thoughts. It seems this topic has been rearing its head from time to time over the past decades, always making me stop and think what the real reason is behind the comment. Unfortunately, I've seen my fair share of bad creative briefs and know how they can possibly influence the creative process. That said, they should not affect the final creative result, and it has been my experience that pointing the finger somewhere else will make everybody look bad.

It's too bad your blog post doesn't provide any new insights, or advocates a different approach. Maybe the days of simply "following" a creative brief are over. So instead of adding to the sentiment of a bad creative brief, it might be more constructive for creatives to take greater ownership and become more involved with the marketing challenges that companies face these days. Here are some thoughts:

1. Since audiences and the marketplace are continuously shifting, especially in these volatile times, stop waiting for the "perfect" creative brief , as no such brief exists.
2. Understand the marketing challenges todays companies are up against. When doing so, you might find it nearly impossible trying to communicate only one message.
3. Adapt to the mindset of a marketer, as being a creative only won't cut it anymore in todays marketplace.
4. Work with the account team to better understand the challenges they are up against, create a solid brief and establish trust.
5. Take ownership and responsibility of the complete task ahead, not just the creative portion.

The ad industry as a whole is dealing with hard-times and change faster than the speed of light (read: social media, consumer-empowerment, crowd-sourcing, etc.), the last thing the industry needs is for creatives to bring up the same old topics. Our industry is in desperate need of change agents. It needs creative who are not are not afraid to say, enough, let's work together and turn our industry around. What type of creative are you? What do you say? I'd say, let's make it happen. Show the world what creatives are all about. The choice is yours.

Cheers for now!
Maikel van de Mortel