Creative Brief

Effective marketing and communications efforts start with a clear understanding of the audience and goal. A creative brief consists of a series of questions or prompts that can help you build a solid structure at the start of any project. Use the questions below to clearly define the goal you are trying to achieve, identify your audience and gauge success throughout the duration of your project or campaign.

---

Objectives: What are you trying to achieve?

State the strategic objectives of your project. If there are several, prioritize them. Objectives need to be realistic and limited to the outcomes the project itself can achieve. Feel free to provide background information about any specific challenges, business constraints or market insights.

Audience: Who are you talking to?

Define your target audience as precisely as possible. Even when the project can benefit “anyone and everyone,” it’s more realistic to acknowledge there is a subset of people that will be most interested in it. Where available, use both demographic information and qualitative insights to reflect on who your audience is, how they think, what other messages they may encounter, and what channels they use.

Message: What do you want to tell them and why should they listen?

State the central message you want to communicate. It should be a single idea, expressed in a single sentence, that highlights your unique proposition for your desired audience. To get there, think about what is unique about your initiative that makes it relevant to your target audience, and different from your competitors. Identify functional and emotional benefits you provide.

Action: What do you want them to do?

Describe how you want your audience to respond to your project – what is the most important thing you want them to remember? If you have a call to action (CTA), define the next logical step you want them to take and how they’ll be rewarded if they do.

Approvals: Who has final say?

Think about the project stakeholders and how you need to communicate with them early in the creative process to align design direction and messaging to ensure a timely delivery.

Metrics: What does success look like for your project?

Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics you’ll use to measure the outcomes of your project.

Tactics: Where and how are you going to speak to them?

Think about the specific platforms, channels, placements and vehicles you’ll use to best reach your target audience. List all deliverables and who’s responsible for execution and production for each.