Creative Brief: an example

A creative brief is an essential document that any communication manager will write or read someday. It is the bedrock of any integrated marketing communication campaign. It needs to abstract the objective of the campaign and entice the creative team to achieve that objective.

A good creative brief must address two elements: creative and brief.

Here is an example of a good creative brief from Quaker Oats:

The question we should ask when evaluating a creative brief is whether it successfully hits the “creative” and “brief” marks.

From a glimpse, we can see that the Quaker Oats creative brief is one page long, a recommended length for a creative brief. The overall document is not overwhelmed by text and is easily "skimmable." Hence, it’s safe to say that this creative brief is brief.

Is it creative? That is a question that demands an in-depth analysis of the content. However, it is easy to recognize some accompanying graphics and data used to support the text. The ratio between the text and the visuals creates harmony. That’s a good sign of creativity in a creative brief.

In fact, this format is powerful. It’s important to remember that the primary audience of a creative brief is the creative team. That’s right - the creative team, not the client. And most of those who work as creative content creators or strategists are free spirits and visual thinkers. (That’s why they are trusted to decide what visual aspects work for the campaign). They need to see things that are a little different to feel inspired to create some killing content. A creative brief filled with nothing but word after word may not be exactly what they are looking for.

That said, I love the format of the Quaker Oats creative brief. It is visually engaging, and it will likely speak to the creative team at Quaker Oats. Even the diction choice is engrossing. For example, when identifying the target audience, it reads, “the perpetually overbooked,” instead of “men and women of all backgrounds who are too busy with their job to have a healthy breakfast.” The words in the brief are provoking, concise but humorous, and a little dramatic - just how most creative folks are. Hence, I would say this creative brief is creative.

What would I change? Perhaps some color choices. In general, it is always ideal to use brand colors to create brand consistency. But in this particular creative brief, I don’t think there is enough contrast between the background, the text, and the visual elements. Just some minor details in the design. But again, any communication material needs to be specifically tailored toward its target audience. And as you may know about content people, they can be a little picky about how things are looking. A little polish in the design can go a long way and get them excited…