Creative Strategy

We have been working on our team to improve its function through training. It will take time to learn all that Don has to offer. But we keep moving forward. This post is dedicated to the effort that one of our team members has put into one of our trainings.

We needed to develop some new marketing and the requirements were not quite known. The first impression was to jump right in to start writing the text, but we have learned this only leads to marginally acceptable content. So this team member was requested to return with a Strategy.

Why do we need this information, and what will it be used for? These questions must be answered. He was given an outline to build this Creative Brief. I will try to develop the ideas posed by this outline.

Who will be using the content? The first section is to define the Client. This section was a little light in my eyes but it doesn't always have to be explicit. This may even include the name of the one who will receive the Deliverables.

Next, the Background or Overview for the proposed content. Give a quick description of Why this content is needed. Share the reasons this content will be important.

The Objective of the content should portray the message that must be presented by the content or advertising. It should be very succinct so as to not cause any deviation from the desired outcome.

The Values that will be presented as part of the marketing follow the Objective so the group that will be building the content can tie the Objective to why the buyer should pursue the Call to Action. The values can be a list of items that gives the product worth.

What is the actual Target Audience? Try to describe the Audience in detail: what appeals to them, how they might differ from other groups, their locale, how they will use the product. There are many questions and ways to approach this section but this is where the content will be built specific to the audience. If this is not filled out correctly the content will fall short of meeting your overall objective.

The outline suggests you add the Single Most Important Thing to Say. The main point must come across in the content. So write what you think should be said.

The last section that relates to the actual content is reasons to buy, both logical and emotional. Expand the value of the product in this section. Again a list will help you organize your thoughts on this subject.

An outline of Deliverables with dates will provide the necessary schedule for the development of the content. The time line will allow those building the content to properly plan their time and set meetings that may be necessary to approve resources.

Further Requirements may be included to ensure that anything not included above can be supplied to the development group. Items may include specific quotes from the client that must be included. Names and information about logos, images and text size.

After all this you only need to review the document to ensure you have sold the strategy and the product. You have to enough info that will make it possible for marketing to make it work and described the content well enough for management to sign off to provide resources.