Why Briefing Matters

Simply put, briefing is the single most important element that all parties need to get right. It lays the foundation of absolutely every facet of the campaign: everything that gets thought about, planned, bought and delivered. Get it wrong and nothing that follows will hit the mark.  

Given its importance, it is surprising how regularly briefs miss the mark. Introducing ambiguity is a bad idea at the best of times but doing so at the briefing stage is possibly the worst of times. When there’s a lack of clarity, media agencies can lean into playing it safe. When there’s a lot of clarity, it’s full steam ahead.  

Common problems in a brief

Horror-shows exist – and they’re not limited to the owner-led startups that might be struggling for time, expertise or resources.Often, it’s the marketing managers at big companies that don’t do their homework. So, what do these horror shows entail exactly? And how do brands make sure that they're not tarred with that same brush in the future? Below is a handful of the most common (and simultaneously least helpful) briefing mistakes:  

·      Reducing the KPI to ‘raising awareness’ – of what? By how much? To what end?

·      Not being clear on your budget.

·      Not being clear on who your customers / target audience(s) are.

·      Forcing through a specific media channel without any evidence of ‘why’.

What a Strong Media Brief Looks Like

On the flip side, a good brief doesn’t have to answer every question. Often, it does answer the right ones. Over the years, we’ve developed a briefing checklist to guide clients into giving us exactly what is required – including all the things that we shouldn’t do.  

From a planning perspective, that checklist covers a handful of things, including:

·      The real business problem – what are you/we really looking to achieve?

·      Clear success metrics – how are we measuring what ‘great’ looks like?

·      Audience insight – who is already interested in your product/service?

·      Budget – do you have a non-negotiable budget, or can we demonstrate what a few different tiers of investment might deliver?  

·      Non-negotiables vs. flexibility – what have we got to show you vs what can we use our creative juices on?

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Working with your media agency to get to the bottom of what is essential to crafting an effective campaign plan then gives them the freedom they want (and need). It helps them answer the question with precision, as well as identify the extra-curriculars that are worth bringing to your attention.  

The Takeaway

Chess has rules. Football has rules. The best players still find freedom within them. Media operates in the same way. A tight brief isn’t restrictive, it’s liberating. It gives media agencies the ammunition that they need to move budgets around to the places that they matter most, gauge what should be experimented and package together a cohesive plan that moves the needle.  

So, the next time you come to brief your media agency, ask yourself: have I given them direction, or just information?

Struggling to bring a campaign plan to life? Get in touch with us today here.

 Author: Jordan Watkins