What is Briefing

Definition:

The briefing  is the informative document that is used as a basis for the development of any project, especially in digital marketing and advertising. In it, the company details in a very synthetic way data such as its brand philosophy, its economic figures, etc., along with the objectives it intends to achieve with a certain campaign or a project before launching them. It is a basic communication tool between an agency and its client. That is why it is so important that it is correctly drafted and includes the information necessary to execute an action plan.

What elements a briefing should contain

The elements that make up a briefing may vary depending on who prepares it or the sector in which it is used, but in general they should be the following:

1. Background.
   In this section we must include a brief description of the company and its history, even if it is a company recognized worldwide. You can also include your philosophy, in which countries you develop your business, etc.
2. Information about the market.
   Before launching a communication or digital marketing campaign, it is essential to know the state of the sector and who the competition is, as well as the forecasts of development of the activity. Here the SWOT method can be used to determine weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities.
3. Marketing history.
   For the agency, it is very interesting to know what campaigns have been launched previously and the budget that has been allocated to them, in addition to their degree of success.
4. Information about the product or service.
   In this section it is essential to explain what you want to launch and how. That is, make a description of the product or service and a summary of the campaign idea (if it exists).
5. Target audience.
   It is essential that the company clearly specifies who the campaign is aimed at, with specific data on gender, age, interests, location, etc.
6. Objective of the campaign or project.
   A good briefing should include a concrete definition of the objectives of the campaign in general. These can range from an increase in sales to a better positioning of the brand.
7. Conditions or limitations.
   At this point it is necessary to explain if there is some type of conditioning in the project, such as that it is a launch of limited units, for example, or if you want the campaign to focus only on one type of support.
8. KPIs.
   Related to the two previous points, in a briefing it is very helpful to have a series of indicators linked to the objectives to be able to define the campaign properly. This is one of the factors that usually define the agency and the client together in order to give it the right dimension.
9. Budget estimate.
   Without a monetary forecast it is very difficult to choose which actions are going to be launched.
10. Timimg.
    Finally, the company must make clear the deadlines for the execution of the project and the collection of results.

Characteristics of a good briefing

There are different models of briefing, with different elements or in different order. However, all of them must have three basic characteristics in order to fulfill their function:

1. A briefing must follow a logical order,from the general to the particular. If you look at the different elements listed in the previous section, you can check that they are established in this way.
2. It has to be clear and concised. It is no coincidence that brief is an Anglicism that means brief. Conciseness should prevail in a good briefing to avoid unnecessary distractions and misunderstandings. On the other hand, clarity will allow the different team members to handle the document without complications.
3. It is essential that it includes perfectly quantifiable objectives. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to develop the project.

Examples of creative briefing

The main characteristic that a good briefing must fulfill is that it must be above all informative and facilitate the work of all parties, both the client’s team and the agency. That’s why many digital marketing experts recommend focusing on content and not getting complicated by design.

However, taking special care of the aesthetics of the briefing can help convey to the agency a clear image of the company through the use of logos, corporate colors, creative images, etc. In this way, the lines in which the subsequent work must be developed are shown.

On the Internet there are many pages that offer briefing templates to download and real examples to get inspired. It is best to base one of these samples and adapt it to our specific needs. And once you have found the ideal creative briefing, always try to use a very similar one to unify the way of working within the company.