If you have worked with a creative, marketing or digital agency in the past, you are likely familiar with some form of briefing process. ‘The Brief’ is one of the most important communication tools when embarking on a project, clarifying objectives, expectations, deliverables and more importantly, it helps to assure a mutual understanding between you and your supplier.
But where do you start? Defining the context and requirements of your project by considering Why, Who, What, How and When is a simple way to clarify what you are wanting to achieve when briefing suppliers.
1. Why
Consider why you are wanting to undertake the project?
Detail the context and overall purpose of the project and how it fits into your business functions.
2. Who
Who is the audience? Who do you most want to reach?
Consider who you are seeking to target with this activity.
3. What
Consider the following…
What are you wanting to achieve?
Define your goals and objectives.
What do you have to offer?
Explain what you want to communicate or if you have a compelling value proposition or product, define what is available to be leveraged across the project.
What do you want your audience to do?
Consider what the call to action is of this project. Do you want them to ‘sign up’, ‘buy’, ‘contact you’? Think about what the desired end result will be for your customer or client.
What does success look like?
Think about what a successful outcome would be. This can be quantifiable (i.e. X leads/sales per month) or related to behaviour, experience or context.
4. How
How will we achieve your desired objectives?
This is about project format and delivery. If you already have an idea of the format the project will take (e.g. website, campaign, brand development), detail this. If you are unsure, your supplier will be able to help you determine this.
5. When
When do you want to launch or start the activity?
Outlining key milestones or deadlines is important for your supplier to understand when developing a solution.
If you need help clarifying a brief for your next creative, brand, digital or video project, get in touch with us. We are here to help.