Developing a Superior Creative Brief

This technical note is designed to introduce the Creative Brief, a document that plays a crucial role in the process of converting marketing strategy into implementation. Many creatives believe that briefs are generally poorly written, which then leads to poor advertising messages. This note will help strategists better understand the criticality of developing well-crafted, carefully considered, and expertly vetted creative briefs that increase the chance of superior implementation and, ultimately, impact. While this note focuses on a Creative Brief, there are many similar documents (e.g., project briefs and technology briefs) that serve the same bridging purpose. As a result, the insight from the note can be useful in trying to create any document that helps convert strategy into action.