Lately, briefs have been on my mind quite a bit. Not Jeremy Allen White’s CK briefs (*grins*), but the ones that kickstart any project. You know, a document that defines the job to be done, the expectations, the limitations, the priorities, target audience, the pain points, the must-haves and absolute no-nos, and whatnot.
The reason why briefs are occupying my mind is simply the lack of them. Let me put it straight: A girl needs her brief to fulfil a task.
I have to say (and my colleagues would agree) that working at an agency has never been “a fun ride at all times.” You will have to deal with extremely-last-minute-almost-impossible-but-must-be-completed-by-the-end-of-the-day requests, unclear/vague needs, and indecisive people more than you can imagine at the beginning of your career. I know it’s not just the agencies. It happens at all types of businesses. But for creative agency employees, it’s even worse. When it comes to communications (any kind of it), everybody has an opinion and (since it’s not rocket science) people tend to think it does not have rules, anybody who can read/write/talk can do it, and they believe it’s easy. So, they do not understand why you need a brief. “It’s easy, just do it…”
It was probably 2017. I was working at a communications agency as a creative content developer. On that cold January day, we were working on a massive event for a client and I had been working on the presentation of a top-level executive for about 3 weeks because our client could not decide what messages to deliver. But it was almost over, I was only fine-tuning the content… That was, of course, before the e-mail I received two days before the event, at around 19.00.
The e-mail read “We have a new brief: We need to reframe the presentation in line with the documents attached and we need it by tomorrow morning.” Of course, I immediately checked to documents, only to discover that they had nothing to do with what I was working on. It was a completely different approach to the topic and each document was at least 30–40 pages long. I had to read all of them, comprehend the content, figure out the key messages, and create a whole new presentation along with the speaker’s notes by the next morning.
We had already been doing overtime for days now because of last minutes requests and revisions. Much like rest of the team, I was on the edge and extremely overwhelmed. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the office for a short stroll with tears at the corner of my eyes. Later on, a sensible person intervened and convinced the brief-owner to continue with the original content. Yet, for a brief moment, those documents totalling nearly 250 pages were sent to me as “a brief.”
The truth is those 250 pages were not a brief. Just like previous cases where totally different clients shared what they deemed “briefs” which turn out to be some braindump notes randomly written without a structure or email threads forwarded with two-sentence explanation like “We need a new project, details below, thx.”
Anyone that worked at agencies experienced this at some point, I am sure. You know, a 55-page long email correspondence that has been going on between various people for a month being sent (forwarded is the right word I guess) as a project brief. In that case, what’s expected from you is to read the whole email chain from the start, figure out the idea, the context, the purpose, the decisions made, the direction suggested, the budget, what the client thinks, and whatnot.
Of course, the briefs are not always that long. In other cases, our brief was very brief, like “to create a climate change project” ( – Umm, OK), “to support women empowerment” or “to make everyone talk about the brand.” Or I have seen “rebriefs” that said, “We need something more catchy” or “It should feel more lifestyle” – whatever that means.
One way to look at it (if you are a naive optimist) is to think that the client probably sees you as someone from their company and automatically assume that you are aware of every single detail that is going on there. So, as expected, you could instantly translate those notes into a coherent brief in your mind.
But that’s not the reality. These so-called ‘briefs’ often serve as mere time-wasters. Unfortunately, this issue isn’t confined to agencies or specific creative tasks — it’s pervasive. People everywhere seem to expect you to decipher their thoughts/jobs/projects and execute tasks as if you were in their minds. It’s frustrating; most of the time, it feels like navigating blindly through the dark.
A brief is a starting point for any task! (Yes, exclamation point.)
In a world where job titles like “prompt engineers” for generative AI are emerging, it’s baffling that some could still demand idea generation, content creation, or project/strategy development without offering sufficient and structured inputs. Comprehensive briefs not only yield greater impact and richer ideas but also demand fewer rounds of rework.
OK, enough complaining. Let’s move on to the solution.
In 2022, IPA (Institute for Practitioners in Advertising) created a guide, Better Briefs, to alleviate the pain of the agencies. In addition to demonstrating the opinion gap between marketers and agencies, the guide offers some great tips on how to brief, what to include, where to start. Though it was meant to be for marketers, I strongly believe that the key steps can be applied to any area.
Here are my key takeaways from the guide:
- Before requesting an output from someone, ensure clarity on what you aim to accomplish and, crucially, why it matters. Initiating a brief with tasks or tactics (the “how”) before addressing the “why” risks confusion and inefficiency. Begin with a strategic direction, keeping it simple and stupid.
- Once the strategy is set, define the need. What problem are you solving or what opportunity are you pursuing?
- Then, outline objectives, target audience, and available resources — the backbone of the brief according to IPA. These elements provide a foundation for the idea, content, campaign, or project.
- Craft a key message that resonates truthfully with your audience, avoiding personal biases or personal insights. As the IPA asserts, “A message is as strong as the truth that sits behind it.”
- Respect the expertise and experience of others; refrain from dictating solutions. If you already have the solution, consider handling it internally or adjusting the brief accordingly.
- Finally, establish evaluation criteria. How will you determine which ideas are viable and which are to be killed?
Adhering to these steps not only will save time and foster better ideas aligned with your objectives but also uphold the sanity of those collaborating/working with you.
Allow me to conclude by stating: briefs are anything but brief.
