The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Marketing Brief
Last week on the Marketing, Optimized podcast, we talked about one of the most useful marketing tools in my arsenal, the marketing brief.
If you're new here or to marketing briefs, head over to this post to get a better understanding of what they are and what purpose they serve.
Now, it's time to put what we've learned into action and build a marketing brief.
There are five main sections of a marketing campaign brief or a creative brief:
1) Background
2) Business Objectives
3) Primary Target
4) Tactical Elements
5) Challenges
Let's breakdown each section in more detail.
1. Background
The first section tells project contributors and decision-makers why this campaign or project is necessary at this point in time. This would be the place where you give a quick overview of the current landscape and relevant marketing opportunities.
For example, a social media marketing campaign aimed at driving app downloads might focus on current metrics around current app downloads, targeting opportunities, and reference to the performance of previous app download campaigns.
Again, this is where you answer "Why are we doing this?"
2. Business Objectives
Next, you want to be clear and specific about how you'll measure success.
It's crucial that you align your campaign to business objectives. If your company is driving toward a 30% increase in revenue YoY, you should ensure that your campaign clear;y contributes to that objective.
That's not to say you shouldn't set marketing objectives like engagement rates or website visits. You absolutely should measure your marketing efforts and set benchmarks. But, those metrics are for you, not your leadership team.
A quick reminder about the difference between objectives and goals: Objectives are specific and measurable, goals are broad and directional.
3. Primary Target
Now that we know why we are putting this campaign together and how we will know if it is working, it's time to define who we will be talking to.
When defining your campaign audiences, it's important to consider:
Where are they in the sales funnel or purchasing lifecycle?
Previous experiences with you or your competitors.
Pain points.
Actions you want them to take.
Targeting capabilities.
List your audience(s) here and a brief description of the group.
For example, if I'm executing an app install campaign, I may list out two targets:
Primary Audience - Website customers who have made 3 or more purchases and have not downloaded the app.
Secondary Audience - In-store customers who have not made a purchase through the website and have not downloaded the app.
4. Tactical Elements
At this point, things are coming together and your team is clear on why we're doing the campaign, how we're measuring it, and who we're targeting. Let's get into what we will do to execute.
In this section, I typically include information relevant to creative teams. Provide direction on the key messaging and tone. If there are technical words or phrases that should be included or avoided, provide that here. You should give enough detail that your copywriter has a good grip on what to produce.
Next, list out your high-level list of tactics that will comprise the campaign. I use this area as my starting point when requesting deliverables with creative teams.
Speaking of teams, I also use this space to note internal and external support teams. This provides a look at the number of resources your campaign requires to get off the ground.
Bonus points if you include a ballpark budget for resources in your brief!
5. Challenges
What is a marketing campaign without a few roadblocks? This section is meant to drive a discussion about obstacles that could derail your campaign and create a plan of action to mitigate the problems. This is not here as a fall-back if your campaign isn't successful.
You might list competing priorities, lack of resources or budget, timelines, communication gaps, etc.
Ready to put what you learned about marketing briefs in action? Download my free marketing brief template now.
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DISCUSS: How has using a marketing brief changed the way your team collaborates? Share your experience in the comments.
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