How to Write a Creative Brief in 2023: A Complete Guide

In the fast-paced world of marketing and design, the creative brief plays a vital role in guiding the creative process. It serves as a blueprint that ensures everyone involved is on the same page and working towards a common goal.

As we step into 2023, the landscape of creative briefs has evolved to accommodate new technologies, trends and consumer behaviours. For example, some writers view Artificial Intelligence (AI) such as Chat GPT as a positive tool to help structure their writing. 

Consideration needs to be made when it comes to briefing as the professionals that read them might interpret things differently. To avoid this, ensure that you are as detailed as possible and follow this guide. 

An example of who might need a creative brief could be someone in the field of creative media production. It could be a good idea to research the roles of the receiver to help understand the deliverables needed.

In this blog post, we will explore the essential elements of a modern creative brief and provide you with valuable tips on how to write an effective one.

1. Start with a Clear Objective

Every creative brief should begin with a clear objective that defines what you aim to achieve with your project. Think of the objective as a guide. Whilst writing the creative brief, ensure that you keep checking back to your objective and are keeping everything aligned and consistent.

Whether it’s launching a new product, increasing brand awareness or driving user engagement, clearly articulate the goal you want to accomplish.

2. Understand Your Target Audience

In 2023, understanding your target audience goes beyond basic demographics. It involves gaining insights into their behaviours, preferences and aspirations. 

Use market research, data analytics and customer feedback to create a comprehensive profile of your target audience. This knowledge will enable you to craft a creative brief that resonates with them and drives meaningful connections.

For example, If you are writing a creative brief wanting a poster design for your company’s latest mascara, the graphic designer would need to know a little more information. Who is it that normally buys similar products? What is the average age bracket?

Adding these insights to your creative brief may affect the elements that the graphic designer chooses. This could be a colour scheme, fonts, tone of voice and more.

3. Include a Creative Strategy

A creative strategy outlines the approach you will take to achieve the objective for your creative brief. It defines the key messages, tone of voice and style that will be implemented to communicate with your audience effectively. 

It is a good idea to consider the unique selling point (USP) of your product or service and how it can be communicated through creative work. The creative strategy should align with your overall brand positioning and reflect the correct values and personality.

4. Embrace Technology and Trends

In 2023, technology continues to shape the way we communicate and consume content. Consider experimenting with the latest technological advancements and emerging trends in your creative brief. 

First, ask yourself, is it relevant and can it enhance the creative brief? As said above, things like Chat GPT could help speed up the process. Another great tool that could help enhance your creative brief is AI image generation engines.

These could be really beneficial for adding visual prompts to help articulate the desired outcome. An engine such as Midjourney would be an excellent choice as it is fast, community-driven and produces super high-quality images. If you’re interested in testing it out, here is a guide on how to use Midjourney.

5. Provide Clear Deliverables and Specifications

To avoid any confusion or misinterpretation, clearly define the deliverables and specifications in your creative brief. With this aspect of the brief, it is really important to be as specific and accurate as possible.

The process will be a lot smoother if whoever is receiving the creative brief has all the information needed and does not have to ask many questions for clarity. You should specify the required formats, sizes, resolutions, quantity and any other technical details relevant to the project. 

It could be worthwhile to create a checklist template to ensure nothing is missed. This will enable your creative team to plan and execute their work effectively, ensuring that the result aligns with your expectations.

6. Set Realistic Timelines and Budgets

In the fast-paced world of marketing, time is of the essence. Clearly outline the project timeline in your creative brief and set realistic deadlines for each stage of the process. Allow sufficient time for any idea generation, research, amendments and finalisation. 

Depending on your position and the outcome you need, you might need to consider the budgetary constraints for your project. If that is the case, make sure to communicate the allocated budget to your creative team to ensure they can plan accordingly and deliver high-quality work within the given resources.

7. Encourage Collaboration and Communication

Collaboration and communication are so important for successful creative projects. Encourage collaboration between different teams and stakeholders by providing opportunities for idea-generation sessions, feedback and regular project updates. It is important to keep everyone involved informed and on the same page to ensure a smooth project execution.

Two minds are better than one, especially within the creative sector. Create an open and inclusive environment where ideas can flourish and creativity can thrive. Establish clear channels of communication to facilitate efficient and effective collaboration.

If you need some help, take a look at this article on the best collaboration tools for creative teams in 2023.

8. Review and Refine

As the creative process unfolds, it is essential to review and refine your creative brief if necessary. It would be a good idea to keep referring back to the main goals and objectives that you set at the start and triple-check the specifications.

Remember to be open to feedback and insights from your creative team. They know what they need from you at the end of the day, so be transparent. Sometimes, new ideas or opportunities may emerge during the process and your creative brief may need adjustments to improve them.

Conclusion

In the fast-paced world of marketing and design, writing an effective creative brief in 2023 is crucial for successful projects. As we embrace new technologies and consumer behaviours, it’s important to adapt our approach to writing creative briefs to accommodate these changes. 

In this blog we have explored the essential elements of a modern creative brief, that will guide you through the process until it becomes second nature!

At Big Creative Education (BCE) we have a comprehensive creative media production course that will provide you with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the industry. 

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to take your creative career to new heights. Enrol today and unlock your potential in the world of creative media production.