Getting started with a Creative Brief

Have you ever tried to crack a joke, and then, suddenly realised it didn't land right? That's pretty much how creative briefs land too, when not written appropriately.

I realised this largeness of this problem only when a creative director pointed it out. We were in a client meeting discussing timelines, when this CD said that we need to accommodate at least 2 rounds of scripts presentation. He reasoned, the client knows what he wants only after he hears the Round 1 scripts.

So how do we avoid this? We can start by ensuring that the brief covers everything we want in the resulting ad.

If the ad has to be clutter-breaking, the brief should explain what the clutter is.
If the ad has to comprehendible, the brief should state what the intended message is.
If the ad has to be memorable, the brief should state what the killer insight is.
Most importantly,
If the ad has to be effective, the brief should cover the expected effect, and how it is communication that will affect it.

1. Explaining the Clutter:
Most briefs mention only a marketing-led background. We need to also mention what brands, products, and ads exist in the marketplace. If the brand is a challenger-brand, the brief needs to explain what brands we are challenging. If we are also challenging category codes of communication, Semantics is a brilliant tool to identify these codes.
Take the deodorant category for example. A clutter defined as 'Foreign lifestyle' will lead to desi contexts of Wild Stone's ads (one of them here). Alternatively, if it got defined as 'sex and sensuality', it will lead to Fogg's new ad.

2. Stating the intended message:
This would probably be the brand proposition itself. In case, the proposition has been around for a long time, it will be in the context of a new product / consumer insight. The simpler this message, the more hard-hitting the output can be. Think Fevicol.

3. Stating the insight:
Of course, this term is extensively abused. But that doesn't mean it is irrelevant. Without an insight, even a great product feature (the intended message) will lose its memorability. Continuing with the example, notice how most memorable Fevicol work (not necessarily the most awarded work) is in the context of fragility. Strength of bonding can best be highlighted amidst things that are prone to falling apart. Or for that matter, Ceat tyres' ads on importance of good grip.

4. Covering the expected effect:
As advertising becomes more effectiveness-oriented, this part is the key. In a way, it connects the brief to the marketing problem. Explaining the role of communication is important too. It converts the marketing problem into a communication problem, so that advertising can solve it. At Ogilvy, we were asked to follow the Do Brief. More about the approach here.

Is this the best structure to write a brief? It's not. It's just one of many.
Nor is this brief required in all cases. Sometimes, a celebrity or just a catch-phrase can work wonders.

In other cases, though, this outline (and the work that goes in writing it) can increase your chances of striking a good idea.

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Note: While Ogilvy is an ex-employer, the objective here is to use examples, where to some extent, I was aware of the development process. Taking other examples would be just hypothesising how the ad came to be.

When are research scores comparable (and when are they not)?

"Let's not compare apples and oranges"
This phrase has led many a meeting astray. But it isn't completely misused. Before we compare any research findings, we need to agree on whether those findings are indeed comparable.

But, as we have seen earlier, whether we accept or reject findings depends as much on our prejudices as on our understanding of research. And if we disagree with the findings, we are more likely to believe the comparison itself is invalid.

So, how then, can we be sure that we are making like-to-like comparisons?

The guiding principle here comes from the way laws of economics are written - 'ceteris paribus'. Latin for 'All other things being the same', it sets the condition right at the beginning - that all variables other than the ones being compared are either constant, or their impact has been identified and accounted for.

Example 1: Comparing impact of an ad campaign across 2 bursts
If we see Burst 2 result in better sales than Burst 1, we need to first check if the distribution was already in place when Burst 1 was launched. Alternatively, when Burst 1 performed better, it could be a result of a retailer incentive program that didn't get rolled out along with Burst 2.

Example 2: Comparing an ad campaign across multiple geographies
Competition and Culture vary greatly across geographies. If a campaign for breakfast cereals does well in City 1 versus City 2, it could be a result of different breakfast habits, and different competing breakfast foods and not so much the ad itself.

Example 3: Comparing brand growth over long term using tracking studies
While working on evaluating a brand's long term ad campaign, we saw that while overall the ad had a positive impact, the sales actually dropped in some years when the ad was on air. A little digging revealed that the industry itself went through a slump during that time, and thanks to the ad campaign, this brand performed better than industry. Quite revealing how 'success' and 'failure' got redefined with just one additional factor included in the analysis!

What about your data?
Any interesting comparisons?

Why we still need research...

Our professor of business strategy used to ridicule research. He would say, "BMW doesn't go around carrying questionnaires, asking customers what want." Over the years, the standard example has shifted from automobiles to mobiles (specifically iPhone), but the argument has remained more or less the same.

But there's another point of view too. And it puts forward some very critical reasons why research is helpful.

1. Your customers live in all kinds of un-imaginable infrastructures
If you are reading this on LinkedIn, it is very likely that people in your city don't face problems with electricity and water supply. So, would you be able to understand if your consumers live with 4 hours of daily power-cuts, or get water for only a couple of hours a day? Would you be able to truly appreciate all the tricks and jugaad employed every 'day in the life of' your consumers?

2. You can't un-learn certain ways of life
For the longest part of my life, I would use public transport and auto-rickshaws for all travel, everywhere. But within a few months of buying a bike, I would feel odd about using public transport. Suddenly, travelling by auto-rickshaws felt ridiculously expensive. My outlook to money changed after I started earning. These are changes that you can't undo to imagine life without them. Can you imagine people of your age not owning a smartphone?

3. Everyone has their own unique combination of attitudes, values, and morals
What would you say about a mother who buys branded diapers for the son, and locally made stuff for her daughter? Or about a hospital that charges you 1.5% extra for paying through credit card?

Yes, perhaps the professor was right about questionnaires. We don't need to use them in every situation. But, research is a much larger, and wider field than just questionnaires. And it offers many tools that enlighten the world around us. Why stay in the dark!