Garbage In, Garbage Out
We've read hundreds of RFPs and creative briefs. The best ones are rarely the longest. The best briefs are the ones that make hard choices about what the objective actually is.
1. What is the single most important metric?
You cannot optimize for brand awareness, direct response sales, and employee recruitment all in one campaign. Pick one primary KPI. Everything else is secondary.
2. Who is the enemy?
We don't necessarily mean a literal competitor (though it could be). The enemy might be "inertia," "old ways of thinking," or "confusing legacy software." Positioning against an enemy sharpens the creative.
3. What is the emotional state of the audience right now?
Are they stressed? Bored? Skeptical? Designing a campaign without understanding the emotional starting point of the viewer is like giving directions without knowing where the person is standing.
Before you send that next brief out to three agencies, run it through this gauntlet. The quality of the pitches you receive will double overnight.