BriefingForm

Client:

Subject:

Date:

Briefedby(nameandjobtitle/responsibility):

Projectdescription:

Requirement:

Whatdoyoubelieveyourequire?Forexample,acorporatebrochure,website,salesliterature,sales
aid,letter,form,PR,exhibition,TV,radioorprintadvertisement.(Sometimes,basedonthe
informationyouprovide,itmaybethatadifferentoradditionalapproachisrecommended.)

Purpose:

Whyisthiswanted?Whatdoyouwanttoachieveintheshortterm,inthelongterm?Forexample,to
generateimmediateenquiriesortoexplainsomething.Howwillyouevaluateitseffectiveness?

TargetAudience:

Whodoyoumostwanttoreach?Qualifyandquantify.Describerelevantaspects,bothinprofessional
termsnatureofbusiness,positionheld,etc,andinpersonaltermsage,sex,etc.Usesocio
economic/psychographicclassificationsifappropriate(ABC1/explorersetc).

Positioning:

Thepresentand,ifrelevant,therequiredpositioninginthemarketplace,bothactualandperceived.
SWOTanalysis(Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,Threats).

Benefits:

Whatisthesinglemostimportantbenefitthatwillappealtoyourtargetaudience?Whyisthis
importanttoyourcustomer?Whatarethesecondarybenefits?

Proposition:

Whatisthekeystatementthatsummarisesthemainbenefitofyourproductorservice?

Rationale:

Whyshouldtheaudiencebelievewhatyouclaim?

Response:

Whatsortofresponseareyouseeking?Toincreasegeneralawareness?Tochangeattitudes?Tobuy?
Isthereanimmediateactionrequired:toemail,telephoneortorespondinsomeotherway?

Executionalguidelines:

Theusewillinformthedesign/copyapproach.Forexample,willinformationchangefrequently?Is
thereaneedtoprovidedifferentinformationfordifferentaudiences?Givedetailsofanyother
elementstobeincludedforexample,24pagebookletratherthanlooseleafbinder,colouressential.

Statequantitiesrequired.Includeanyexpectations/assumptionsyoumayhave.

Toneofvoice:

Whatsortoflanguageshouldbeused:casual,formal,authoritative,friendly,humorous,serious,etc?It
maybehelpfultoprovideexamplesofexistingmaterial,aswellasstyleguidelines,iftheyexist.

Distribution:

Howwillthisbereceived?Byhand,inperson,socialmedia,byemail,posted,leftbehindafter
meeting?

Otheractivity:

Arethere,orwilltherebe,relatedactivities,suchasadvertising,exhibitions,postersorbrochures?
Willanysubsequentactivitybetakingplace,suchasfollowupmailings,telephonecallsorpersonal
visits?

Background:

Assumetheagency/designer/writerhasnoknowledgeofyouractivities.Itisalltooeasyforworkto
failbecauseofincorrectassumptions.Supplytheessentialinformationtheyneed.

Context

Howdoesthisrelatetoyourwiderbusinessstrategy?Whatisthecompetition?Areyouawareofany
similaractivity?Isthereanythingelseyouhavedone,orareplanningtodo,thatisrelevant?Where
appropriate,supplyexamples.Howdoyourtargetaudiencefeelaboutyourproductorservicein
relationtoalternativesavailabletothem?

Content

Supplytheinformationyouwishtobecommunicated.Insomecasesyoumayhavedrafttext,inothers
youmayonlyhavethegermofanideasodescribewhatyouwanttosay.Indicatekeyphrases/terms
relevanttothebusiness.Forwebsites,provideanyinformationalreadyheldonkeywordsforseo.Try
toprioritise.

Attachments:

Listandsupplyallrelevantinformation.

Nextaction:

Detailwhoistodowhatandbywhen.Forexample,clienttoagreebriefbyacertaindate.

Estimate/budget:

Beforebeginningworkabudgetshouldbeprovidedand/oranestimateagreed.Anyestimategivenis
basedonpresentassumptionsofthenatureoftheitematthisstage.Thesecostsmaybesubjectto
revisiononceconceptshavebeendeveloped,orifthebriefchangessubstantially.AgreeTermsand
Conditionsofworking.

Timing:

Agreenowonthefirstactionrequired,andbywhen.Agreeascheduletoshowstagesanddatesfor
eachstage:agreebrief,initialconcepts,detaileddesign,drafttext,artwork,finalrevisions,toprinter,
delivery.

Briefingdetails
Date..............................
Briefgivenby..............................
Brieftakenby..............................
Briefagreedby..............................

BriefwrittenbyMikeHadley.