Briefing writing made easy

"Every 6th project fails due to poor communication".

With a clear briefing, the foundations for structured, clear and good communication can be laid before the project starts to ensure that all project stakeholders have a common understanding of the project scope, objectives and expectations, which is essential for successful project completion. To simplify the process of writing briefs, online tools such as Brylliant provide an efficient environment for developing effective briefs.

What is a briefing?

The word "briefing" has its origins in military jargon and means something like "instruction" or "briefing" to issue the day's orders. At the same time, "brief" is translated as "short".

In marketing, the briefing is commonly described as a short written or verbal instruction before the start of a project or in the course of creative design processes. An effective briefing provides the answers to key questions such as:

• What is the project all about?
• What goals are to be achieved?
• Which target group do we want to reach?
• How much can it cost? and how much time do we have?

There are different types of briefing, depending on the context in which they are used. Some of the most common are: Employer Branding Briefing, Packaging Briefing, Brand Design Briefing, Media Briefing, etc.

Why is a briefing important?

The relevance of a good briefing cannot be overstated. Without clear instructions and expectations, there is a risk of misunderstandings, miscommunication and inefficient work. A precise briefing saves time and resources while minimizing errors that jeopardize project success. Read our article on the five most common mistakes to avoid when setting up a briefing here.

Important elements when writing a briefing

The briefing, as the key to effective communication between client and agency, should include essential elements to ensure the project's long-term success. The core building blocks are:
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1. agency task:
Summarize the task briefly in no more than two lines to give the assignment a framework and guide perception.

2. initial situation:
Outline the initial situation, the market and your competitors. Define the basic customer problem you want to solve or the opportunity you want to seize.

3. business and marketing goals:
‍Formulateyour business goals and determine how and with which KPIs you want to measure the success of your measure.

4. target group:
Describe your target groups not only in socio-demographic terms, but above all in terms of their underlying expectations, motivations and problems (human insights).

5. communication objectives:
Define the key objectives for the planned intervention, including cognitive (perception), affective (attitude) and activating objectives (action).

6. offer, proposition:
Explain what the product or service is and what problems it solves. Emphasize the benefits and supporting features (RTBs - reasons to believe).

7. character & tonality:
Describe the desired tonality with 4-5 adjectives. This is only relevant for creative briefings and should be marked accordingly.

8. scope of services:
‍Specifywhich specific services the agency is to provide, including the relevant customer touchpoints.

9 Other considerations:
Take legal or technical framework conditions and design guidelines into account.

10. timings:
Outline the timetable for the provision of agency services, from the handover of the briefing to the start of the measure.

11. budget:
If possible, state the available project budget, broken down into sensible items (e.g. agency fee, production, media).

Online tools for writing briefings

A clearly structured briefing is the key to successful project implementation. By setting a clear direction along predefined steps, as we have explained in the previous sections, you lay the foundation for smooth collaboration between client and agency.

Now you know the theoretical basics, the practical application might seem complicated - and that's why we exist! An innovative way to simplify the briefing writing process is to use intuitive online briefing tools such as Brylliant, which provide an efficient and user-friendly environment for developing and managing briefings.

51% of organizations use collaboration tools to support project management.

Using Brylliant not only facilitates the creation of a comprehensive brief and speeds up the entire process, but also leads to a higher marketing impact (ROI) through better creative responses.

Would you like to see the benefits of this modern approach for yourself? Then book a product demo with Brylliant now. You can see how the tool helps you to create clear and comprehensible briefings for all your projects.