7 tips for creating the perfect digital agency brief

So, you’ve identified the need for the expertise of a creative agency (we’re hoping it’s us), but what do you do now?

The first step that you need to take is to put together a detailed brief which effectively communicates what the job entails. Briefs can be confusing and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the information you feel you need to communicate to the agency.

To help you with this briefing process, we’ve put together our top 7 tips for preparing the perfect creative brief.

1. Don’t rush it

Time saved in producing a rushed brief is invariably time squandered later. To avoid toing and froing between your agency, clearly, outline the objectives and scope of the work from the onset.

2. Hold internal stakeholder discussions first

This is an extension of the point above. Sorting out your internal communications before briefing your agency saves everyone time and money. A great way to do this is to ensure your content is approved prior to involving your agency.

3. Clearly define your objectives

As a rule of thumb, consider the following:

• Are you solving a problem or servicing an opportunity?
• What are the key drivers of the requirement?
• Do you prefer multiple interactions or all-at-once delivery?
• Is the requirement of high strategic value to the business?
• What is an appropriate investment?
• How much time can be allocated to this task?

4. Don’t do their job

Take advantage of the agency’s skills and expertise, don’t do the job for them. Focus your brief on the problem, the challenge, the consumer benefit and goals – avoid jumping to the actual solution.

5. Avoid underestimating the scope

An underdeveloped scope of work will result in unforeseen project delays and budget pressure. It’s worth putting in the time and effort initially to create a detailed scope.

6. Ensure both parties are on the same page

It’s integral that you and your agency have the same vision. The key to this is to work through any questions, concerns or queries prior to a job being undertaken. Develop a proposed budget and timeline with your agency to ensure you’re on track financially, as well as operationally. Ensure your agency’s role is identified to all stakeholders involved and most importantly, if your agency is not providing insight or adding value to your project – consider moving agencies entirely.

7. Use the following brief structure:

• Background – discuss the business and marketing need for the requirement.
• Audience – identify the target audience for the requirement.
• Previous learnings – identify any precious successes or failures with a similar requirement.
• User experience – identify how the user will engage with the requirement.
• Action – define the primary action the user will take when engaging with the requirement.
• Timeline – identify a timeline that ensures a quality outcome and a cost benefit.
• User stories – a description of a series of user desired outcomes (see The Easy Way to Writing Good User Stories to help with this).
• KPIs – identify realistic KPIs for the requirement.

GLUE Content is a Melbourne based video content production and animation agency, producing content for some of Australia’s leading companies, brands, agencies and sporting organisations.