Financial marketing

Briefing an Agency

20th October 2017

We recently got a brilliant brief in from a client and it prompted us to write a blog on the subject.

The right briefing to your agency will make all the difference to producing the best creative results. This ten-point guide sets out a guide map to successful briefing.

1. Background. What’s the big picture? What does your business do? What’s happening in the market?

2. Objective. What is the objective of the marketing activity – enquiry generation, profile raising? What is the anticipated result? What effect should the communication have? What do you want the target audience to think, to feel, to do?

3. Target Audience. Who exactly are we talking to? The more precise and detailed the answer, the better. Demographics, psychographics, age, gender and geography will all paint an insightful picture of the people you want to communicate with.

4. What do we want to say? What is the core essence of your brand? What are your company’s UVPs? What is the single-minded proposition for this specific communication? Avoid generalities – these only result in ambiguous communications.

5. What do we need? What is the desired format, structure, size, scope and description of the marketing activity or collateral? What is the ‘call to action’ or response mechanism?

6. What are the mandatory elements? Here’s where you put the other details. What logos, contact names, telephone numbers, codes / references must be included?

7. When do we need it? A realistic date for delivery is essential. This will vary depending on the nature of the activity or communication, the delivery address and the number of people being communicated to. Always give your agency ample time for idea generation.

8. How many do we need? Frequently forgotten in the initial stages of the briefing process, the quantity is a very important factor in terms of determining the marketing communications budget.

9. What is the budget? Do you have an appropriate budget allocated for this level of activity? Can you give the agency a ‘ball park guide’ since even this can be helpful? It is important that the budget is realistic; too little can compromise the success of the campaign and make your business look bad.

10. What is the approval process? Who signs off the brief/estimate? What is their availability? Include the name, telephone number, address and email address of the person (people) commissioning the work and with the responsibility for signing