scott’s brain

does your creative brief pass the 25-second test?

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How long would you give a customer to read an online ad?

How long would you give them to comprehend your full-page magazine ad?

Or how long would you give a customer to read your outdoor poster in heavy traffic?

Let’s be incredibly generous and give them 25 seconds.

Now grab a blank piece of paper and a pen. In 25 seconds write the core proposition of your brief, then quickly scribble your logo and a pic of your product.

Does it make sense?

If a customer was to look at that would they know what to do?

If not, your brief has holes.

Is the language too ‘marketing speak?

This is often a major problem. Too many brief writers on both the client and agency side are keen to impress with their marketing vocabulary instead of being mindful of the end customer.

If the language isn’t what you would use in the market get real and clean up the brief.

Does your scribble need supporting copy for it to make sense?

If so you have issues. A strong proposition, should stand alone on the brief, that’s because that’s what it needs to do in the marketplace.

People grazing through any media are happy to give your communication a few seconds, but if they have to read into it for it to make sense – forget it.

Does your scribble evoke any emotion or insight?

If it does, you’ve just cracked a winner. Any proposition that reflects the needs and feelings of the customer is the beginning of something special.

So how do you know if you’re brief has passed the 25 second test?

Show your 25 second scribble it to a work colleague that isn’t in marketing. Better still, show it to a friend who kind of knows what you do but isn’t across the detail. The look on their face will tell you if it makes sense. If they’re a good friend they’ll tell you why.

Once you have an honest appraisal of the results of your brief, you can now go back and make it great.

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