The briefing process should be seen as one of the main cornerstones of the creative process.

Without a comprehensive briefing document it is not possible to offer the best possible creative solution to meet the stated client’s objectives.

In the fast paced world of advertising a good brief goes a long way to establishing the parameters from within which the creative process can operate.

“Your design can only be as good as the brief you worked from. The best projects are borne from briefs that are open enough to inspire ideas, while being specific enough to feel workable”. (The Ultimate Design Brief By Shaun Crowley)

Things to consider when compiling a briefing document:

• Background — what is the background of the project? Why is it being done?
• Target audience — what do they already think about this subject? Is there anything that should be avoided?
• Objectives — what is to be accomplished? How will this be measured and success understood?
• Single message — what is the one thing to tell the audience? What is the single thing they should remember about the offering? How will they believe what we say?
• Deliverables — what is to be used to give the audience the message? What is the best way or place to reach this audience?
• Timeline — how soon is this needed? When is it expected to be done? How many rounds (revisions) will this project undergo?
• Budget — how much can be spent to get this developed? Is there any budget needed to publish/flight the creative?
• Approvals — who needs to give the “okay”?

Furthermore you should also make sure that your briefing document is made available to the relevant role players both internal and external to ensure consistency when reverting back to the client. So next time you are involved in the briefing process bring along your pen and paper and take notes it will go a long way to ensuring that your creative process runs smoothly.

With the introduction of the PVR, DVR and other multimedia recording devices a lot has been said about the “Death of the 20 second TV Ad”. Yet as consumers are fast forwarding through advertising commercials there are instances when even this fast forwarding behaviour is put on hold due to something visually appealing catching the consumers eye.

In these instances what follows is a rewinding and playback of the recorded material focusing then on the advertising communication being displayed. Yet in this instance the advertising communication should live up to promise that attracted the consumer in the first place and adhere to the AIDA model, which is to:

• A – Attention (Awareness): attract the attention of the customer.
• I – Interest: raise customer interest by demonstrating features, advantages, and benefits.
• D – Desire: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service and that it will satisfy their needs.
• A – Action: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing.

When this is not the case, consumers might feel cheated in that what they initially thought was going to be a relevant piece of advertising falls way short of expectations.

We live in such a dynamic environment and it is up to marketers to understand the consumption patterns of consumers and adapt the advertising message to suit the changing ways consumers are consuming media.

(Must-See TV Spots By Jeremy Lockhorn)

Hi there. My name is Claire and I am the newest addition to the most exciting, innovative company ever! A company that is at the forefront of a digital revolution that is most definitely taking over the world!
Well, though I can’t say enough about our company I will have to desist from bragging too much as the quality of our work is closely related if not exactly the same as the old cliché,
“The proof is in the pudding!”
On the 16th August 2007 Japie and I went all the way to sunny Pretoria to do a presentation for The Guesthouse Association of Tshwane/Pretoria East aka GATE.
Our presentation was done at a very new and trendy fine cuisine restaurant called Eat @ Essence. We were greeted by Annemarie Stilwell who is co-owner of Teds Place Guesthouse in Pretoria with her husband, Ted.
At the presentation the honored guest was (of course) none other than Mr. Japie Swanepoel, mountain biker extraordinaire and part time internet marketing genius.
Basically Japie touched on the basics of E-marketing and how the internet can help in making people aware of one’s brand. He explained to the guesthouse owner’s easy ways of marketing themselves through the internet.
Seeing that we had limited time the points discussed were:
1. The internet was a more cost effective way to market themselves only IF it was done the right way.
2. He explained the various ways one could use the internet in cost effective ways to achieve one’s marketing strategy goals.
3. He also explained the benefits of the different concepts like search engine optimization, PPC (pay per click) advertising, conversion, online advertising, affiliate marketing and viral marketing.
Did we achieve our goal at the presentation? Yes we did, more than you know, and it was a huge eye opener for all that attended.
Afterwards we enjoyed a little snack of beverages and finger food goodies and then we were off to save the rest of the world in a speedy Hyundai ATOS.
Claire@longtail.co.za