How can you effectively gather and analyze information for a creative brief?

1 Research your client

Before you start writing your creative brief, you need to understand your client's brand, goals, values, and challenges. You can do this by reviewing their website, social media, marketing materials, and previous videos. You can also conduct interviews, surveys, or focus groups with your client and their target audience to get more insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points.

2 Define the scope

The scope of your video project is the specific details of what you will deliver, such as the duration, format, budget, timeline, and deliverables. You need to define the scope clearly and realistically in your creative brief, and make sure your client agrees on it. This will help you avoid scope creep, which is when the project expands beyond the original agreement and causes delays, conflicts, and extra costs.

3 Identify the objective

The objective of your video project is the main purpose or goal that you want to achieve with it. It should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, your objective could be to increase brand awareness, generate leads, educate customers, or drive sales. You need to state your objective clearly and concisely in your creative brief, and explain how you will measure its success.

4 Know your audience

Your audience is the group of people that you want to reach and influence with your video. You need to know who they are, what they care about, what they need, and how they consume video content. You can use personas, segments, or profiles to describe your audience in your creative brief, and use data and feedback to support your assumptions. You also need to identify the main message that you want to convey to your audience, and the tone and style that you will use to communicate it.

5 Choose the format

The format of your video project is the type and style of video that you will produce, such as an explainer, testimonial, animation, documentary, or live-action. You need to choose the format that best suits your objective, audience, message, and budget. You also need to consider the platform and channel that you will use to distribute your video, such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or your website, and how that will affect your format choices.

6 Outline the content

The content of your video project is the actual script, storyboard, or shot list that you will use to create your video. You need to outline the content in your creative brief, and show how it will align with your objective, audience, message, and format. You can use visual aids, such as sketches, mood boards, or references, to illustrate your content ideas and give your client a clear picture of what to expect from your video.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?