This Is Why You Need A Great Creative Brief

I just saw an advert from a co-working space I work from, and my first reaction was what a waste of money, energy and time.

To get things clear, the production of the video was great. The videographer and editor did a great job, but there is one major problem;?it’s boring and it’s all logic.

The video starts with the actor saying:

“I’ve been to co-working space before, but never like (their brand name)”

Then the shot cuts to him, saying:

“They’ve got… the most delicious coffee.”

“The most productive meeting rooms.”

“The most flexible workspace” — showing the actor doing yoga pose with another actor working on his back with a laptop.

Then to close all that off… he says: “Live your best life at ______”.

I mean, I just can’t take it. I don’t know if I should cry or laugh.

So basically all the other workspaces in London don’t have delicious coffee? Productive meeting rooms? Isn’t productivity based on each person and how a person is productive?

Anyway, this is the number one reason why brands need a creative brief and a brand purpose.

This co-working space tried to move away from the product, but they focused on all the wrong things. All the things they focused on is logic, pure logic. There was nothing emotional about the video.

Small companies make this mistake — they don’t hire a creative agency or at least a creative strategist to save pennies. They hire a videographer or photographer to do the job.

There are some very talented videographers and photographers out there, they are just amazing with cameras. That’s the issue — with cameras, with lenses, but not with strategy and messaging.

So why do they need a creative brief? Just take the camera and shoot. Well, hang on. Why do you need a coach to train for Ironman? You can just run, cycle and swim every day. Right? Of course not.

If the creative brief is done properly, with the?consumer insights, you can find the ‘big idea’, a theme for your campaign.

A creative brief must have a problem, insight and solution.

The basics of great storytelling is to have an obstacle to overcome, a hero (which must be the customer) and the desired outcome. But we will not talk about storytelling here. The video they created is no where close to storytelling, it’s just statements.

In their video, they positioned themselves as a boring hero. There are no challenges, there is no suspense, just a bit of humour, some might say. I didn’t laugh, but some people will, I guess, maybe?

A creative brief will help the team identify the problems they solve. And I’m surprised they didn’t mention even one problem they solve.

When working on a brief, you interview customers and potential customers. You look at the market. You get ideas and insights into why people BUY from you. I bet they didn’t ask one single client why they are members of their workspace.

Even if they did, they got surface level responses like; "you have great coffee" ??

We know that we are all rational and emotional human beings. When we ask clients why they want a Nespresso for their home office, the logical response is to have great coffee. The emotional reason is to feel sophisticated making a nice espresso without having a barista.

The other important aspect is brand purpose.

You need to stand up for something beyond just selling your products. You need to stand up beyond just having ‘the most delicious coffee’.

If I want delicious coffee, I will go to Starbucks. Even Starbucks that sells coffee doesn’t talk about their delicious coffee.

Starbucks has never just sold coffee. Starbucks has always sold an experience, with coffee adjacent.

They talk about stories, they talk about ‘third home’.

Funny enough, when I work from their workspace, I always grab a Starbucks.

When a brand has a brand purpose, they can talk about things they believe in and the change they want to make. This company, for example, is a B Corp company, which is great, well would have been great if their team members responded to customers. But they don’t. I sent a message 3 months ago on Slack to their marketing manager, and I still haven’t received a response. For me, that’s just disrespectful.

When you have a brand purpose and you LIVE by it, and people can feel it. Take the example of Rapha (Cycling Clothing Brand). I did a LinkedIn video about them, you can watch it?here.

A brand's purpose is about THEM (the customer). It’s not about YOU (the brand). It’s all about them and the mission. When you have a meaningful brand purpose, and you are authentic, and people buy that first NOT the service/product.

But what about selling our products/services? You can plug your brand’s product in the campaign. It requires creativity. Have a look at Ironman’s advert:

You can see that they have a purpose, they live their purpose. Anything Is Possible. Btw I wrote an article sharing three lessons we can learn from Ironman. You can read it?here.

If the co-working space brand had a meaningful brand purpose, they could have created better video, better marketing and achieved better results. They could have connected emotionally with their clients, and not be just another co-working space.

An update I spoke to a few members of their workspace that messaged me on LinkedIn. Do you know what the most common answer was? Here's one:

"In one word? Naff.

Reaks of Deliveroo 'style', just without the execution... "

Next time you want to create a campaign, make sure you have two things: A Meaningful Brand Purpose and A Creative Brief. It works wonders, but it requires hard work.