The Brief Bros.

68. Writing a creative brief, Part 2.

Part 2 of our Hulu brief writing summer re-broadcast:
Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach continue the thinking process around writing a creative brief for Hulu. Henry has unearthed some juicy intel on Hulu right on its own website. He found Hulu brand guidelines, a treasure trove of insider goodies. We dig deeper and start to add initial ideas on sticky notes we placed around each box that we created on our Mural. At the end of our episode, it’s clear we are zeroing in on final thinking. Next time, we’ll reveal our brief!

67. Writing a creative brief, Part 1.

Henry Gomez and I are taking a short break in August, so we're re-broadcasting three popular episodes: our series on writing a creative brief for Hulu, a spec assignment prompted by viewers on LinkedIn. We'll see you again in September with new guests and new topics:
Let the writing begin! Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach take the opening steps in the brief writing process, first with exploration and discussion. Henry shares the fruits of his research labor, and together we peel back the layers of the onion to learn more about Hulu. The work we do here pays huge dividends when we start to write our first draft. This is the heavy lifting all brief writers tackle, but if you love research and understanding people, this is fun.

130: George Tannenbaum inspires an episode.

Our friend George Tannenbaum wrote an essay on his Ad Aged blog recently that sparked our interest. It was called I'll Be Brief and it's a great read about, what else, the creative brief. And it got Henry Gomez and me thinking. And talking. Are our expectations of a brief overblown? George makes this claim, and Henry and I respond. We invite you to tune in.

129: Reverse engineering the brief for the classic BMW ”Ultimate Driving Machine” campaign.

If only we could see the actual brief. Henry Gomez and I give you the next best thing: our take in another reverse engineering exercise on this week's episode of The Brief Bros. for BMW's unforgettable print campaign. Watch as we take you through our thinking to arrive at what could be the brief.

128: Introducing the Creative Brief Archive.

The Brief Bros. co-host Howard Ibach proudly announces a new feature on his website, the Creative Brief Archive. It's a free repository of finished creative briefs written by ad agency strategists for real products. There's also a growing list of student-written creative briefs. The briefs are broken down by Agency and Brand. Simply register with your name and email address and you're in. There are no fees, no subscriptions. You can view briefs, download them, even comment. More goodies will be coming. If you have a completed brief you'd like to donate, please send them in!

127: Reverse engineering a brief from a classic Snickers Super Bowl spot.

You all remember this spot from the 2010 Super Bowl: Betty White stars in a Snickers spot that kicked off a brilliant campaign to reposition the popular candy bar. Henry Gomez and I dig in and write a brief simply by watching the spot. We call it a reverse engineering exercise, something all brief writers should practice. Join us in the fun.

126: Reverse engineer a brief from ”I’m a Mac” campaign for Apple.

Two, two, two mints in one: great creative from Apple in its classic spots for the I'm a Mac campaign, and our attempt to write the brief in a reverse-engineering exercise. Henry Gomez and I have a lot of fun in this week's episode as we revisit what Adweek called the best advertising campaign of the 2000s by TBWA\Chiat\Day. Play along and write the brief with us. It's a great skill tester.

125: A conversation with Berlin-based freelance strategist Baiba Matisone.

Joining Henry Gomez and me from Berlin, Baiba Matisone is a freelance strategist and creative brief devotee. She posted a list of blank creative brief templates that Henry and I surveyed on a recent episode, as well as completed briefs and thoughtful articles. The site, Creative Brief Bank, is well worth the visit. We talked to Baiba about her background, how a college professor shooed her away from her first love resulting in her fascination with strategy. To top it off, Baiba did a deep study of the brief templates she posted on her Creative Brief Bank and tells us what they all have in common. Heads up, brief writers!

124: What can we learn from a blank creative brief template?

Henry Gomez and I have preached the importance of insightful and inspiring "answers" on briefs to get the most from our creative partners. But what, if anything, can we learn as brief writers from a template? A blank template? Today, we examine a couple templates from legacy shops and discuss what we uncover.

123: Let’s reverse engineer a creative brief for an Amazon TV spot.

Reverse engineering is a wonderfully effective training device to get brief writers into the right mind-set for writing a real brief. It's a thought exercise you can do everyday, probably in less than a minute. Today, Henry Gomez and I watch a :60 spot for Amazon Prime and then "reverse engineer" the spot and figure out the brief. We don't know everything the agency (Weiden + Kennedy) knows, nor what Amazon told them. But as ad pros, we know a thing or two and can make more than a few educated guesses. The bigger point it that, as an exercise, this is a great test of your critical thinking skills and hones your brief writing skills. Make this a regular part of your daily professional life, whether you write briefs, review them or work from them.

122: A conversation with Mark Tomblin and Michelle Lee, APG Canada

Our two guests from Account Planners Group Canada are Mark Tomblin , founder of Thinking Unstuck, and Michelle Lee, principal Uncommon Sense, who hold senior leadership positions with Canada's strategy organization. Henry Gomez and I dive deep into brief writing, brief training, and the industry's future with Mark and Michelle.

121: A creative brief for a cosmetic surgeon.

Henry Gomez knows more than most of us about the competitive world of cosmetic surgery. His dad is a practicing cosmetic surgeon, and Henry wrote a brief for him. This week, we examine Henry's efforts so you can see again how a professional tackles the challenges of a small budget project with a big challenge.

118: Another conversation with Marc Lewis, dean of the School of Communication Arts, London.

This week, Henry (http://henrylouisgomez.com) and I welcome back an old friend, Marc Lewis. He's the dean of the most successful independent advertising school on the planet, SCA, the School of Communication Arts in London. It is heralded as "The World's Most Awarded Ad School." Marc returns to share with us news about SCA's Creative Training (https://www.scacreativetraining.com) and to encourage ad folk on this side of the pond to take advantage of SCA's growing online resources. SCA, under Marc's leadership, is filling a void that legacy shops used to provide but sadly have abandoned. This is a key reason why The Brief Bros.'s has joined forces with SCA to provide easily accessible tools for new advertising talent. Please join us in a wide-ranging discussion.

120: A brief for Delta Airlines.

Henry and I discuss another brief written by Henry for a pitch he and his agency did not win. But the brief itself, for Delta Airlines, is instructive and we take you through it step by step. Since finding complete briefs is a challenge, this brief presents us with a wonderful opportunity to share our thinking. Watch and learn...and share your thoughts if you wish!