Sometimes, the most constructive thing you can do is wipe the slate clean, salt the earth and start again. Yes, it can be painful to walk away from hours, days or even weeks worth of work but, as the old saying goes, you can’t polish a turd no matter how hard you scrub. It’s always better to start with a chunk of gold and then whittle it down into something even more appealing.
According to a new study by brief writing and creative idea evaluation training company BetterBriefs, UK marketers estimate that over a quarter of their marketing budget is wasted on poor briefs and misdirected work.
Among other things, the data reveals that:-
- 26% of marketing budgets are wasted on poor briefs and misdirected work.
- Only 6% of UK agencies are clear on the strategic direction in the briefs they receive.
- 73% of UK agencies believe the briefs they receive from clients aren’t good enough.
- Only 30% of UK marketers have clear evaluation criteria in place.
- Only 38% of agencies are clear on the target group in the briefs they receive from clients.
Best practice
This research inspired the company to put together a best practice guide. Dubbed “The best way for a client to brief an agency” and co-authored by Mark Ritson in partnership with the IPA, the guide aims to “rectify the current bleak state of briefs on a UK and global scale.” Big words, perhaps but the figures appear to suggest that something needs to be done.
After a cursory read-through of the guide (which can be downloaded for free right here), I have to say there is a lot there to digest. In essence, it underlines the importance of the brief and why creating great work from a bad brief is like cooking a delicious meal with rotten ingredients.
One piece of sobering copy in the brief includes the line “80% of marketers think they’re good at writing briefs and only 10% of agencies agree.” If this is true it represents a massive disconnect between agency and client side that needs to be addressed. This brief might be a good start.
BetterBriefs co-founders Matt Davies and Pieter-Paul von Weiler said: “Marketers have more tools at their disposal than ever before to connect with consumers and to measure the effectiveness of what they do. Except none of this matters if the brief isn’t right, Ultimately, we all want the same thing: more impactful and effective work that delivers better business results. This guide is all about facilitating this.”
Joyce Kelso, Associate Director of Marketing, IPA added: “This new best practice guide will prove invaluable in helping to rectify the issues highlighted by the research from which we will waste less time, energy and resource and direct our people to what they do best: provide innovative solutions to client’s problems.”
Keeping it brief
Ultimately a decent brief doesn’t guarantee success but it improves the chances greatly. I’ve honestly lost track of the times I’ve been given a completely vague and directionless brief that’s led to work the client either doesn’t really want or loves to pieces and doesn’t really know why. But if they don’t really know what they want, how am I possibly meant to deliver?
I’m not saying that great work can’t come without a brief but whether or not that work is relevant and workable is always going to depend on the initial outline. So, next time you decide to bodge together a brief, think twice before sending it. Maybe give it a few more hours in the oven and you’ll be surprised how tasty the end result is.
And don’t forget to download your free copy of the brief. If nothing else it should give you the incentive to either write better briefs or stop accepting briefs you’re unhappy with.
