what is a marketing brief?

A marketing brief is your brand's letter of introduction, i.e. a written document that allows you to communicate precisely and effectively what your brand is, what products or services you offer and what you provide. A good and effective brief is essential, as it is the first contact that clients or other agencies usually have with your brand.

Some advantages of having a marketing brief are that you create your brand identity, define your purpose, objectives and brand promise, design the visual content that will identify you and guide the customer to your products or services.

what characteristics should a marketing brief have?

• It should have a logical order, focusing first on the most general and then on the most specific.
  
  
• It should include sufficient information, which is essential for the company to be able to focus its campaign, but it should be presented in a concise and summarised way.
  
  
• Be understandable for all members of the team. It is important to avoid technicalities specific to the company's sector so that the whole team can understand it.
  
  
• Make it very clear what you want to achieve. If possible, with a definition of SMART objectives: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and with deadlines. A specific objective is limited to a specific aspect, task or action of a company; a measurable objective means that a goal has to be specific to be able to interpret whether the results are within the expected, in addition, it is necessary to have the means to measure it, either software tools or an analysis methodology that makes it possible to know to what extent the expected result was achieved; by achievable we mean an objective that is perfectly achievable in the conditions that are available, it is very important to set realistic goals, taking into account that on the basis of their compliance, you can then aim higher; a relevant goal is one that is in line with the overall business objectives; and finally, temporary or with dead lines means that is in line with the general objectives of the business; and finally, with deadlines, it is necessary to have the means to be able to measure it, whether software tools or a methodology of analysis that makes it possible to know to what extent the expected result was achieved; by achievable we refer to an objective that is perfectly achievable in the conditions available.

what types of marketing brief are there?

• Business brief: This document focuses on the current and historical situation of the company and the business objectives it seeks to achieve in the future.
  
  
• Marketing brief: This type of briefing is aimed at summarising information about a specific marketing action to be implemented.
  
  
• Advertising brief: This other type of briefing includes the necessary and fundamental details to launch an advertising campaign in the company.
  
  
• Creative brief: This is generally designed on the basis of the advertising briefing, it includes the specific details at a graphic and design level, for example, style guides or delivery formats.

what elements should a marketing brief contain?

Once you have understood what a marketing brief is, what its advantages are, what characteristics it should have and what types there are, all that remains is to know what fundamental elements a brief should contain in order to get down to work with it. However, bear in mind that the information contained in a briefing logically varies depending on the type of brief. However, in general, these are the elements that should not be missing in a complete and recommended brief:

1. Objectives: That is, what you want to achieve with the campaign or our project. Define a main objective and two or three secondary ones. It is important that you communicate where you want to go.
   
   
2. Messages or keywords: they should be direct and concise.
   
   
3. Target audience: This refers to the audience to which the communication is addressed. This element is fundamental to determine the type of action, the tone of communication and the channels to be used. Bear in mind that the more data you provide, the better the segmentation and personalisation of the proposal will be.
   
   
4. Description of the company: This means explaining who we are, that is, what our company does, what our market positioning is, what our latest achievements have been, what is the tone of our communications in general, etc. It is also advisable to include a section explaining the company's products and services, its values and its history.
   
   
5. Requirements or description of the project: What are the characteristics of the project you want to launch and what product do you want to highlight with this action.
   
   
6. Restrictions: In some sectors, for example, the health sector, public communication campaigns must comply with a series of legal requirements, so it is very important to include this information in the briefing so that the agency can take it into account.
   
   
7. Duration of the campaign: It is necessary to know the deadlines you have.
   
   
8. Specific needs: This point is essential if you want to use, for example, a specific slogan.
   
   
9. Budget: if you do not want to receive a proposal that you cannot afford, indicate what budget you have.

Finally, remember that a marketing brief should be no longer than two pages, since it is a brief document and, as its name suggests, it should be brief.