get creative with briefs - canada post

Get Creative with Briefs

About Adcam

Event Management

Custom Publishing

National Advertising Award

The National Advertising Awards is the only brief‐based awards 

competition in North America

Entry Categories include –

Print, Out of Home, Direct, Mobile,  

Interactive,  Media Planning and Buying and  Broadcast

This year’s competition marked the 10th

Anniversary of the 

National Advertising Awards

The National Advertising Awards brings together marketers, 

agencies and media companies. 

AGENCIES PARTICIPATION

The NAA’s

attracts an A‐list of industry leaders to Chair or be part 

of the creative and media juries because:

They see new brand perspectives

See original work from some hot new talent

Discuss and brainstorm with their peers ideas that originate from 

some well written briefs 

AGENCIES & MEDIA COMPANIES

The 2012 National Advertising Awards Lead Chair was 

Israel Diaz, CCO of Y&R.

National 

and 

globally 

known 

brands 

sponsor 

the 

NAA 

categories 

for 

the 

opportunity 

to 

acquire 

fresh 

new 

ideas 

from 

the 

top 

creative 

teams 

across 

the 

country.  

All 

submissions 

become 

property 

of 

the 

brand 

for 

commercial 

use 

in the marketplace.

MARKETERS

Renowned brands sponsor the categories

Top agency leaders judge the work

Entrants work from real briefs

And the winners go to Cannes, France …

How’s that for motivation?

The National Advertising Awards has enjoyed ten years of success.

Great sponsors and outstanding briefs are key reasons 

”A great brief is the spark of a fresh idea and the key to 

unlocking creative brilliance.”

‐

Mark Childs, VP Marketing Campbell's Canada (and a long time brand participant in the NAA’s)

Adcam

has seen many different 

templates over the years from both 

our agency and brand sponsors.

The briefs that deliver the best creative 

results share these commonalities:

They’re never more than 1 page

They succinctly communicate the 

mandatories

They identify the key Consumer and 

Brand Insights

They find the ‘Sweet Spot’

So …

What Makes a Great Brief?

This one‐pager summarizes the most 

important information from the 

marketing brief:

Target

Purpose

Insight

KEY MESSAGE(WHAT IS THE ONE, SINGLE MINDED 

THING THAT WE NEED TO SAY?)

Proof

Medium

Brand 

Mandatories

Most category sponsors this year, 

including Canada Post, used Y&R’s

brief template.

Working with Lead Chair, Israel Diaz, 

Canada Post created a brief that 

attracted a record number of NAA 

entries versus previous years.

Here’s a simplified translation of the Y&R brief by section:

Deliverables & MandatoriesWhat do I want and how will I get it done?

Section One:  THE BASICSWhy does this even exist?  What are the fundamentals?

Section Two:  BUSINESS REALITYWhat’s keeping me up at night?  What are my communications goals?

Section Three:  WHOWhat makes these people tick?  What need can we satisfy for them?

Section Four:  US vs. THEMHow can I be more irresistible than my

competition?

Section Five:  LOVE, ADVOCACY & EXPRESSIONSHow do I want people to feel?     

Section Six:  SWEET SPOTI know the intersect between my brand and the consumer.  

How can I say it in six words or less?

:SAMPLE BRIEFS AND CREATIVE OUTCOMESFROM THE NAA

Sweet Spot:GOTCHA!  DIRECT MAIL STILL WORKS.

DIRECT CATEGORY

Category/Brand 

Sponsor:

Voodoo doll – pin prick the 

doll 

and 

a 

wireless 

transmitter 

linked 

to 

a 

website 

shows 

the 

place 

the 

pin 

hit 

– It 

was 

an 

entertaining 

way 

to 

show 

Direct 

Mail 

used 

as 

the 

foundation 

of 

an 

integrated media plan.

GOLD, DIRECT CATEGORYAGENCY:  BBDO

Sweet Spot:ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH?

YOUNG CREATIVES 

CATEGORY

Category Sponsor:

Brand:

GOLD WINNER

“Transit 

Shelter”

was 

GOLD 

worthy 

for 

its 

originality 

and 

because 

it 

met 

the 

ask 

of 

the brief, “Are You Man Enough?”

GOLD, YOUNG CREATIVE CATEGORYAGENCY:  LEO BURNETT

Sweet Spot:BMW M stands for the most powerful, most 

innovative, and most exclusive vehicles in the world. 

MOBILE CATEGORY

Category Sponsor:

Brand:

A 

dynamic 

mobile 

case 

using 

the 

same 

high‐quality 

performance 

parts 

that 

go 

into 

every 

M Vehicle.  

GOLD, MOBILE CATEGORYAGENCY:  THE HIVE & INNOCEAN

Sweet Spot:DROP IT, FLUSH IT, FORGET IT. 

PRINT CATEGORY

Category Sponsor:

Brand:

GOLD, PRINT CATEGORYAGENCY:  BBDO

A great brief is one that educates and then inspires.

We hope we’ve helped you understand the creative brief‐writing process and 

that today brings you closer to unlocking your teams’

creative potential. 

Getting to Killer Briefs

July 2012

Bad input = bad outputs

• We all have a shared responsibility for killer briefs.

• Contributing to them, crafting or recognizing them when we see them.

• Together we’ll get to a better place.

• Better thinking, better work, it’s that simple.

Killer Briefs

Strategy is a creative discipline

A brief

Is not a piece of paper.

Resist the temptation of the obvious

“Search the right place,not the bright place.”

Morihino Harano, CDCannes Festival of Creativity, June 2012

“Search the right place,not the bright place.”

Morihino Harano, CDCannes Festival of Creativity, June 2012

Language matters

“Words which are simple, but far-reaching in meaning, are good words.”

Chinese Proverb

“Words which are simple, but far-reaching in meaning, are good words.”

Chinese Proverb

A brief…

A brief is…

For them

Who live here

Let’s see some examples

Reframe

• Break the established category conventions

• Set your own points of reference

• Reposition competitors

Athletic shoes and apparel

Puma

Puma

Puma

Confront your ‘drawbacks’

• Could be beneficial when leveraged correctly

• ‘Judo’ your critics

Gaming

Your mom hates Dead Space

Your mom hates Dead Space

Your mom hates Dead Space

Don’t be shy

• Be bravely honest

• Be as loud and proud as you can be

Axe Anarchy

Start with a truth

• The most impactful communication is built upon a truth, no matter how small.

Barclaycard Direct Mail

Their terms, not yours

• Inspire storytelling, not advertising.

• Don’t presume where the message will be most impactful.

Adidas

Adidas

Adidas

Parting Thoughts

• Powerful

• Ambition is key

• Part of the creative process

• Sweat the language

• Be what they want to work on

• Be prepared to fight

Social Good

Thank You

@musicartgeekRobin HeiseyCCO, DraftFCB

@mszegoMichael SzegoVP, Strategic Planning, DraftFCB