Advertising, PR- Components of the client brief

In this presentation:

PART – A

IntroductionNeed for a briefComponents of a

good brief

PART – B

Preparing for the brief

ResearchEngaging the clientA Case

IIntroduction – ntroduction – TThe he BBriefrief

The brief is the most important piece of information issued by the client to the agency

It is the statement of the problem/opportunity

It emphasizes on clarity and a succinct summation of the company’s positioning, its marketing strategy and what it wants to get out of PR

It should/ usually contains key nuggets of information

NNeed eed ffor or aa Brief Brief It leads to better, more effective

and measurable work

It saves time and money Research revealed that 99% of

agencies and 98% of clients agree that: “Sloppy briefing and unclear objectives wastes both time and money”

It makes remuneration fairer Over 90% of agencies and 84% of

clients agree that: “Payment by results is impossible without fully agreed business objectives & the brief is one of the tools that helps us in measuring results”

CComponents omponents oof f aa Good Good BBriefrief Written BriefsWritten Briefs

Research shows that 94% of clients and 98% of agencies believe that “A combination of written and verbal briefing is the ideal”.

Reasons The discipline of writing a brief

ensures some rigour on the part of the agency

The opportunity to discuss this at a subsequent verbal briefing

Avoids the significant waste of time and resources

CComponents omponents oof f aa Good Good BBriefrief Clarity of ThinkingClarity of Thinking

A good brief is not the longest or most detailed, it’s the one whose clarity and focus creates the platform for a great strategic leap, a good PR insight and an effective solution

Good briefs leave you with a clear understanding of what you are trying to do in terms of objectives, goals & strategy

CComponents omponents oof f aa Good Good BBriefrief Clearly Defined Objectives Clearly Defined Objectives

Objectives must be crystal clearObjectives must be crystal clear The business problem should be The business problem should be

clearly definedclearly defined Concrete business objectives rather Concrete business objectives rather

than woolly intermediate objectives than woolly intermediate objectives are essentialare essential

For Example:For Example:

If the objective is indeed to attract & If the objective is indeed to attract & retain talent for XYZ company then :retain talent for XYZ company then :

Explain the desired objective that XYZ Explain the desired objective that XYZ company wants to achieve. How will it company wants to achieve. How will it achieve this objective, What is the achieve this objective, What is the medium of communication – PR specific? medium of communication – PR specific? If the objective is achieved – how does If the objective is achieved – how does one measure it?one measure it?

Preparing for the Brief

Preparing for the Brief

Research3 Ws of Research

Engaging the clientQuestions to ask

WWhy hy RResearchesearch

Helps us in understanding the perceptions, offerings of the company/ domain/ industry.

Adds to the existing body of knowledge.

Attempts to improve our understanding of the particular business/ domain. The value proposition the particular business has to offer

Helps provides accurate facts, figures & relevant data

MModes odes oof f RResearchesearch

Search Engines

Specific Research Sites

Perception/ Awareness Audit

Market Research agencies

Analysts

Google

Yahoo

Rediff

Wi-ki Pedia

WWhere here tto o (RE)(RE)Search?Search?- - SSearch earch EEnginesngines

Factiva

Cirrus

Thompson Gale

Reuters

WWhere here tto o (RE)(RE)Search?Search?- - SSpecific pecific RResesearch earch

SSitesites

The perception audit provides clients with a candid and real time view of what their target audience think and say about them

The output from the perception audit includes providing clients with strategic insights & highlights the opinion that the target audience has on the company/brand

WWhere here tto o (RE)(RE)Search?Search?- - PPerception erception AAuditudit

It will help us refine/ define business messaging and the communications strategy of the company

WWhere here tto o (RE)(RE)Search?Search?- - PPerception erception AAuditudit

IMRB International

ACNielsen

IMRI( International Market Research Information)

Delphi

WWhere here tto o (RE)(RE)Search?Search?--MMarket arket RResearch esearch AAgenciesgencies

WWhere here tto o (RE)(RE)Search?Search?--AAnalystsnalysts

IDC

Forrester

Frost & Sullivan

Gartner

AA BBrief rief OOverviewverview

Factiva

Factiva is a Dow Jones-Reuters database that provides full text access to all editions of Dow Jones publications.

- The Wall Street Journal (back to 1979)- The New York Times- and 8,000 other publications.

This database provides reports for over 30,000 companies worldwide, much of it from Reuters, over 8,000 selected business web sites, and Reuters Business Briefings.

Dow Jones Factiva products and services provide essential business news and information together with the content delivery tools that power the intelligent enterprise.

Factiva – DRY RunFactiva – DRY Run

EEngaging ngaging TThe he CClientlient

BBuilding uilding bblocks locks oof f tthe he BBriefrief

Marketing

Corp

ora

teTechnology

Human Resource

s

Com

petitio

n

Questions to ask the client under Corporate

The Financials of the company – Whether listed or not

Positioning of the company and its business objectives

Who is the spokesperson/ face of the company

Company’s plan ahead/ way forward in terms of investment

Questions to ask the client under Marketing

Define your target audience & market opportunities

Detail your the product/service USP

Define the market that you address

Company’s marketing plan / way forward for the current year

Questions to ask the client under Human Resources

Company unique HR policies / practices

Define the market the company is addressing in terms of talent

Current headcount of the company

Company’s HR plans in terms of increasing headcount

Questions to ask the client under Technology

Competition to the company on the technology front

What is the company’s latest technology offerings

The technology domain that the company operates in

Company’s technology plan / way forward for the current year

Questions to ask the client under Competition

SWOT - You versus your competition

What are your competition’s USPs

Who are your competition

A CaseA Case

The Brief…

XYZ Inc. is an IT Services company. Their top management is visiting India in the month of July to announce their ‘Way Forward’ plan.

Questions :-Questions :-

What do you understand from this brief?

What are the Qs you would ask as part of the Brief?

THANK YOU

By: Mamata Sampath