1.
<ul><li>Obsessions of the ad men </li></ul>Planning & Creative Briefs

2.
6 seconds Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience: shows preconscious brain activity patterns occurring 6-10 seconds before the conscious experience of making a decision

3.
6 seconds YES!!

4.
6 seconds I am compelled to concur

5.
<ul><li>Ah, Neuroscience </li></ul><ul><ul><li>New rationales for irrationality </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Still no scientific method to guarantee love, talent or commonsense </li></ul></ul>We knew it, but couldn’t prove it

6.
It does help us fight back, though

7.
Oops <ul><li>% cases showing very large effects on a range of business metrics, from sales to profit </li></ul><ul><li>Source: Binet, Field, 2009; analysis of 880 UK case studies in IPA dataBANK (Largest ever meta-analysis) </li></ul>Quantitatively pre-tested Not Quantitatively pre-tested

8.
<ul><li>“ Too many people use research as a drunk uses a lamp-post – for support, rather than illumination” </li></ul><ul><ul><li>- David Ogilvy </li></ul></ul>Why? 1) Snake Oil for the Gutless

9.
Why? 2) Seems that what got measured, didn’t matter

10.
But it does help to have a plan Econometric modelling used No econometric modelling <ul><li>% cases showing very large effects on a range of business metrics, from sales to profit </li></ul><ul><li>Source: Binet, Field, 2009; analysis of 880 UK case studies in IPA dataBANK (Largest ever meta-analysis) </li></ul>

11.
<ul><li>Who the hell’s going to do that? </li></ul><ul><li>Or, who’s going to talk to the people who do that? </li></ul>Econometrics. Ugh.

12.
<ul><li>Creative agency solution to 80s research depts </li></ul><ul><ul><li>On creativity’s side, who could speak research </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Researcher’s job: spot problems, reduce risk </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Planner’s: spot opportunities, defend originality </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Championing, proving effectiveness of ‘Relevant Distinctiveness’ vs. USP-formula advertising </li></ul></ul>Planning history

13.
<ul><li>Different kinds of research culture </li></ul>UK vs. US differences <ul><ul><li>1980s UK: </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Qualitative psychologists (off doing groups in terraced houses) </li></ul></ul>1980s US: Quant business gurus (selling calibrated processes for ROI)

14.
<ul><li>The opiate of the businesspeople </li></ul>Today’s biggest enemy: the delusion of control

15.
<ul><li>In agencies of smartass yuppy graduates </li></ul><ul><li>In clients who’d forgotten how to be confused and uninterested </li></ul><ul><li>Get us to fall in love with the consumer/user </li></ul>Then: Voice of the Consumer

16.
<ul><li>Not a trendspotter (leveraging fads) </li></ul><ul><li>Responsibility to cultures </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Earning participation in their mediums </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Finding & earning a brand’s place in its culture </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Karma as business-sense: give, to get </li></ul></ul>Now: Voice of the Culture

17.
<ul><li>Includes consumer empathy & insight </li></ul><ul><li>Overlaps with media & technology </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Broader implications of UGC </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Participants enforce tribal rules </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Brand can set the tone - or nudge it </li></ul></ul>Now: Voice of the Culture

18.
<ul><li>Detective </li></ul><ul><li>Ambassador </li></ul><ul><li>Story police </li></ul>Basic roles

19.
<ul><li>Fragmentation, lateral leaps & tangents make it even harder to stay on story </li></ul>Story MUST be King

20.
<ul><li>Strength, confidence, speed to adjust </li></ul><ul><li>“ No military strategy ever survives first contact with the enemy” </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Miles Vorkosigan </li></ul></ul>Flexibility is decisiveness

21.
<ul><li>Job 1 – find the most interesting right answer </li></ul><ul><li>Job 2 – be an idea’s truest friend </li></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Hard to sell to </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Then fight to the death for it </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>As should we all </li></ul></ul></ul>Summing up so far

22.
<ul><li>Not the same </li></ul>Advertising Briefs & Briefings

23.
Let’s all sit down and read my tax return together

24.
This is a briefing

25.
<ul><li>“ As a creative, I’m more like an assassin: point me at the right target, give me what I need and let me go” </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Advertising ECD </li></ul></ul>Movies do it better

26.
Why are briefs boring?

27.
They try to do too much

28.
<ul><li>The Briefing: </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Task Definition </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Inspiration </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Quality control </li></ul></ul>2 different jobs The Written Brief: Task Definition Inspiration Quality control

29.
<ul><li>Even if it’s not an advertising brief, it should be both creative and brief: </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Objective: inspire them to dig </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Strategy: make it memorable - an earworm </li></ul></ul>The brief is your ad to the team

30.
<ul><li>“ No one remembers the brief. </li></ul><ul><li>But often people recall the briefing.” </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Alan Cooper, How to Plan Advertising 1 </li></ul></ul>Don’t phone it in

31.
<ul><li>“ The best briefings are so good that you can’t wait for the planner to leave your office so you can get started.” </li></ul>Your Goal

32.
<ul><li>“By the time I’ve got the written brief approved, there’s no time to stage a briefing” </li></ul><ul><li>Clients don’t care about the briefing </li></ul><ul><li>Clients do care about the brief </li></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Too much, sometimes </li></ul></ul></ul>Why so hard?

33.
<ul><li>Cruel & painful </li></ul><ul><ul><li>After a long, clever process </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Demands decision-making </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Research can do that later! </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>It’s not the ‘studio suits’ forcing you to cut </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Every choice you make could be wrong </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Takes real skill in client relationships </li></ul>Editing is murder

34.
<ul><li>Handy as startpoints & story guides </li></ul><ul><li>Beware of painting by numbers </li></ul><ul><li>Draft roughly, go away, come back with an axe </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Read Hemingway (or Gaiman) just beforehand </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Cut words until the sentence doesn’t make sense </li></ul></ul>Use forms, but don’t fill them in

35.
<ul><li>Pick some strong executions </li></ul><ul><li>Quickly bash out reverse briefs for them </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Objective </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Target (mindset, occasion... who it’s not aimed at) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Message (or intended creative expression etc) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Tone & Personality (the 80% that’s body language) </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Surprisingly easy to write good, pithy ones </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Use later to compare with bloated bags of jargon </li></ul></ul>Tip: practice with clients

36.
<ul><li>Write the quick-start sheet: </li></ul><ul><ul><li>super-easy to do the basic job right </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Present like a stirring movie general... </li></ul>Instruct - Inspire - Check

37.
<ul><ul><li>Here’s the big picture and the ground ahead… </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Which means our heroes’ job is …. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Watching out for traps here, here, and here…. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>And using these special tools… </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>You’ll know you’ve made it when this happens… </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>And then it’s home for beers all round </li></ul></ul>Instruct - Inspire - Check

38.
<ul><li>Again, make it easy: to solve, to picture </li></ul><ul><li>Work on the right nugget </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Concrete is easier than abstract/conceptual </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>‘ red & dangerous’, vs. ‘for kids who know their way around’ </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><li>Find the bit people love – where’s the heat? </li></ul>Instruct - Inspire - Check

39.
<ul><li>Search & destroy distractions </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Lovely turns of phrase, ideas & images that could stick instead </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Talk to colleagues about it; don’t sell it, watch them use it </li></ul></ul>Instruct - Inspire - Check

40.
<ul><li>Flashforward to buying the work </li></ul><ul><li>You have one of 4 reactions: </li></ul>Instruct – Inspire - Check It’s on brief and you love it It’s off brief and you hate it It’s on brief and you hate it It’s off brief and you love it

41.
Instruct – Inspire - Check <ul><li>Does your own response matter? </li></ul><ul><li>Is it intuition or shock of the new? </li></ul><ul><li>How can you help make it better? </li></ul>If your brief is clear at a glance, these 2 are easy(ish) These are trickier Does it inspire a better brief? Or do you all have to let it go? It’s on brief and you love it It’s off brief and you hate it It’s on brief and you hate it It’s off brief and you love it

42.
Hard conversations need trust, confidence, an open mind – and a clear sense of direction

43.
Thank you very much