Fix a Brief That's Already in Production using Get Who To By
So, you're halfway through production and realized your brief is basically a word salad of 'synergy' and 'brand awareness.' Great. Now the creative team is confused, the budget is bleeding, and you're one meeting away from a corporate breakdown. The Get Who To By framework is your emergency brake. It strips away the nonsense and forces you to decide what this campaign is actually doing before it's too late to save the deck - and your reputation.
The TL;DR
Stop the bleeding. Use the Get Who To By framework to salvage a production-phase disaster by pinpointing your actual target (GET), their real-world baggage (WHO), the blunt message they need to hear (TO), and the actual mechanism that gets them moving (BY).
Why Get Who To By is Your Emergency Exit
Because most briefs die a slow death by a thousand committee edits - this framework is the autopsy that actually brings the project back to life.
The Four Steps
GET
Who are we actually talking to?
Not 'everyone with a pulse.' Define the specific humans who might actually open their wallets. If you can't describe them without using the word 'consumers,' try again.
WHO
What’s their deal?
Find the friction. What are they doing right now instead of buying your stuff? You need a behavior insight, not a demographic stat from 2018.
TO
What's the one thing they need to hear?
Stop being poetic. If they need a dictionary or a secret decoder ring to understand your message, you’ve already lost. Make the value proposition painfully obvious.
BY
How do we shove them toward the finish line?
This is the mechanism. Not a wish or a prayer. What is the specific hook, offer, or interaction that forces them to act right now?
Production-Phase Disasters
(The stuff that keeps strategists awake at night)
- ×Trying to fix a bad brief by adding more words to it
- ×Targeting 'Decision Makers' (too broad, means nothing)
- ×Using an 'insight' that is just a generic observation about life
- ×Writing a 'TO' that sounds like a haiku instead of a call to action
- ×Forgetting the 'BY' and just hoping the audience is feeling generous
- ×Letting the client's ego dictate the target audience mid-stream
- ×Ignoring the fact that the original brief was garbage from day one
If you can't fit your fix on a sticky note, you aren't fixing it; you're just making it more complicated.
Real Examples
SaaS Pivot
A campaign for a project management tool that's currently being marketed as 'everything for everyone.'
GET
Burnt-out middle managers at mid-sized tech firms.
WHO
They spend 4 hours a day updating status reports because their current tools are too 'flexible' and messy.
TO
Automate your status reports so you can actually go home at 5 PM.
BY
A '1-Click Migration' tool that imports their mess and cleans it up instantly.
DTC Beverage Crisis
An energy drink campaign that's currently failing because it looks like every other 'extreme' brand.
GET
Exhausted parents working from home.
WHO
They need caffeine to survive the 3 PM slump but hate the 'gym bro' aesthetic of current energy drinks.
TO
The clean energy that doesn't make you look like you're heading to a rave.
BY
A 'Parent's Survival Kit' bundle with a subtle, matte-finish can design.
E-commerce Recovery
A fashion brand's 'New Season' launch that is currently seeing high traffic but zero conversions.
GET
Window shoppers who have added items to their cart three times this week.
WHO
They love the style but are terrified of the 'final sale' return policy and weird sizing.
TO
Try it on in your living room. If it's not perfect, we'll pick it up for free.
BY
Switching the 'Buy' button to 'Try at Home' with a 100% fit guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use this if the ads are already shot?
Yes. You use it to fix the copy, the headlines, and the media targeting. It's damage control, not a time machine.
What if the client hates the new, narrower focus?
Ask them if they’d rather have a focused campaign that actually works or a vague one that wastes their entire Q4 budget.
How narrow should the 'GET' be?
Narrow enough that you can actually picture them. If your target is 'moms,' you're failing. If it's 'moms who drink cold coffee while hiding in the pantry,' you're getting somewhere.
Is 'WHO' just a demographic?
No. It’s a behavior or a mindset. 'People who buy organic' is a boring stat. 'People who feel guilty about their plastic footprint' is a behavior you can actually use.
What if I have two 'TO' messages?
Then you have two campaigns. Pick the one that's less likely to fail, or prepare to confuse everyone and achieve nothing.
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