Agencies describe the typical client brief as unfocused, unclear and dull
StatBrand & Creativity
Asked to choose words describing the typical client brief, creative agencies picked unfocused (83%), unclear (79%), dull (65%), thoughtless (44%) and shoddy (39%). The positive options barely registered: inspiring 9%, clear 7%, well-crafted 4%, sharp 3%.
Source
The BetterBriefs Project - Topline Global Report (premiered at IPA EffWorks Global, October 2021) (2021)
Matt Davies and Pieter-Paul von Weiler, with Flood + Partners
Slide 18, BetterBriefs Topline Global Report 2021, base 784 agency
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StatMarketers rate their own briefs eight times more highly than the agencies receiving them doStatThe gap between how marketers and agencies rate briefs is widening, not closingStatMarketers believe their briefs give clear strategic direction; agencies almost never see itStatMarketers and agencies do not even agree that briefs are written in plain languageStatThree quarters of briefs are not good enough, according to the people who have to use themStatWhat agencies say is missing from briefs is objectives, not inspirationStatAgencies think most clients do not know what a brief is supposed to containStatBoth sides agree good creative work is hard to produce without a good briefStatThe brief is the most valuable and most neglected tool in marketing, and both sides say soStatWriting briefs does not get easier with experience, it gets harderStatNine in ten briefs change after they have been presented to the agencyStatRebriefs are recognised as waste by the people who order them
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