Consider this

From Consider to the Legacy Group Meeting. 5 April 2012

22 Butlers & Colonial Wharf Shad Thames London SE1 2PX

t: +44 (0)20 3397 3816 w: www.considercreative.co.uk e: ian@considercreative.co.uk

1. Intro
Hi there. Welcome to this Legacy Meeting Group breakout session today. We hope youre enjoying the day so far were nearly there. Lets start with telling you a bit about us and who we are. Im Ben and Im Ian, were from Consider . Were a small agency with masses of creative experience. We take a completely integrated approach to everything we do digital and print work together right from the very start, just like today. Im Creative Director for Digital; and Im Creative Director for Print. As you can see overleaf, we dont just work for charities. We work with good mix of both corporate and charity clients, including BRC, as you probably saw earlier, thank you Jon. He mentioned, we created the current BRC legacy campaign materialsbut well touch on this again a little later on. This split between charities and corporates provides a healthy balance and tends to benefit both sides with charities particularly benefitting from the deeper pockets of commercial companies and the thinking that goes with it.

1. Intro

2. Intro
Were assuming most of you here have created legacy materials in the past but are perhaps looking to work with your designers and agencies a little more effectively. In line with todays theme of Creating Effective Legacy Marketing Materials, were here to share our knowledge about the value of a good creative brief and were more than happy to impart a few helpful pointers to you guys. Well tell you what goes into a good creative brief and how to write one which means youll hopefully get the most from your agency. Well also show you some of the legacy materials weve created and then share with you our own creative brief template. Well probably natter away for about half an hour, leaving 15 minutes or so at the end for any questions and discussion. Dont feel like you have to wait until the end with a burning questionwere happy to chat as we go but having a vague structure might bring some order to proceedings.

3. Game 1
So, lets get cracking. The very first thing to say is that a good creative brief is all about clear communication. Its about the marketing person from the charity and the creative person from the agency understanding each other. To show you what we mean, wed like to play a quick game ... In the spirit of the time of year, weve got a nice Easter theme going on here combined with a sugar injection to keep us all going for that extra hour until its pub oclock and four days off Q: Was the Creative Director from your agency present at your last briefing? Yes or No. (Pass bowls around) Results.

4. Good brief, bad brief

We ask this with good reason as it all comes back to clear communication and how it benefits the creative process and impacts on the end result. Were a little bit unusual at Consider in that we dont have Account Managers. Its our opinion that they get in the way of communications between the creative team and the client its our creatives that go to client briefings for example. Weve seen both sidesweve even tried it at Consider and its not for us. Great results come from the creative team and client talking with each other. And this clear communication is the basis of good creative work. Its certainly the basis of a good creative brief. Were not saying Account Managers are the source of all evil just that you should perhaps insist upon the Creative Director or lead creative being in briefings.

5. Good brief, bad brief.

So, whats a good brief and whats a bad brief? Lets start with the bad brief. Were watching you all carefully for a flicker of recognition to see if any of these are familiar! Bad briefs can include some of these gems: Something like that big Save the Children campaign, but done on a much smaller budget. A mailing like the last one please, but delivering a much bigger ROI. We want all the bells and whistlesloads of photos. You know the drill. Can you just get me something by tomorrow? Its up to you youre the agency. Surprise me. None of these are going to result in great creative.

6. Good brief, bad brief

So, in contrast, whats a good creative brief? What WILL result in good creative? Something that has been written down and carefully considered Agreed by agency and client together Not a conversation on the phone or a chat down the pub (although both of these are a great idea to discuss the written brief) But the key role of a creative brief is that it becomes a common point of reference to keep everyone on track. Essential for the agency to make sure the concept is on brief throughout the creative process and good for the client in case of misunderstandings later on. Its good news for both agency and client.

7. Good brief, bad brief

OK, so weve established that the best creative brief is one thats written down. But written briefs can also be good and bad. So, what is a bad written brief? Lacks focus and is vague doesnt get to the point Pages and pages of it with repetition Contradicting messages And contains information irrelevant to the brief

8. Good brief, bad brief

So, whats a good written brief? Provides background and brand knowledge for the agency with valuable insights. Stays relevant, clear and to-the-point. Dont be inclined to throw in everything. Feels like it was written by a living, breathing human being with emotion. Gives the agency some sort of angle to work from. This last point leads us on to the most important part of a creative brief the proposition. If you have one before you start talking to your agency, put it in the brief early and discuss how you arrived at it. Its the part of the brief the agency will continually refer back to. If you want your agency to establish a proposition, give them a direction and work at it together. For example, BRC had an idea for their legacy proposition but wanted us to explore further. When we presented, our ideas gave us all something to push against but, in the end showed that the original direction was the right one. It kick-started the debate and got everyone involved, talking and thinking together.

9.
How to write a good creative brief. Weve talked about what a good creative brief should be lets chat about what goes into one.

10. Saul Bass: Genius

You might have heard of Saul Bass. If you havent, but have watched Hitchcock's Vertigo or North by Northwest; or even Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas or Casino youll have seen his work in the amazing film title sequences. Aswell as this, he also created great identities for companies like Minolta, Exxon and United Airlines. And while working for big clients like this, he was asked how he consistently obtained a good creative brief. He replied that he asked every client the same question: First, tell me what you want to say, who you want to say it to and why you want to say it. When we first heard this we thought: Wise words

11. What?
So, we borrowed it and think you should too. Answering these questions makes for a first-class creative brief. By the way, these can feature in any order, as long as theyre IN the brief. Lets start with: What do you want to say? For example: Whats the message you want to get across? What are the reasons to leave a legacy to your charity? Think about specifics like, do you want to include information about codicils? For example, quick fact: 28% of charities do not mention codicils in their marketing materials. But filling in a codicil is potentially the simplest way for a donor to change their will. Show them how to do it. Do you want to know if a will has been changed to include your charity? 55% of charities do not give a contact email address in their marketing materials. So how will you know if wills have been changed? How can you plan? This leads us onto:

12. Who?
Who do you want to say it to? The look and feel of the creative will depend entirely on who you are talking to. You wouldn't put a Sex Pistols-style cover on a Michael Bubl album, would you? If you know your audience, the creative should be appropriate. Give your agency as much information as you can about them. Who are your audience? Quick fact: 45% of charities focus on making a will, even though the audience may consist of older people who have already made a will (maybe what they are looking for instead are reasons to give or maybe instructions on how to amend a will)? Dorothy Donor, Baby Boomer or a mix? Do you have any donor profiles or relevant market research to attach to the brief? Are the audience warm or cold prospects? Do you have an established Donor Journey showing what materials are needed and when? Share it with your agency in detail preferably work on it together.

13. Why?
Why do you want to say it? Establishing this early is a good way to determine what youre trying to achieve for example, are you looking to raise vital funds or just awareness? Why are you communicating with your audience? Whats the objective of the campaign? Is there any relevant background material, like case studies to attach to the brief? How do you want your audience to respond to your campaign? Are there any barriers to response? Donors might feel the ask isnt urgent enough There are other charities asking for legacies Current economic climate means they cant commit that money right now. OK, so thats the Why So there we go, Tell me what you want to say, who you want to say it to and why you want to say it. that question originally posed by Saul Bass insprired us and will hopefully have given you a bit of food for thought. STOP! Sugar rush time.

14. Game No. 2

Q: 1 in 7 people do give to charities in their will. But how many people say they are willing to do this? Ian: More than 1 in 7 Ben: Less than 1 in 7 A: Actually, its 1 in 3. (Source: Cancer Research UK) So, theres a LOT of room for conversion lets be optimistic about our legacy campaigns and what our materials can achieve.

15. The Other Three

Now If we were being really picky wed say that Saul creative genius that he was could have gone a little further with his briefing questions and could have added How, Where and When into the equation. Including these last three will not only ensure your brief meets even the most exacting of agency standards, but also make you very popular with them. Pat on the back.

16. How?
So: How do you want to say it? Are you open to ideas about the most effective medium to use? Your agency should be able to guide you here. Can you give your agency a steer on look and feel or tone of voice as a starting point? Is it just a print-based campaign or purely digital communication maybe a mix? A couple of quick points on this: If youre using printed materials, keep your print runs low so you can keep messaging current by tweaking creative and reprinting more often. Keeping topical is an area in which digital typically triumphs. Speaking of digital, Baby Boomers are used to receiving their information digitally via phones and tablets, so a solely print campaign is probably not the best way of reaching them integrating your legacy communications is the way forward; now more than ever.

17. How? Digital

Heres a few reasons why: Were in a time of unprecedented change in terms of accessing information go digital sooner than later. 28% of all UK internet usage is from a mobile device. Thats a LOT of people dont alienate them. 80% of charity websites dont offer legacy information to download, so potential donors cant print it off and read it at their leisure or take it to their solicitor.

18. Where?
Where do you want to say it? Are there specific places in which youd like your message to be seen? Is this a national campaign? If so, are some regions more important to you than others? Regions which are hard to reach respond well to local fundraisers with the personal touch, so it could be worth varying the contact details by region?

19. When?
When do you want to say it? When is the launch date for the campaign? Establish a deadline, keep things moving forward. Is there a relevant tie-in to the calendar? March & September are traditionally legacy marketing times. September has Remember a Charity Week (as well as The Telegraphs specialist supplement); November is Will Aid month. What supporting marketing activity is happening at the same time? Is there competitor activity happening at the same time? What follow-up activity do you have planned? Look at your donor journey;what comes next in the campaign? 95% of charities dont follow up on a legacy marketing campaign by contacting the audience within three months to see if they needed anything else. This means people who might be ready to give in their will, or need more information are not being converted. So, there are the big questions you need to answer all six of them! Answer these and you can rest assured youre going to have a great creative brief.

20. Some example of legacy materials.

We mentioned earlier wed created some legacy materials for BRC and Scope so weve included a few bits from those campaigns here to show you.

20. Some example of legacy materials.

20. Some example of legacy materials.

20. Some example of legacy materials.

21. Thats all folks

And thats it! Thanks for your attention, we hope youve enjoyed our presentation today on what makes a good creative brief. As I mentioned earlier. Weve got here copies of the creative brief template we use with our contact details if you need them. Please feel free to grab one If you drop us an email or your business card into one of the bowls (take some chocolate too) well be happy to send you a digital template of the brief. But for now, are there any questions?