Q. What exactly is the creative brief?

The creative brief is a worksheet that account service and creative directors use to define the job's creative strategy, marketing goals, and scope . The creative brief can also explain to a client the agency's creative and production process for a particular job.  

Q. What section headings should I use?

Staying in line with the purpose of the creative brief (per the question above), section titles can include the following: Project Description, Target Audience, Purpose, Style & Tone, Copy Points, Benefits, Call to Action, and Legal/Technical Requirements. The section headings may vary depending upon the type of job.  

Q. Do I need to add the section headings to each job ticket?

No. To save time, set up the section headings once for each job type/spec sheet. Then, when you add a new job ticket using a job type/spec sheet, the headings are copied to it. You can edit the headings on an individual job ticket's creative brief without affecting other jobs with the same type or without affecting the creative brief associated with the job type/spec sheet. There is also an option to clone the creative brief when you clone a job ticket, which is another method to automate the job creation process.  

Q. Are creative briefs required?

No, creative briefs aren't required. A creative brief is just one part of a job ticket. Use creative briefs on some of your job tickets, all of your job tickets, or none.  

Q. Can a job have more than one creative brief?

No. Each job ticket is limited to a single creative brief. If a job has multiple parts, consider creating separate job tickets comprising the entire project; each job in the project can then have its own creative brief.  

Q. Should the creative brief be shown to the client?

It's your decision. Sometimes a copy of the creative brief is attached to the printed estimate, so that the client and the shop see eye-to-eye on the job's scope and objectives. In some shops the creative brief is simply an internal working document that helps focus the creative process.  

Q. How can the creative brief be distributed to the job's team members?

Creative briefs don't necessarily need to be printed since they can be viewed in the program by anyone with access to job tickets. Since creative briefs, like everything else in Clients & Profits, is updated in real-time, the production department will always see the most up-to-date version of the creative brief.  

Q. Will everyone be able to edit the creative brief?

Anyone with access to view job tickets can edit the creative brief. 

Q. Can I add more sections to the creative brief?

No. Creative briefs have up to 15 sections, each with user-defined headings and descriptions.  

Q. Who typically writes up the creative brief?

It's usually someone in account service, such as the account executive, since they're the one who is closest to the client. But, the creative director can also add content, such as to the creative strategy elements of the brief, in conjunction with the AE.  

Q. Can I change the heading "creative brief" to something else?

No, the term "creative brief" isn't customizable. Only the section headings can be changed.