One of the great challenges is to translate business vision into creative execution.  Indeed, many creative marketing projects get underway without a common set of expectations between executive leadership, marketing and creative. This can result in an extended and expensive creative development process with multiple revisions, a frustrated team, and suboptimal results.   Business and marketing leaders must take time to give clear guidance to creatives while respecting their freedom for creative expression.  I have found that creatives embrace guidance, of which a straightforward creative brief is a great starting point.

The creative brief should be to-the-point, just 1 to 2 pages.  If you are tempted to put every idea into the brief, you’re not ready to proceed with the assignment.  As a business leader, you need to be clear on your goals and objectives before you can have others act.  I use the following format.

Team: It’s always helpful to identify team members, including roles and responsibilities.

Background: Every project has a history.  Briefly summarize the events that led up to today.  What are current market dynamics and where do you stand?  How has your product or brand changed?  You may include product descriptions as part of the background, or create a separate section to provide detailed product information.  You should also reference key competitors as part of the background, or in its own section.  What is your commentary on the competition:  where are they weak and strong?

Goals: What are the top 3 goals of this project?  How will success be measured?  For example, you might state that your goal is to increase customer count by 25% from 100,000 to 125,000 this year, with a 5 year goal of reaching 250,000.  You might also have specific goals of appealing to a target audience or distinguishing yourself from a specific competitor.

Target Audience: Provide as much information about your target audience as possible.  Include both demographic and psychographic information.  Think about their need-states.  If you are targeting multiple segments, clearly define and prioritize your target segments.

Value Proposition: Ideally, you have already developed an on target value proposition.  This is a simple statement that explains who you are targeting, what you are offering, and why they should select your product.

Differentiating Messages: Take your value proposition a step further with differentiating messages.  These are the key takeaways that you want to convey to your audience.  What are the key features and emotional benefits that distinguish your offering from the competition?

Call To Action: What is it that you want your audience to do?  Are you creating communications to direct them to a specific purchase?  Are you trying to immerse them in a brand experience?  Do you want your audience to share with their friends?

Communication Media: This may seem obvious, but it is helpful to determine which media you are going to use for communications.  Is this digital only and focused on web development?  Will there be video aspects (online or television)?  Will designs need to fit onto a smaller mobile screen?

Tone and Image: Tone is a huge deal for creatives.  This will help the designer think about their color palette and overall approach.  Is the tone warm, comfortable and approachable?  Or is it aggressive and modern?  Do you have any hero images that you are currently using that should be incorporated?

Budget and Timing: What is the overall schedule for creating this work, and when will it be launched to the public?  What is your overall budget, as well as specific budgets for individual aspects of this project?  What is the process for checking-in as a team and approving work?

With a clearly articulated creative brief you are ready to solicit RFP responses and kickoff a project with the full business and creative teams.  A few hours of up-front work will save time in the long-run, and provide the best results for everyone involved.

Image by firoz11 from Stock.Xchng

By David Capece, Managing Partner

Yesterday, I presented “Digital Influence in the Network Economy” at the PodCampAz Conference.  The high level principle is that in a network economy, value flows from connectivity. Value is created and shared by all members of a network and economies of scale stem from the size of the network (see full pdf of presentation and outtakes from our podcasting interview).  While transactional exchanges of goods and currency have traditionally been the primary economy, the network economy is emerging in which reputation and relationships matter more.  In the new world, digital influence is vital (see our reports on social cause influence and news & politics influence).

To illustrate this point, we discussed the relative influence of Google and Microsoft.  When asked who wields more influence, the vast majority sided with Google.  It’s interesting to note that Microsoft has a higher valuation, more cash, more revenue, and more profit.  All of these measurements would signal Microsoft as the leader under old economy rules.  However, Google wins in total user relationships and advocacy, which are increasingly important measures of influence.  We also discussed Arianna Huffington, Perez Hilton, Twitter, CNN iReport, Peta, and Kiva.  Briefly, the key considerations for establishing and building digital influence are as follows:

1) Define the brand you are building.  Once you start aggressively building a brand, it becomes difficult to change the brand as you risk losing links and any initial momentum in building fans (see developing your online reputation).

2) Lead with purpose. In a world of overcapacity, don’t be average. Stand for something you are passionate about, and make it outstanding (see What do Glenn Beck and American Idol have in common).

3) Build a valuable network. Network value is a function of the number of connections, influence of connections, and depth of relationships (see Top 5 Networking Tips).

4) Advance the conversation. Listen to the existing conversation, share expert advice, tell stories, create an experience through visual cues, reference influencers and celebrities, and build on ideas from the community (see How Charity Newcomers are Revolutionizing the Non-Profit Sector).

5) Mobilize the community. There’s enough ideas out there. We want action. Get involved and get others involved. Make it fulfilling (see Crowdsourcing and Community Involvement in Social Cause).

6) Be transparent. Know who you are and manage one persona across platforms (use a consistent voice). Be human … it’s ok if you have flaws (note JetBlue’s Customer Bill of Rights and the transparency trend).

7) Measure success. Use a combination of reach (Twitter followers, Facebook fans, blog traffic), word of mouth (using net promoter score), and sphere of influence (creators, innovators, and celebrities with audiences matter the most). With metrics in hand, you can refine your approach (see How to Measure Success).

Thanks to the team at PodCampAZ for organizing a great conference in which we learned the latest tips, met digital trendsetters, and further immersed ourselves in a community of passionate leaders.  Can’t wait to see everyone in 2010.

Image by ivan petrov from Stock.Xchng

By Ethan Lyon, Senior Writer

Remember when the iPod first hit store shelves? If you were to take the NYC subway, about 25 percent of the passengers would have chalk-white ear-buds–listening to their iPods. Once you exited the subway, you’d see the white ear-buds on hundreds posters lining the streets. It was everywhere. Apple was the only MP3 player that was identifiable amongst the many other MP3 brands. Apple differentiated itself by simply changing the color of its ear-buds to white and it quickly became a fashion statement.

Apple’s iPod was not only successful, it was a home-run, out-of-the-park blockbuster. Not only did Apple measure their success on their balance sheets, they could see the hundreds of references to their product on YouTube and TV. Parodies were all over the place. Their message was powerful, concise and memorable. The iPod had elevated the Apple brand to a new level, both from a branding and financial standpoint.

Not all product launches are immediate sensations like Apple’s iPod. Often times, it’s difficult to see the long-term potential in your product if sales are not meeting your short-term goals. Though you’re not making an impact today, what about in the future? Kleiner Perkins is facing this issue right now. They have heavily invested in clean tech. Though the return on investment isn’t materializing today, if the country continues to find alternatives to fossil fuels, Kleiner Perkins could find itself sitting on a goldmine.

To meet goals you must have a unit of measurement. Are you trying to increase the number of customers, the average selling price, market share, customer satisfaction? After you’ve identified your unit of measure you can then start setting realistic, yet aspirational  goals.

Meeting long-term objectives also means being flexible. Are you meeting your short-term goals? What is plan B if you’re underselling? If you find yourself heading down the wrong path, adjusting your strategy can help you get back on the right track. Therefore, it’s essential to make short-term goals. Measuring your performance based on those short-term goals can help you find the optimal path to meet your objective.

As Apple illustrates, financial returns are not the only measurement of success. What impact are you making in the market and culture? Digital impact (think social media and blogging) is highly measurable. Are people talking about your product? A simple Twitter or Google blog search will tell you what your consumers are saying. How can their feedback change your short and long-term strategy? Online media can be a valuable resource for figuring out why or why not your product is a success. Based on consumer feedback, you can fine-tune or completely overhaul your strategy.

Photo by Ann- Kathrin Rehse from Stock.Xchng