Office of Health Communications CDC National Immunization Program Strategy for Helping Creative Teams Develop Effective Materials Lessons Learned from the 2002-2003 Flu Campaign Jayne B. Gaskins Office of Health Communications CDC National Immunization Program

A creative brief IS A list of questions A roadmap to an endpoint You supply the answers based on the project at hand. Only three of these questions are cast-in-stone: the definition of the audience, the core message, and what you want the audience to do when they get that message. The rest can vary somewhat, depending on the needs of the project. This is not a one-product-fits-all; it’s a one-process-fits-all. A roadmap to an endpoint Answering these questions helps you organize your thoughts and the message you want to convey to your audience. The process of developing the creative brief forces you to define the challenge; and once defined, the challenge then becomes part of the objective. Once established, you can then channel the creative process and use the creative brief as a bridge between your expectations and the creative team to keep everyone on the same page. Your answers to these questions are critical because they form the basis for all decisions made by the creative team. Mercifully short The creative brief should be no more than one to two pages long. The shorter and more concise it is, the more likely the creative team is to use it. This is a strategic blueprint to get the creative process moving on a specific project – not a marketing plan. Your marketing plan may have four or five goals, while the creative brief should have only one or two, which is stated in the key message. No matter how well-educated or sophisticated, your audience isn’t going to be able to digest or remember a dozen key messages. Keep it simple. A list of questions A roadmap to an endpoint Mercifully short

A creative brief is NOT An evolving document A factual data-dump It is static. Once written, the creative brief will not change. It will be referenced throughout the process to ensure that the end result meets the overall objective. The creative brief keeps everyone focused so that nobody (including you) can go off on a creative tangent that, however innocently, undermines the project. These parameters do not inhibit creativity – they enhance it. The idea is to avoid creating a beautiful display of prose and art that misses the point. Remember, if it doesn’t move your audience to a desired action, it isn’t creative. A factual data-dump The creative brief is not the place for production specifications, detailed audience profiles, and reams of background data on the “product.” All of this information is vital and necessary, but it should be provided separately. The creative brief stands alone and gives meaning and direction to use of all other material. Verbal A written creative brief moves the process from talk to action. If it isn’t on paper it can’t guide the process, nor can it be referenced. When deadlines are tight there is great temptation to give this information verbally to get the job done fast; however, the result is often miscommunication that takes far more time and money to repair. If disputes arise over the best creative approach (they often do), the creative brief also serves as an impartial referee. The design that best relates to the creative brief will give you optimum results — not the flashiest or prettiest one. When the project is completed, a written creative brief serves as an assessment tool to determine if the completed product has met the stated objective. An evolving document A factual data-dump Verbal

Creative Brief 2002-03 Public Flu Immunization Campaign Primary audiences Adults Adults at high risk of complications from the flu Household and medical contacts of those at high risk Pediatric Parents with children in a high-risk group Parents of children older than 6 months of age

Creative Brief 2002-03 Public Flu Immunization Campaign Secondary audiences Adults All other adults who can receive a flu shot Especially those between 50 and 64 years old Pediatric Parents of healthy children between 6 months and 23 months of age Parents of children getting their first flu shot

Creative Brief 2002-03 Public Flu Immunization Campaign Key Messages Best protection you can get from the flu Children need a flu shot too High-risk groups and their contacts should get the first flu shots, and everybody else should wait until November or later

Creative Brief 2002-03 Public Flu Immunization Campaign Conduits Healthcare providers and pharmacists Mass news media

Creative Brief 2002-03 Public Flu Immunization Campaign What do you want the audiences to do? High-risk groups and their contacts Get first flu shot available Parents Strongly consider getting their child a flu shot Everyone else Wait until November, or later

Creative Brief 2002-03 Public Flu Immunization Campaign Why should they do that? High-risk groups and their contacts To protect their own health and their high-risk contacts Parents To protect their child’s health Everyone else To protect their own health and those around them

Creative Brief 2002-03 Public Flu Immunization Campaign Why wouldn’t they want to do that? Allergic to eggs Believe myths Not aware of danger to children Too time consuming

Creative Brief 2002-03 Public Flu Immunization Campaign How can they do this? Healthcare providers Pharmacists (some states) Mass vaccinators

Creative Brief 2002-03 Public Flu Immunization Campaign What are the barriers? Insurance doesn’t cover Time-consuming Public health clinics and mass vaccinators hard to locate

The creative brief is not a solution to a problem. It is the problem defined.