1. The brief
The brief says what the campaign has to achieve. Part of it comes from what is already known about the brand — industry, positioning, values, target, competitors —; another part is specific to the campaign:
- Objective, and how it is measured.
- Target: who has to change their mind or behavior.
- Key message: the single thing that has to stick.
- Channels, budget and constraints: where, with how much, within what limits.
A brief that asks for everything asks for nothing: if the key message is five messages, the concept will have no center.
2. The analysis, with a method
The same brief can be looked at in different ways, and each method leads to different ideas: the customer’s job, the benefit ladder, a cultural tension, the category’s codes through semiotics, an insight, another industry, several futures, a mix of communication archetypes. Choosing the method is already a creative choice.
3. The concepts: more than one, and different
A single concept can’t be judged: you need something to compare it with. But six variations of the same message don’t help either: the concepts have to cover the space of possibilities — from cautious to bold, from one corner of the method to the other.
Each concept has a title, the idea in a few lines, a headline, the channels. And it has to be assessed on two axes that pull in opposite directions: differentiation (how much it stands out) and risk (how much can go wrong).
4. The development
The chosen concept becomes a campaign. Full development covers five areas:
- The copy: big idea, rationale, tone, who it speaks to, which barriers it removes; then headlines with alternatives, body copy, tagline, call to action, proof points.
- The channels: for each channel, the copy, the format, the visual.
- The art direction: the visual concept, palette, typography, photography, mood.
- The method: what the chosen method adds — the job story, the tension, the climb up the ladder.
- The execution: budget, timing, technical and legal challenges, KPIs, testing.
5. The test
Before production, the concept should be shown to the people who have to buy it: a test, a listening group, a trial with synthetic users. Validation costs far less than a campaign that misses.
The most common mistakes
- A brief with too many messages. The concept inherits the confusion.
- Skipping the analysis. Ideas still come, but they tend to look like the category’s.
- A single concept. Without alternatives, you don’t choose: you approve.
- Developing before testing. Finding out late that the audience doesn’t get the idea costs the whole development.
