Spots - Roll Back Malaria

STEP 2: DEVELOP THE CREATIVE BRIEFOnce the script is written, the process of reviewing, pretesting, revising, doing preproduction,production and post production, and getting approvals is the same asnoted above (#3–#6).To be effective, radio spots must say the right thing, in the right way, to the rightpeople, at the right time, via the right channel, with sufficient frequency for asufficient period of time, whether adapted or developed from zero. This means theyshould be developed for a specific audience. They need to communicate a clearobjective—a practical, clear course of action, that your target audience is capable ofdoing. And they should promote one benefit that persuades your target audience todo what the spots are asking.WHAT IS A CREATIVE BRIEF?The first step in the development of any communication product is to outline itspurpose, main content points and key features. The creative brief is a tool for thisstep.A creative brief is both a process and a product. The process is a step-by-stepapproach to deciding what your spot will be. The product is a short document (twoto four pages) that captures these decisions. The creative brief serves as a:• Blueprint: Like an architectural drawing, the creative brief illustrates the buildingto be constructed; it outlines your communication objective and builds on theinformation and research that you collect during the planning process.• Billboard: A creative brief lets everyone involved see clearly what is beingplanned. The creative brief is used as a guide through all the production steps, sothat all participants understand the direction the spot is to take.• Buy-in: The creative brief is a good way to get decision-makers to focus on thekey elements of the message to be developed. It can be used as a starting point fordiscussion to get agreement on the approach, the timing and the budget.Like a map that changes when new streets are built, a creative brief can always bemodified and may need to be depending on what you learn from pretesting.Develop a creative brief even if you are adapting a spot from another source. Youwill use the brief to indicate how the existing spot should be modified and to ensurethat your adapted spot will achieve your communication objective.A creative brief template follows. The rest of this section will help you develop theelements needed to complete your own creative brief.Spot On Malaria: Guide25