What Your Last Agency Might Have Forgotten – A Strategic Brief

We’ve seen it time and time again. Companies left dazed and confused after interviewing agencies to handle their marketing needs. Business owners sit in conference rooms hearing pitches stolen from some universal “How to Sound Important Without Actually Saying Anything” manual.

These agencies show their portfolio with pride and boast of numerous awards kept neatly polished in trophy cases. They claim to have all of the answers and, for a modest fee, will place your company on the fast track to world domination.

Some will even bring spec creative to convince you of their talent, but offer little that assures you they really understand your needs, not to mention your budget. They often forget the one thing that actually matters – a strategy.

Without a sound strategy of implementation, your marketing efforts are destined to either A) fail or B) do little to get you where you want to go.

Save yourself conference room fatigue by asking the agency for a strategic brief. Don’t expect the brief to give away the agency’s creative concepts, but it should offer the meat of their proposed marketing plan. It will:

• Detail the agency’s understanding of your needs
• Outline the goals for your campaign
• Propose a budget in line with reality
• Suggest a strategic media buy based on budget and ROI
• Give you an understanding of who they are and how they work

Simply put – tell them, no brief, no contract.

Jaci Russo
Sr. Partner
The Russo Group