How to Develop a Creative Brief for Video Production
Okay, so the time has come to work on some new marketing. You’ve spoken to your team and you’re thinking something big and bold, something to really knock the socks off your competitors.
You’re thinking… What about video content? Great idea. It’s impactful. Certainly more interesting than a text copy. But hang on, how do you go about getting it done? You’ll need a creative brief to take to a video production company. How do you start with that?
We’ve got the solution! Below we have the 5 most important areas to consider when writing your creative brief for your video production. All these elements are a sure-fire way for an agency to know exactly what you need and what you’re looking to achieve.
What is a Video Creative Brief?
A creative brief for video production is a short summary (or brief) that should be treated as a guide throughout your video project. A video creative brief includes elements such as goals, budget, timelines and ensures both yourself and your production company are on the same page.
Why is Creating a Creative Brief for your Video Important?
Creating a creative brief for your video production is important for several reasons. Below are the highlights of why you should consider creating a video creative brief.
- Creating a video creative brief first and foremost ensures that you understand what you want and why you want the video to serve that purpose.
- The whole premise of a video creative brief is to ensure that you and your production company are in agreement on the vision, and how it will come to fruition.
- Creative briefs for video production are a single document, and therefore easy to refer back to throughout the project. Having everything in one place (and typed up), a.) makes it easy to find and b.) puts everything in one central location.
- A video creative brief eliminates any miscommunication or misunderstanding either you or the production company may have. Having everything written down ensures that the agency you’re working to has a brief that will work, to the finest detail.
- Finally a creative brief, like any other online document, is easily shareable. Whether in the form of a Word/Google Doc or PDF, all have one thing in common, and that is the ease of use.
If you follow our handy guide below we’ll be sure to level up your creative brief game for any video production projects you have in mind going forward.
How to Write a Creative Brief for Your Next Video
You may be wondering what exactly goes into a creative brief for video production. Well stop wondering and start creating meaningful and impactful videos with our five tips to create a creative brief for your next video production.
1. Your Goals
It’s all well and good wanting to elevate your marketing through video, but you have to ask yourself the most important question first. What are you wanting to achieve with video? How is the video going to work with your long-term strategy? Is video your next step to gaining more sales? Engagement? Or views?
Being really clear on the results you’re looking for helps prospective companies work out how your content can best suit your goal.
And if you don’t know what kind of results a video can get you, just ask! Video producers have been there and done it all, so they’re your best bet for understanding what video can and can’t do for your business.
2. Your Audience
How can you distinguish the type of videos you want if you don’t know who your target audience is? There are a million ways to develop a video and this can be narrowed down by looking at your target audience and the types of content they are searching for.
Exploring your market, your competitors, and how they use video content can help direct you to your perfect audience.
Great marketing content knows who it’s speaking to, and the same can be said for video content. Having a strong understanding of your customer segment allows a video production company to utilise its expertise and help you reach your intended target market.
3. Your Style
Knowing what you like and what you don’t is another useful tool when developing your own creative brief for your video production. Being able to come to a company with examples of the types of videos you think would work, and other examples from within your industry will help define the look and style of your content.
Consider whether you want your videos to match your brand image or take a new direction, it’s your video to shape. Having a starting point increases the chance of your video matching what you’re actually looking for.
4. Your Budget
It’s easy to think putting a budget in your video creative brief is a bad idea but having a general sense of how much you’d like to spend ensures that everyone’s on the same page. Pricing for video production often varies depending on what you’re looking for. So having an idea in mind with how much you’d like to spend allows the production team to give you realistic expectations for what is achievable.
For example, a short 10-second social media video would cost less than that of an event video production and filming. Understanding not only what you want filming, but for what platform can help an agency with budgeting.
It also helps the team to narrow down the ideas and concepts you have in mind to reflect your budget. As there’s such a multitude of options you can take when making video, giving a budget allows production companies to have a clearer sense of what they can do within that budget.
5. Your Deadline
Our last point when creating a creative brief for your video production is probably one of the most important. From the get-go, you should know exactly when you want your videos to be completed.
Setting a clear and precise deadline from the beginning helps ensure you are working with a team that is able to produce your content on time. If your project has an important time scale then talking that through and explaining what you’ll need by when helps a video production company get a proper sense of what you’re looking for.
It also allows the production company to communicate with you if there are any potential issues you might need to consider for your deadline. Any areas that would extend your timescales or unnecessarily delay the video production process. That way you can ensure you’re all on the same page from the beginning.
Start Developing your Creative Brief for Video
There you have it, 5 sure-fire ways to create the perfect video creative brief. As long as you’re clear about what you want to gain, who you want to reach, what you’re looking to spend and by when then you’re giving a video production company everything they need to meet your expectations.
However, if you’re new to video production and aren’t sure what you want, that’s fine too. Production companies, such as ourselves, are full of creative strategists who can work with you to find out exactly what you’re looking for.
If you’re interested in shooting a video for your company, contact us today to discuss your ideas.