AMN420 Advertising Management
Assessment 3: Ad Brief Guidelines
Due: Week 13, Saturday 11 June at 11:59 PM
Weighting: 50% of grade.
Length: Report should not exceed 2,500 words (10% over/under would be acceptable).
Formatting: QUT APA 6th referencing and reference list is required.
Brand: Make sure that you use the same brand you selected for the prior assessments.
Ad Brief
• There are two parts in the Ad Brief: Part A and Part B.
• Part A is an advertising brief, which would be presented to the advertising agency as part of the client briefing. The brief (Part A) should be 1 to 2 pages long. It should be clearly set out, following the suggested headings.
• Part B provides supporting evidence for your decisions in Part A, with connection to research (references) for support.
General directions:
• Page numbers to be included in the footer on each page.
• 1.5 line spacing, with 2.5cm margins to be used.
• Consistent font throughout the report, including headings (Times New Roman size 12).
• QUT APA 6th referencing to be followed consistently across all references (in-text citations and in the reference list) (see QUT Cite Write website: www.citewrite.qut.edu.au).
• Assignment to be proof-read, checked for all spelling and grammatical errors.
• The report should not exceed 2,500 words (10% over/under would be acceptable).
• Inclusion of references for support. List all cited sources, presented in QUT APA 6th format.
Structure for Advertising Brief
Part A: Advertising Brief to go to agency (no more than 2 pages)
This section should be succinct and to the point. Detailed explanations or justifications are to be addressed in Part B.
1. Background:
What is the background of the advertising? What is the background on the company (brand) - history, achievement, philosophy, and advertising? What is the background on your product or service - when it was launched, unique features, competitive advantage? Who buys the product? Who are your main competitors and why? Are there any changes or special considerations in the marketplace?
1.1. The brand
1.2. Competitors
1.3. Buyer analysis (e.g. who buys/uses the product, who influences the purchase decision, when they use the product, etc.)
1.4. Current/Previous advertising
2. Advertising Problem:
What is the advertising problem (i.e., what is the reason that you need to advertise)? Look for the problem, not the symptoms.
3. Objectives:
What do you want this advertising to accomplish? These are the advertising objectives such as brand awareness, knowledge, brand interest, favorable perception, attitudes and image, etc. They should be realistic, relevant, and measurable. Give a specific time period (e.g., 1 year). For example,
• To increase brand awareness (e.g., up to XX% of the target in a year)
• To create the brand’s position or to reposition the brand based on attribute, consequence, value, user, competition, etc. (e.g., perception change up to Y% of the target by 6 months)
4. Target Market:
Who are you talking to, and what do you know about them? Is there a particular segment you would like to target? Who is your most viable segment? Can you outline a geo-demographic and psychographic profile of the target audience?
4.1. Target
4.2. Consumer insight: There may be many consumer insights. However, you need to focus on the insight(s) that can be applied to your advertising campaign.
5. Budget:
What is the budget for the ad campaign? Also address campaign timing (e.g., when the campaign would launch and why). The budget is not considered important for the assignment. However, you need to propose a reasonable campaign budget. Your budget is solely based on media budget that will be allocated to media expenditure, excluding production costs and other expenditure (e.g., costs involved when you use a celebrity). Please see the media expenditure data in 2016 at the end of this document.
6. Creative strategy:
What’s the single most important thing to say? Is there any direction or considerations for the creative? How do you want consumers to describe the brand - its essence and personality (brand personality)? Provide a creative statement (see creative lecture slides).
6.1. Creative statement
7. Media strategy:
Which media channels should be considered (media mix)? What media channels have been used in the past (if data available)? How can you use media to support your creative strategy?
7.1. Media mix with % of budget allocation. See an example below.
TV 40%
Magazine 10%
Social media 25%
Internet 25%
Total: $1 million (budget)
7.2. Media scheduling (e.g., continuity/flighting/pulsing). See an example below.
8. Mandatories:
Is there anything else worth thinking about that might help you achieve great advertising? Is there any current trend, fad, news, or ethical/legal issue(s)? Is there a list of items that must be included in the advertising campaign? Logo, contact details, website etc.? Include all the mandatories here.
Part B: The justification - Supporting evidence for your decisions
Use the same subheadings as in Part A. In addition, add reference list and appendices.
1. Background
2. Advertising Problem
3. Objectives
4. Target Market
5. Budget
6. Creative strategy
7. Media strategy
8. Mandatories
9. References
10. Appendix
Part B should contain the evidence to support the decisions you made in your brief (Part A). Supporting evidence includes:
• Findings from your primary research (consumer insight report and perceptual mapping analysis) and your own observations of people who use the product.
• Secondary research sources, such as Roy Morgan data, retail or industry figures or target market profiles from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and/or other reliable sources.
• Academic journal articles in advertising, consumer behaviour and marketing in general.
• Your compelling and logical arguments if no other supporting evidence is available.
Ask yourself and think…..
1. Is your situation analysis comprehensive enough to develop a good advertising campaign? For example, regarding marketing 4Ps (product, price, place, and promotion), do you understand similarities and differences between your brand and other competing brands (see lecture slides for a sample)? Do you have knowledge about past/current advertising campaigns of your brand and other competing brands? Do you understand the buyers, users, and purchasers of the product? If your answer is no, you need to do some more work.
2. What did you learn/find from your primary research (consumer insight and perceptual mapping)? Do you have any insights that can be used for your advertising campaign? If your answer is yes, think about why the insight is important and how to implement the insight to your advertising campaign (e.g., target, creative strategy, media strategy, etc.). You may have consumer insights from other sources such as your own observation and secondary data sources (e.g., Internet, newspapers, magazines, etc.).
3. Is your stated advertising problem an actual advertising problem? If advertising cannot solve the problem, it is not an advertising problem. Why do you think the stated advertising problem should be the key problem? Since the advertising problem determines the whole advertising campaign, your justification is very important. Please think and confirm this. Items #1 and #2 above are useful to identify the advertising problem.
4. Is (are) your advertising objective(s) relevant? Although there are various objectives (e.g., brand awareness, knowledge, brand interest, favorable perception, attitudes and image, etc.), the most relevant objective is often closely related to the advertising problem.
5. Why have you selected the target market? Do you have good justification(s)? If your answers are no, you need to do more work. When you are confident about your target market, imagine or describe your target in detail. It is a good exercise to describe one target person using demographics, lifestyle, values, etc. (e.g., John is 21 years old. He is a college student….). Roy Morgan data may provide some valuable information about your target. As discussed, there is no right or wrong answer regarding your target. Think again what your rationale is. Items #1, #2, and #3 are useful to think about the target decision.
6. Do you have a key consumer insight(s)? A good insight will provide a fresh point of view that is easily accepted by the target market. It is based on a deep understanding of how your target consumers think and what they do. The insight often brings unconscious motivation to the conscious level. You can find an insight from #1 and/or #2. If you have an insight, ask why the insight is important and relevant to your advertising campaign. The insight may have implications that guide you to develop your creative strategy, and media strategy, etc. Think about the “Got Milk” campaign.
7. Do you understand the difference between creative strategy and creative tactics? Remember that the focus of the advertising strategy is about what to say. Do you think your creative statement is logically sound? Do you have strong supporting arguments on the strategy? To develop a good creative strategy, you may want to use #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6.
8. Why did you select the media channel/s (media mix) and the media scheduling strategy? What’s your justification? Note that the media mix decision is affected by many factors such as advertising budget, target’s media use, creative strategy, competitors’ media mix, etc. For your media scheduling decision, consider the seasonality factor. To develop a media strategy, you may want to use #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, and #7.
9. Are your decisions on the key issues—advertising problem, objectives, target, creative strategy, and media strategy—integrated or coordinated? This is about the degree to which your brief is consistent across the key elements. Examples include (but not limited to): Is the advertising problem properly aligned with the advertising objective? Is your creative strategy (or consumer insight) relevant to obtain the advertising objective? Does your media strategy support your creative strategy?
Tips
• Step 1: Review the task instructions carefully.
• Step 2: Think and then write down key points (e.g., decision/justification) for each section.
• Step 3: Ask whether your decision/justification in each section is logically sound.
• Step 4: Look at your ad brief as a whole. Ask whether all the sections are logically consistent.
• Step 5: Begin writing.
• Step 6: Revising and revising.
• Step 7: Editing
• Step 8: Submission
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