BetterBriefs

Allow us to introduce ourselves. We’re BetterBriefs, an advisory and training business dedicated to helping marketers brief better and realise more impactful ideas. Founded by former agency strategists Pieter-Paul von Weiler and Matt Davies, they bring global experience from major agencies, with 20+ Effie recognitions, including 2 Grand Effies, and 1 IPA Effectiveness award. After experiencing thousands of poor briefs firsthand, Pieter-Paul and Matt conducted the first global and only study on the state of marketing briefs. The findings uncovered that 33% of marketing budgets are wasted due to misdirected work and unclear briefs. To combat this, we’ve developed a range of free resources, tools, and the BetterBriefs Academy to train marketers. Our mission is to turn confusing briefs into clarity and wasted budgets into commercially effective campaigns. BetterBriefs - it’s all in the name. #betterbriefs #briefbetter #marketingbriefs

The Drum has called her ‘one of the world’s most creative women’ and co-authored the book ‘Creative Superpowers’. Meet Lizi Hamer, the Global Executive Creative Director at Octagon and co-founder of No2ndPlace, an agency driving social change through sport. Over 20 years, she has led award-winning campaigns, positive law changes, and innovations. She joins us tomorrow to share her perspective as a creative director on how clear objectives define success. To register: https://hubs.li/Q02-j2Sk0

Will it make the boat go faster? The British rowing team had not won a gold medal since 1912. By all measures, they didn’t have a good rowing program. In 2000, the UK rowing team set themselves a single, clear ambitious objective: win gold at the Sydney Olympics. They took a different approach than other sports teams and developed a very simple question response to guide all their decision-making. “Will it make the boat go faster?”. Late-night drinks? Will it make the boat go faster? A new training plan? Will it make the boat go faster? What they ate, how they slept, how they trained—everything was filtered through that lens. If it didn’t help, it didn’t happen. That question took them from underdogs to gold medalists. And it’s a brilliant example of what clear objective setting and having a single-minded focus can achieve. We are organising a webinar this Thursday on the topic. I've invited two amazing minds to help unpack the topic. Lizi Hamer is an executive creative director Octagon and No2ndPlace developing ideas in the field of Sports and Entertainment. This is an area that I know little about, so that's going to be super interesting. Effectiveness expert and strategic advisor to brands Rob Brittain is also joining. Having been Head of Effectiveness at ANZ Bank and Mondolez, he continues to publish through leadership knowledge about the state of attention and effectiveness in advertising. You're invited! Link in the comments.

Creating briefs that deliver excellent work - something I’m continually championing and continuously learning to do. Let’s start a good conversation. #No2ndPlace #Octagon

A brief without clear objectives is like a ship without a rudder. Objectives are the most crucial element of a marketing brief to get right. And - despite their importance - we see many marketers struggle with setting the right objectives. This is why we've invited marketing effectiveness expert Rob Brittain and creative trailblazer Lizi Hamer to share their insights drawn from their very impressive careers. Your objective is simple, lock the 5th of December into your diary and register. #briefbetter #betterbriefs #marketingbriefs #marketingobjectives #brieftraining #objectives #marketingstrategy #marketingeffectiveness NB: This session will be recorded and shared with all registrants post-event. 

🚀 Wrapped up the BetterBriefs course a few weeks ago, and I’m genuinely impressed. Pieter-Paul and Matt created a practical guide that’s already improved how I approach briefs—clearer, focused, and easier to work with. Why? ⛳ Practical and insightful content that breaks down complex concepts into actionable steps. ⛳ Real-world applications and tools that are immediately useful. ⛳ A chance to discuss and learn alongside peers in the field. Plus, the contributions from Mark Ritson, Orlando Wood, Peter Field, and others, really clicked with the research and insights I’d read/used from them before. Highly recommend for anyone in marketing looking to up their briefing game ✍ .

In these times of reduced budgets and audience fragmentation, it's crucial to get your audience right. Our world-first survey into marketing briefs revealed a lack of clarity when it comes to how the target audience is defined. This ambiguity leads to missed opportunities and ineffective campaigns. When you know exactly who you're speaking to, you can tailor your campaigns for maximum impact. Don’t let vague targeting waste your marketing efforts. Invest time in refining your briefs to ensure the target audience is clear. The success of your campaign depends on it. #betterbriefs #briefbetter #marketingbriefs

In these times of reduced budgets and audience fragmentation, it's crucial to get your audience right. Our world-first survey into marketing briefs revealed a lack of clarity when it comes to how the target audience is defined. This ambiguity leads to missed opportunities and ineffective campaigns. When you know exactly who you're speaking to, you can tailor your campaigns for maximum impact. Don’t let vague targeting waste your marketing efforts. Invest time in refining your briefs to ensure the target audience is clear. The success of your campaign depends on it. #betterbriefs #briefbetter #marketingbriefs

Actual conversation in 2022... Big Boss: Should we bring in an agency for this?  Me: God no. We don’t even know what this product is, much less the problem it’s supposed to solve. I had flashbacks to my agency days — when a younger version of myself would’ve spun his wheels, trying to crack the brief while the goalposts kept moving. Clients tangled up in internal politics, unable to agree on anything, leaving the team and me thrashing, trying to make it all work. I thought I deserved a trophy for saving our agency partners from this chaos... Didn’t happen. We are working with BetterBriefs, founded by former agency strategists Pieter-Paul von Weiler and Matt Davies, whose 2021 global study found a ⅓ of marketing budgets are wasted because of bad briefs and misguided work. I believe it.  I’ve lived it. Show of hands who else... Too many marketers think the creative process will magically straighten out their strategies, instead of having a clear strategy to start with. 60% admitted as much, according to the same study. Simple rule: If there isn’t a well-defined marketing strategy, there can be no creative brief. Yet, how many marketers are brave enough to admit when there’s no real strategy—and take a step back to define one? #betterbriefs #marketing #creativity #brand #innovation

There’s one key element of a brief that both agencies and marketers agree on… Clarity of objectives. What does success look like at the end of the comms activity? Clear, specific objectives are the backbone of any successful brief and campaign. They focus your efforts and ensure everyone is aligned on the end goal.  Watch Pieter-Paul von Weiler walk you through the three most important objectives that should be in every one of your briefs. #briefbetter #marketingbriefs #betterbriefs