Homework- Road safety game

Question 1: Why do clients write briefs? 
There are three main reasons why clients write briefs.
1. It leads to better work
A brief is the most important piece of information that is issued by a client to an agency. Everything stems and flows once the brief has been written. It is essential that all effort is taken to prepare the best brief possible to achieve what is required. 79% of clients and agencies agreed that "it is difficult to produce good creative work without a good brief".


2. Saves time and money - 
The biggest waste of agency resources is to put them through the process of developing  a solution repeatedly without a concrete direction. It is costly in wasted staff time.
"Agencies need to get more work right first time. That saves time and money. A proper written brief makes the process a lot more efficient" - that's good for clients and agencies.
Both clients and agencies say that time pressures are the main reason for inadequate client briefs. Not writing a brief to try and save time is a false analogy, because more often than not it leads to re-working . 75% of agencies and 55% of clients agreed that 'the briefs that we work on are often changed once the project has started'

3. Fairer remuneration - 
One of the main criticisms that marketing people face is that they lack accountability for the significant sums of money they spend. Over 90% of agencies and 84% of clients agree that 'payment by results is impossible without fully agreed business objectives'. Given the increasing prevalence of a PBR component in so many remuneration agreements, this is another compelling reason for a proper written brief.
However a written brief that includes 'objectives' and 'success criteria' is still the foundation stone for accountability and demonstration of the effectiveness of advertising media, PR, direct marketing, sales promotion and indeed all forms of commercial communications. Without the ability to demonstrate our effectiveness , no one will receive the remuneration that they deserve. 

Question 2: Outline the 3 principles behind a good brief
The three principles behind a good brief are:
1. Writing it down -

Both clients and agencies believe there many benefits starting with a written document that is produced by the client, which is analysed by the agency and debated between the two teams. A written brief is preferred because it forces the client to consider their request.

The process of developing, discussing and agreeing the brief in itself adds value.

Writing a brief sets focus on what it is expected from the activity and what our agencies can  contribute with. 

By discussing the written brief both parties have opportunity to build on the brief, challenge it and buy into it which makes an effective team.

2. Clarity of thinking -

• The best kind of brief is the one with the most clarity and focus that creates the platform for a good strategic leap, a building customer insight and an effective solution. 
• A brief is a summarisation of an individuals thinking which has to include relevant supporting  information.
• Relevance and context are more important than reams of data.
• The main difference between a good brief and a bad one is that good briefs leave you with a clear understanding of what you are trying to do. A bad brief can drown you in contradictory information and objectives. 
• The brief should focus on setting out the objectives of your product that commercial communications can play a key role in achieving. 

3. Clearly defined objectives.

The point of communication is to get people to do things. You have to start by making sure that the objectives are clear. Use concert business objectives rather than vague terms such as 'to improve brand image'. The clarity of the objectives is the most important part of a good written briefs.

Question 3: What elements should a good brief contain?
Key section headings of a best practice client brief:
These headings should be completed for every brief that is given to an agency. The detail of each section will vary depending on the circumstances of the brief.

• Project management - Ensuring that the basic facts about the project are provided. (e.g date, project name, company, brand etc.)
• Where are we now? - Describing the current position of the brand, its background and key issues it faces defines the  start point for the journey which will the brand will take.
• Where do you want to be? - What is the desired destination. The goal should be set in context of the overall business and marketing plan. Have a single minded and measurable objective for success.
• What are we doing to get there? - Have a marketing strategy because it is unlikely that advertising or other communications will achieve the defined objective alone, so it is essential for the agencies involved in developing these communications to have a good understanding f the total marketing and communications strategy. Also have a campaign strategy. This is to so you can think about what direction you can give to your agencies' creative briefs.
• Who do we need to talk to? - All communications are designed to form a response for a particular group of people -  meaning these target groups should be defined and prioritised as accurately as possible by demographics, lifestyle, product usage, attitudes etc.
• How will we know we've arrived? - You and the agencies need to know what success and failure both look like. Measures should be put into place to see whether or not the campaign delivers against its desired objective.
• Practicalities - The agencies responses to your brief will have many implementational consequences. Key practicalities are important to include in your brief. The main three areas are BUDGET,  TIMINGS and OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.   
• Approvals - Who has the authority to sign off the work that the agency produces. This person should be the one to sign off the brief before its given to the agency to present. 

Part 2 - 
What is a SWOT analysis?
A SWOT analysis is a useful technique for understanding your strengths and weaknesses , and for identifying both the opportunities open to you and the threats you face.
SWOT analysis's analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing a business. An honest SWOT analysis helps to identify what is doing well, where it can improve and where it fits in the competitive landscape.

SWOT analysis for ROAD SAFETY COMPUTER GAME

STRENGTHS - 
There are many strengths of this brief.
1. One of the main strengths is that one of the mains aims of the brief of the game is for it too educational for children. It is good for a game to be educational as well as entertaining because it will bring families into wanting to buy/download the game for their children.
2. The fact that the game is going to be used to promote road safety is also a huge strength. It will be an enjoyable way to teach children that road safety is so important to know about.
3. Its also very good that the game is going to be instructional in how to use roads safely.

WEAKNESSES - 
1. only used on touch enabled devices
2. You can only create one level (not able to show different ideas and skills)
3. Have to avoid making it too complex and difficult to understand
4. Have to think about the cost of the app/game

OPPURTUNITIES - 
1. Parents/carers would be willing to spend money on buying the app if they believe it is useful
2. Its helpful for the community
3. Changes in technology can help the designers as it may be easier to create

THREATS - 
1. If there is a game with similar aims
2. Making sure that everything in the brief that the client wants is in the game to an acceptable standard
3. The cost