You’ve put a lot of thought, effort and expense into your event. Whether it be a trade show, product launch, sporting event, street marketing campaign or in store sampling, you want to get the most out of your hard work. You’ve taken the right step engaging a promotional agency; the perfect promo talent are excited to get out there and connect your brand with your consumers. The perfect brief is much more than the date time and location, it’s critical to put together a detailed and thoughtful brief to help professional promo talent go above and beyond in helping you reach (and exceed) campaign goals. The more background they have the better.
We like to follow the five W’s of journalists and investigators. “WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW.” Brief like a detective.
Who? Share your brand story
Background information is incredibly important for our talent to get a good feel for your business. Consumers have a habit of asking promotional people more details about your brand. “How long have you been operating?” “Who is the founder?” There’s nothing worse than being put on the spot and having to skirt around brand questions. A brief history and overview will help our promotional people tell your story, and give them confidence in their knowledge of your brand. They are representing you and we know how important that is. Any entertaining (not salesy) tales you can pass on, please do. Eg. “We began selling artwork out of a corner of our garage.” Our pool of promotional people will enjoy engaging on a deeper level with your consumers.
Please also outline who the talent will be working with, and reporting to on the day, and their roles within your company.
Define your target audience
If your product or service relates to fishing, there’s probably not much value in chasing down little old ladies. While people often want our promo people to pitch to as many people as possible, you’ll get more qualified leads if they can spend more time with your ideal and most likely customers. And they’re experts at spotting your buyers in a crowd. Let our promo people build that customer relationship on your behalf.
What? Let us know your requirements and campaign goals
- Distribute 1,000 flyers with a unique code
- Encourage people to visit the website to see if they’ve won a prize
- Casually tell (show) consumers about the prize (product)
- We are trying to build brand awareness and traffic to the site
- We want consumers to click through to learn more about the product
- We want to entertain and encourage people to subscribe to our mailing list for re-targeting
Detail any additional items you’d like your promotional people to help with. Packing up the stall at the end of the show, washing dishes or glassware after service. Advise if there’s anything the talent need to bring with them. No detail is too small to ensure your event is perfect.
When? Provide promo people with a program or run sheet
Having everyone on the same page is an important step in ensuring a successful event. Further to the arrival time, please detail as much information of the event as possible. Arrivals, entertainment, speeches, or catering – every detail will help your talent prepare. Whether breaks will be scheduled, whether catering will be provided for the people, what time their shift/s will finish, and who they report to at the end. We want our promo people to operate smoothly, so you don’t have to worry.
Where? As much direction as possible.
Where is the event being held? The entrance you’d like the promo people to use. Where can we find you on the day? Where would you like them during the event? Stay within the booth or roam the trade show floor? Can service people perform other promotional duties during down times in their initial task. Make every minute count.
Why? Set success measurements
What is your desired outcome? What results will make you high-five when the day comes to an end? Explain the purpose of your promotion. The more we know about your objectives, the better. If the objective is to simply ‘hand out 1,000 flyers’ that’s a little uninspiring. We want to know why you’re distributing the flyers, what you’re hoping to achieve, and how we can help you get there. Giving the talent an objective allows them to work towards your goals.
How? How do you want your brand to be perceived?
How would you like your brand to be presented? Be clear about the brand message you would like to portray, and how the promo people should interact with your customers. Set the tone. Is it casual or formal? Is it loud or gentle, is it friendly or corporate? Selling, introducing, demonstrating…they can do it all with a great brief.
How should the talent present? Hair up/out? Males clean shaven? What are they to wear? If in uniform – how, and when will they receive their costume or clothing?
That should do it.
It’s safe to say we prefer a brief that is anything but brief. It might seem a little overkill; but our promotional people are true professionals, it’s more than a job, it’s a craft. The more comprehensive their instruction, the more they will drive amazing results for our clients with confidence – and make it look effortless. Good luck and happy briefing!