Which briefing document to use – creative brief or springboard?

Baiba Matisone

This paper explores the differences between a creative brief and a springboard through primary research with advertising professionals.

The one-page creative brief has dominated as the primary briefing document for decades. Recently, more and more creative agencies are starting to use springboards instead of creative briefs. But what is so fresh and different about springboard? To find out, I conducted a study (> 300 respondents from different parts of the world), and it was completed mainly by two professionals – strategists (86%) and creatives (14%). The main research question was – what is the biggest difference between a creative brief and a springboard? To answer this question, let's start by looking at what...

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