SEO & Digital Marketing

How To Write An Agency Brief Document For Marketing

Published

9 months ago

December 21, 2023

Writing a digital agency brief for marketing is an extremely difficult task because you must find words that will describe exactly what you want to get.

Formulating your thoughts and ideas is hard at the best of times, and it gets even harder when working with concepts you aren’t a professional at.

You’ll have to do quite a bit of research into marketing and study several samples so that you know how to write a brief document that will help hire the best digital marketing agencies for your business.

Before you dive into writing that agency brief, prep yourself with the key questions we listed below! Once you’ve got the hang of it, check out our handy agency brief template to jumpstart your masterpiece.

Understanding the Agency Brief: Purpose and Impact

An agency brief is a critical document that succinctly outlines the goals, objectives, and details of a marketing project for an agency. Its purpose is to ensure clear communication, aligning your needs with the agency’s approach. A well-written brief leads to effective and efficient project execution, fostering creativity within defined boundaries, and often results in targeted, successful marketing campaigns. On the other hand, a poorly crafted brief can lead to misunderstandings, misaligned goals, wasted resources, and a final product that doesn’t meet the client’s expectations.

Key Points to Write an Agency Brief

The following questions will guide you and explain what information must be included in the agency briefing:

What is your purpose with your marketing brief?
What is your target audience?
What is the problem?
What is your suggested solution to the agency?
What is your brand message and how do you want to communicate your message?
What do you want your customers to do?
What are the project’s must-have?

What is your purpose with your marketing brief?

Start with outlining your specific goal or the problem you want to solve by hiring the agency. State it explicitly to prevent any misunderstandings.

By presenting it at the beginning of the brief, you’ll allow the readers to understand what they must do right away and help them focus on finding a solution.

You must also provide detailed background information about your company, products and services.

What is your target audience?

Describe the customer group you are targeting with your products and services in detail. You must know who these people are, where they are located, and what they are interested in.

You can get a better understanding of your audience by using various surveys and polls. SurveyMonkey can help you conduct marketing research on your own.

You can also use tools like Think with Google Marketer’s Almanac, Nielsen MyBestSegments, and MakeMyPersona tools to study the market and develop your targeted customer profile.

What is the problem exactly?

Your goals, business details, and targeted audience provide the ‘setting’ that the agency must understand to develop the best way of achieving your current marketing objectives.

You can help them focus further by describing what kind of problem your customers have that you aim to solve with your products and services.

What is your solution?

Go into more details regarding your product and explain how exactly it can be used to solve the problem. You must also tell the agency which features of the product the customers should find most appealing. You can find many digital marketing agency brief templates online but you should create a unique brief that includes exactly your needs.

what is the marketing solution at agency brief document

What is your brand message?

‘Just Do It’ by Nike and ‘Impossible is nothing’ by Adidas are brand messages so effective, they’ve become legendary in the business. These short messages are incredibly motivated and evoke strong emotions, and that’s what you should aim to do with your own marketing campaign.

Create a brand message that would make people care about your product and compel them to buy. It must be short and simple to understand for any customer.

You also need to choose a message that resonates with your specific audience. Run a survey to see what kinds of phrases generate a stronger emotional reaction.

How do you want to communicate your message?

List the marketing channels you want to focus on (social media, search engine marketing, display advertising, podcasts, etc.) based on your audience survey. Ask your digital agency if they have the tools and experience necessary to launch your campaign through these specific channels.

Request some proof to see how they’ve handled these projects in the past.

What do you want your customers to do?

Take a look at how Netflix and Evernote handle CTAs (call to action) and use them for inspiration when designing your own.

Your brief document must explain what exactly you want to get your customers do so that the agency can come up with an effective and creative way of wording it for your campaign.

What kind of an emotional response do you want to evoke in buyers?

Emotional marketing rules the day because it generates maximum feedback. In fact, evoking strong emotions is the key to making content go viral.

You’ll need to explain how you want your customers to feel after they buy a product or use your service. Aim for providing them with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Social campaigns, such as #ShareYourEars by Disney or Mini Miracles by WestJet have it nailed perfectly, so you can use them for inspiration.

How will you see that your goal is achieved with your marketing brief?

Now, you need to outline how you will determine whether your marketing campaign is working.

This means listing KPIs that are most relevant to your business, like sales, revenue, customer value, cost per lead, traffic-to-lead ratio, etc. This will show the agency where to focus their efforts. Most of the companies forget to add KPIs to their marketing briefs. Then it becomes harder to analyze the success.

What are the project’s must have?

Provide a list of all the things that are ‘non-negotiable’ for you. At the very least it should include:

• Budget
• Logo
• Tagline
• Brand signature signs, music, images, etc.
• Approval process
• Timeline

If you have any other special requests, such as specific colors or style to use, etc., you’ll need to list them as well. The more thorough you are when describing the mandatory details, the easier it would be for the agency to develop a plan that would satisfy you.

For example, you can use this method to write a social media brief. You should list your non-negotiable bullet points first. Then analyze what you need for them.

What is your competition?

Every market is competitive today, but you need to outline which brands in your niche, you see as your main opponents. The agency would use this information to assess their marketing campaigns and use their weaknesses to enhance yours.

If you have any ideas regarding what you want to target specifically, explain them in the brief document. You also need to provide detailed information regarding how your products and services are different from those offered by competitors.

Take a look at the video below to understand how a marketing agency highlights the key things that clients should consider when briefing them.

How do you offer to achieve all of the above?

This is the question you should ask for the agency and assess their answer to decide whether they are the right company for you. However, you should also offer some of your own ideas in the brief.

As always it remains imperative to understand the basics of marketing and point of view from both parties along with the value each side wants.

Make your agency brief clear and to the point

To ensure your agency brief or marketing brief document is effective, you must make it concise and focused. Forego pleasantries and state your wishes and requirements in clear terms to prevent any misunderstandings.

A clear brief will save time and money. There will be less confusion and fewer disagreements.

A result driven, customer focused True Agency helps their potential clients with a specific page asking a brief description of their project. In addition, they also share the details of the services that can be provided regarding clients’ needs.

The Ultimate Agency Brief Template

Project Overview

What’s the Big Idea?: Share what this project is all about.
Goals: What do we want to achieve?

Target Audience

Who Are We Talking To?: Describe who will love what you’re offering.
Their Needs: What are they looking for?

Brand Overview

Our Story: A snapshot of your company.
What Makes Us Special: Your brand’s unique touch.

Budget

Numbers Talk: Your budget ballpark.
Flexible or Fixed?: Any spending limits?

Timeframe

Ready, Set, Go!: When do we start?
Big Dates: Important milestones.

Key Messaging

What We’re Saying: Your main message.
Our Voice: How we sound.

Creative Guidelines

Stay on Brand: Guidelines to keep us in line.
Look and Feel: The visual vibe.

Success Metrics

Measuring Success: How we’ll know we’ve nailed it.
Outcomes We Love: What winning looks like.

Special Requirements

The Must-Haves: Non-negotiables and essentials.
Legal Check: Keeping it compliant.

Every business is specific, even when we talk about the same industry or the same type of products or services. Remember, it all starts with you. Use that thing that differs you from others and find the right people to help you present yourself and your unique brand.

Read it over a few times to make sure you haven’t missed anything. With a detailed brief like this, the agency would be able to develop an effective plan to achieve your specific goals.

Once you’ve delivered the brief and everyone is on the same page, let your agency do its thing. It’s obvious that agencies would be happy to help you with your projects, as long as the brief is clear and covers all the things you aim to reflect in your marketing strategy.

But it doesn’t end there. Ask for feedback, organize a meeting. When you have a good brief it doesn’t mean it’s all over, the brief is just an initial phase of the whole process. Good luck!

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SEO & Digital Marketing

The New Creative Hub: Dubai’s Agency Scene Evolves

Published

37 mins ago

September 20, 2024

Josh Kuku

We bet that, recently, at least one of your friends visited Dubai for a reason. Why are we hearing so much about Dubai these days—not only for its tourist aspect but also for digital marketing initiatives?

We will find out why Dubai is now a new digital marketing hotspot in this blog post – career opportunities and digital marketing agencies in Dubai.

Keep reading.

Key Takeaways

Dubai offers a sizable market to companies looking to increase their online presence.
Because businesses in Dubai are eager to take advantage of online platforms, digital marketing is one of the most in-demand skills in the job market.
Marketers predict that Dubai’s digital marketing ecosystem will continue to grow quickly in the coming years.
For professionals, agency owners, and brands, Dubai offers a plethora of opportunities in the digital marketing space.

What’s Inside?

An Overview of Dubai’s Digital Marketing Atmosphere

In recent years, Dubai has solidified its status as a hub for digital innovation, offering businesses a dynamic environment for marketing success. With widespread access to the latest tech and a business population that relies on the internet, the city presents unparalleled opportunities for brands to connect with their target audiences.

Dubai is a digital-first city. It is equipped with affordable high-speed internet, and almost all of its population uses smartphones. This makes effective digital marketing services in Dubai a foremost concern for businesses.

According to research on why Dubai is an attractive area for international business, Dubai has radically changed over the last thirty years.

It has become a major business state with a sustainable and branched-out economy. Especially over the last ten years, Dubai has noticed enormous economic development as a result of urban development that converted the uninhabited desert of Dubai into a commercial, residential, economic, and tourist state.

Additionally, it is well known that Dubai boasts a massive international trade network that spans nearly 180 states worldwide, offering investors many options for international marketing channels to promote a diverse range of products and services. Hong Kong and Singapore are the two largest export and reexport hubs globally, with Dubai coming in third.

Of course, the city also gains from all kinds of marketing efforts & channels, including digital marketing, as new businesses, investors, and clients come on board. So much so that recent research has shown that a wide range of industries in the United Arab Emirates profit from digital marketing, and they use related tactics to influence business profitability by raising brand awareness, driving more traffic to websites, and generating leads.

Given these factors, effective digital marketing has become a priority for companies looking to thrive in this fast-paced market. This has led to an evolution in Dubai’s agency scene, where creative strategies and cutting-edge solutions are reshaping how businesses approach their online presence.

Digital Marketing Agencies in the UAE Worth It?

Let us continue with one of the most common questions people ask on the internet about the digital marketing ecosystem of Dubai. The answer is a resounding yes. In a market as competitive and digitally driven as the UAE, partnering with a digital marketing agency can make a significant difference.

According to our Exclusive Q&A with Sacha Christe, CEO of Emirates Graphic, digital marketing agencies in Dubai are especially worth working with.

In the said Q&A, Christie states that Dubai’s multicultural audience is indeed a “unique challenge and opportunity” at the same time. To tailor digital marketing strategies effectively, digital agencies conduct thorough market research to understand cultural nuances, language preferences, and consumer behaviors. And finally, they create content and campaigns that resonate with various cultural groups while ensuring sensitivity and respect for diversity. He adds:

Dubai’s business-friendly regulatory environment fosters innovation and attracts agencies and businesses to operate and expand in the region. It provides a stable and conducive platform for growth, which is advantageous for agencies like Emirates Graphic.

What’s more, it seems that in the next few years, marketers anticipate Dubai’s digital marketing ecosystem to continue evolving rapidly:

Brands should stay ahead by embracing emerging technologies, staying updated on local trends, and collaborating with innovative agencies. It’s crucial to remain flexible and adapt to changing consumer preferences.

Dubai for Working Professionals (Scope of Digital Marketing in Dubai)

As we mentioned earlier, Dubai has quickly become a magnet for working professionals, particularly in the digital marketing sector. With its thriving economy and constant push toward digital transformation, the city offers endless opportunities for those looking to build or expand their careers. Digital marketing is one of the most in-demand skills in the job market because businesses in Dubai are eager to take advantage of online platforms.

From social media management and content creation to SEO, professionals can find a diverse range of roles within digital marketing agencies and in-house corporate teams. With Dubai’s commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancements and its large consumer base, there is always a need for innovative marketing strategies. For digital marketers, this city offers a dynamic work environment and the chance to work on projects that shape global perceptions.

DAN-member agencies like Crowd are playing a crucial role in promoting Dubai as a prime destination for business. As a creative agency, Crowd has actively worked on campaigns showcasing the city’s potential to global audiences, emphasizing its business-friendly environment and advanced digital infrastructure. This is just one example of how digital marketing professionals in Dubai can be part of projects that have a global impact, helping position the city as a leading business hub.

Let us wrap up that section with two thoughtful responses to the query, “Is it hard to find a job in digital marketing or SEO in Dubai?“

Dubai for Agency Owners

For agency owners in Dubai, several digital marketing domains present lucrative opportunities. With a significant portion of the population active on social media, social media advertising is a leading domain.

According to Statista, social media ad spending in the UAE is expected to reach approximately $388.40 million in 2024, indicating a high demand for agencies specializing in targeted campaigns on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

SEO and content marketing are also crucial due to the competitive business environment. Brands seek agencies that can optimize their online presence, driving organic traffic and brand visibility.

Influencer marketing is another domain thriving in Dubai. The city’s diverse culture and global appeal make it a hotspot for influencers, and agencies that can connect brands with the right influencers are in high demand.

Paid advertising through PPC campaigns remains a key strategy. Digital ad spending in the UAE continues to grow, with businesses looking to agencies for data-driven strategies that maximize their ROI.

These popular domains offer agency owners a chance to diversify their services and cater to Dubai’s dynamic market, allowing them to position themselves as industry leaders.

Here are some hints as to why Dubai’s digital marketing sector is expanding, in case you decide to establish your agency there:

Dubai for Brands & Businesses

With digital advertising in the UAE projected to reach $1.48 billion by 2028, Dubai presents a vast marketplace for brands seeking to expand their digital footprint. This environment provides brands with the tools they need to drive growth and build a strong online presence.

Additionally, as a part of Dubai’s marketing ecosystem, brands and companies have many opportunities to collaborate with excellent, locally focused digital marketing agencies, such as WGG Digital Marketing Agency, a DAN member.

We live in Dubai; we work in Dubai; we know how to work with digital marketing to grow your business in this city.

WGG has established itself as one of the leading agencies in the UAE. For us, each campaign is not just numbers but also a representation of the vibrant life of Dubai and the UAE. With a team versed in the latest digital trends and tools, we offer a panoramic view of modern marketing. In the ever-changing digital marketing in the UAE, WGG is the most adaptive and evolving agency.”

According to the statement on their website, WGG begins each project “by diving deep into Dubai’s online market. It’s paramount for us to understand the digital platforms that have the most traction in the region.” Also, they are “committed to grasping the digital habits of both locals and the expatriate community, ensuring our campaigns cater to each distinct audience segment.”

Dubai’s digital marketing landscape is rich with opportunities for professionals, agency owners, and brands. With a tech-savvy population and a booming digital advertising market, the city offers a dynamic environment for growth.

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SEO & Digital Marketing

Agile Development Methodologies

Published

2 hours ago

September 20, 2024

Josh Kuku

Agile development methodologies have become essential for software product development. Agile frameworks help teams adapt quickly to changing requirements and deliver high-quality software efficiently.

In this post, we’ll explore three key Agile methodologies—Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming (XP)—and their applications in the world of software development, especially within digital agencies.

Overview of Agile Development

Agile development is a set of principles that prioritizes iterative progress, customer collaboration, and flexibility. Unlike traditional methodologies that often follow a linear process, Agile embraces change and encourages continuous improvement. For digital agencies, Agile methodologies offer numerous benefits, including faster delivery times, improved responsiveness to client needs, and enhanced product quality. These benefits are particularly valuable for agencies providing software product development, as they enable more efficient and effective management of complex projects.

Scrum Methodology

Definition & Key Features

Scrum is an Agile framework that focuses on delivering incremental value through short, time-boxed iterations called sprints. The Scrum team consists of three key roles:

Scrum Master: Facilitates the Scrum process and removes impediments.
Product Owner: Represents the client’s interests and manages the product backlog.
Development Team: Self-organizes to deliver the product increment.

Core practices include:

Sprints: Typically 2-4 weeks long, where a specific set of features is developed.
Sprint Planning: The team plans the work to be done in the sprint.
Daily Stand-ups: Brief meetings to discuss progress and obstacles.
Sprint Review: A review of the completed work with stakeholders.
Sprint Retrospective: A reflection on the sprint to improve future performance.

Advantages of Scrum in Software Product Development

Scrum enhances teamwork and transparency, providing better predictability and allowing teams to adapt quickly to changes. It is particularly effective for projects with evolving requirements and multiple stakeholders.

Real-World Applications

Digital agencies often use Scrum to manage complex projects and client requests. For example, a marketing agency might use Scrum to handle various client campaigns, ensuring each campaign is delivered in increments and adjusted based on client feedback.

How Agencies Can Implement Scrum

To adopt Scrum, agencies should start by training their teams on Scrum principles and practices. Tools like Jira or Trello can facilitate Scrum processes, helping teams manage backlogs and track progress.

Kanban Methodology

Definition & Key Features

Kanban is a visual system that emphasizes continuous delivery and workflow efficiency. The core concepts include:

Kanban Board: Visual representation of work items with columns representing different stages of the process.
WIP Limits: Limits on the number of tasks in each stage to prevent bottlenecks.
Continuous Flow: Work items move through the process without fixed iterations.

Advantages of Kanban in Software Product Development

Kanban provides a clear view of workflow and progress, helps identify and address bottlenecks, and allows teams to respond to changing priorities without rigid sprints.

Real-World Applications

Kanban is ideal for agencies with dynamic project requirements. For instance, a web development agency might use Kanban to manage tasks across multiple projects, ensuring efficient resource allocation and quick response to new client needs.

How Agencies Can Implement Kanban

Agencies can start by setting up a Kanban board to visualize work items and establish WIP limits. Tools like Kanbanize and Monday.com can support Kanban implementation, making it easier to manage workflows and track progress.

Extreme Programming (XP)

Definition & Key Features

Extreme Programming (XP) is an Agile methodology focused on engineering practices and customer satisfaction. Key practices include:

Pair Programming: Two developers work together on the same code to improve quality and collaboration.
Test-Driven Development (TDD): Writing tests before coding to ensure functionality and reduce bugs.
Continuous Integration: Regularly integrating code changes to detect issues early.
Refactoring: Continuously improving code to enhance performance and maintainability.

Advantages of XP in Software Product Development

XP promotes high-quality code and rapid feedback, resulting in better software quality and faster development cycles. It is particularly beneficial for projects with complex requirements and high stakes.

Real-World Applications

Digital agencies focusing on high-quality software or custom solutions can benefit from XP. For example, a software development agency working on a new app might use XP practices to ensure the codebase is robust and adaptable to client feedback.

How Agencies Can Implement XP

Agencies can introduce XP practices by starting with pair programming and adopting TDD. Tools like Jenkins for continuous integration and various refactoring tools can support XP practices in daily development activities..

Conclusion

Agile methodologies—Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming—offer unique benefits for software development and digital agencies. By understanding these frameworks and their applications, agencies can enhance their project management processes, improve collaboration, and deliver high-quality results.

Explore these methodologies to find the best fit for your agency’s needs and drive success in your software development projects.

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SEO & Digital Marketing

How Bot Traffic Is Impacting Digital Marketing?

Published

21 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Josh Kuku

Online bot traffic is increasing every year. This is having a marked impact on digital marketing campaigns. In this article, we discuss how bot traffic is interfering with your digital marketing exercises.

Gone are the days when you could feel happy about the growing numbers of visitors to a website. It is now estimated that almost 50% of internet traffic is dominated by software applications known as bots. They can be created to help you, but others can be created with ill intent. The bad news is that none of them will buy products or sign up for your services, meaning they can seriously hinder marketing campaigns. In the article below, we discuss how bot traffic is impacting digital marketing.

It’s a Robots World With Increasing Bot Traffic Online

A recent report by cyber security company Thales discovered that online malicious traffic has risen for a fifth consecutive year. The applications used to carry out these attacks, known as bots, now make up around 32% of all internet traffic. However, they also found that 49.6% of internet traffic is no longer human, but derived from bot activity.

A bot is an application used online. Generally, it is programmed to perform a repetitive task. Many of them come in very handy, helping crawl websites to see what they contain or even assisting in customer service chatbots. Yet many are malicious and are used to deploy malware attacks that can steal data and harm websites.

In addition to this, as a digital marketer, some bots that exist in grey areas you should be aware of. These include ones that inflate social media statistics.

Checking for Bot Traffic on Your Website

If you are running a digital marketing campaign, hoping to direct quality traffic to a website, you need to know how much of this is bot traffic. Once you remove bot traffic from your statistics, you can get quality data about what is and is not working.

You don’t need to pay for an advanced subscription program either. A free tool to check website traffic will suffice, providing you with information on traffic stats, any referring domains, and the top search ads. You can then upgrade if you need more functionality. By combining the results with the pointers below, you can help pinpoint bot traffic and remove it from your key performance indicators.

Analyze Page Views

One way to tell if you have bot traffic is to check your page views. An unexpected spike could mean you have been the target of bot traffic. However, it could also be a genuine interest in the page, so check where the traffic originates.

Referral Traffic

Referral traffic is a good place to look for bot activity. Bots can create fake referrals to get people to visit their websites.

Time on Page

This is a technique you can use by looking at your own on-site statistics. Start by checking your bounce rate. Bots won’t hang around looking at products, watching videos and reading news, so a high bounce rate can indicate traffic is coming and leaving fast, the key sign of bot activity. This can also be seen in pages with a low on-page time.

Check Where the Traffic Originates From

Bot traffic usually comes direct. Very seldom will it come from a search engine. If you are getting traffic from strange locations, it may also be bot traffic. For example, if you have an English-language website and most of your traffic comes from China, it is probably bots.

Bot Traffic and Its Damage to Marketing Campaigns

The damage bots cause to digital marketing campaigns comes solely from how they skew your data. Bots will make things look great in one aspect. They can be pushing your social media campaign to thousands of views, or sending streams of traffic to a website. However, it is not real people behind it and that is where bots can make your campaign come undone.

Without a human behind your traffic, you can not get a picture of your audience. Bots have no real location, income, gender, or anything else that can make up a user profile. Therefore, it makes it very hard to tailor landing pages for certain audiences using this data.

They can seriously increase PPC costs. As they scour a page they will click on ads and even fill out forms. With no conversions, you are left paying for worthless ads. If you host the ads, then other people’s marketing will soon see a lack of conversions and go elsewhere.

There are several ways to eliminate bot traffic, or at least cut down on it. Monitoring your traffic closely using a website traffic checker and on-page metrics is one of them. In a marketing campaign, try to switch to results-based payment, not one that tends to pay based on vanity metrics such as clicks or shares. Finally, make sure you vet anyone you work with in campaigns. This includes any affiliates, publishers, or websites you may be getting links from. By using this, you can cut down bot traffic and increase the efficiency of your marketing campaigns.

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