Picture this, you are writing the scripts for a course on an Introduction to Generative AI for Business Leaders. You’re working on the module that explains the architecture and training of Large Language Models (LLMs) s and you aren’t quite sure how deep you want to delve into the concepts of unsupervised learning and self-attention mechanisms. After all, this course is for business leaders and not computer scientists. Wouldn’t it be amazing if in those times of uncertainty you had a guide to reference to help determine what level of content would truly benefit your learner?
Here’s another common scenario; you are racing to launch your course on time and you need to bring in some outside help to meet your deadline. They might be instructional designers or maybe a subject matter expert, or a writer. How do you ensure that this new stakeholder truly understands your learner’s fears, desires, and goals? How would they know the right tone to capture in the course content?
What is a Creative Brief?
A Creative Brief is a short document (1-3 pages) that captures the 10,000-foot view of your course and is shared with anyone who has a stake in its creation and launch. The actual creation of the Creative Brief occurs after you’ve been able to identify the 5 Pillars of Content and the overall course narrative. A strong brief includes both the course’s business and creative objectives, the 5 Pillars of Content, and the overall tone/energy of the course. Ultimately the Creative Brief provides all stakeholders with the WHY. Why are you making this course and why is the content important to both the learner and the organization.
What is the purpose of the Creative Brief?
At Edios, we’ve produced well over 100 courses and we have an approved Creative Brief for each and every single one of them. Notice that I said “approved.” We work hard to align the client’s vision of the course at the earliest stages of development and that starts with this brief. Only after the Brief is approved and locked do we move onto the outline/syllabus, and then scripting, into production, editing, etc…until the course is launched and live.
It is worth repeating: we never move forward on additional development until the Creative Brief is approved and locked by all the relevant stakeholders. It is essential that all the stakeholders are aligned on the vision of the course throughout each stage, and any changes must be re-approved.
Why is this important? Can you imagine if we deliver a rough cut of a video lesson to our client and they respond, “This is nothing like I imagined it would be!” This is a video production agency’s worst nightmare. And there are so many moving pieces in the creation of a video-based online course, that wholesale changes in the production or editing phase will likely translate to a ballooning budget and missed deadlines.
Who should receive the approved Creative Brief?
That’s easy: every single stakeholder connected to the course. This generally includes cross-divisional teams such as legal and marketing, but it also includes any internal or external individuals who work on the course. Think of subject matter experts, copywriters, instructional designers, production team (director, audio engineer, etc,), editors, animation and motion graphic designers, and more.
The Creative Brief isn’t only a powerful tool to ensure all of your stakeholders remain aligned on the overall vision of your course. You can also use the approved copy from your brief when drafting the course intros and outros. Use the Brief when writing the relevant course metadata on your LMS or creating outreach materials for your marketing efforts.
So take the time in the early stages of course development to draft and lock your brief so you have your own North Star to guide your course from ideation to execution.
Coming up next: The Show Flow