I have been reading an excellent piece of research jointly done by the IPA, ISBA, MCCA and PRCA entitled 'The client brief - a best practice guide to briefing communications agencies'.

Well worth a read, even if it is 40 pages long. Key bits I liked:

82% of clients believe that briefs should focus on making sure the business problem is properly defined.

55% of clients agreed that the brief being worked on is often changed once the project has started.

'The main difference between a good brief and a bad brief is that a good brief leaves you with a clear understanding of what you are trying to do. Bad briefs drown you in contradictory information and objectives.'

'Ultimately, the point of communication is to get people to do things... Which people? What things?.. You've got the basis of the brief right there. Everything else is detail'.

I like this last point. How much of what we put in our briefs is just detail?