A practical brief for a commercial director: audience, message, deliverables and approvals for a campaign in Qatar or internationally.
A commercial brief can be forty slides long and still leave the director guessing. The missing information is usually simple: who needs to do what differently after watching this film?
When a brand or agency sends me a campaign in Qatar, that is the question I want to settle before discussing cameras, casting or locations. A reference film can show me what you like. It cannot tell me what your audience needs.
Start with the decision, then the message
“Raise awareness” describes almost every advertisement ever commissioned. Give it an object. Awareness of a new route, a new product, a different service, or a change in how the brand should be perceived? Those are different films.
Write down the audience, the action you want, and the one thing that might stop that action. If people already know the product but do not trust it, explaining its features again may be a very expensive detour.
Then separate the main message from the supporting information. Not every approved sentence needs to become a spoken sentence.
Tell me where the film has to work
A cinema audience and someone scrolling on a phone do not offer the same attention. List the actual deliverables: main film, cutdowns, vertical versions, language versions and stills. Say which one matters most.
For a campaign reaching audiences in Qatar, explain who those audiences are rather than treating the country as one uniform viewer. Language, familiarity with the brand and the context in which someone sees the work all affect how quickly a story has to explain itself. Share the brand's approved language and cultural review process early.
This is also where the practical facts belong: launch date, production window, talent availability, access restrictions and the person who approves the final work. A deadline without an approval path is a wish with a date attached.
Use references to explain a choice
Send a few references with a sentence beside each. Is it the humour, the performance, the pace, the lighting or the way the product appears? Without that sentence, a director may faithfully reproduce the part you were not interested in.
Include what you want to avoid. “No corporate voiceover” is useful. “Make it cinematic” still leaves a lot to discuss.
The brief I can act on
Before sending it, check that the document answers five questions: what changes for the audience, what must be communicated, what must be delivered, what is fixed, and what is open to interpretation.
You do not need to solve the film before inviting a director in. Leave room for a response. You do need to give that response something solid to work against.
If you are preparing a commercial campaign in Qatar or elsewhere, send me the brief. A clear question is a useful place to start.
- Directing
- Practical