# The Ogilvy DO brief

One page, eleven questions. "Do" is the point: the brief asks what the audience must do as a result of the work, not what they should think or feel about it. Ogilvy's own line on it: a great brief is tight, exact and clear, and still open and inspiring. A brief that asks for "awareness" is a bad brief.

Source: the Ogilvy DO brief as circulated (scribd.com/document/677490621), and Ogilvy Namibia, "Great briefs vs. bad briefs" (ogilvy.com.na/post/great-briefs-vs-bad-briefs).

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## 1. Why is this brief here?

What is the client's business goal for the brand? How do we sell more?

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## 2. Who do we need to influence?

Which customer or market segment offers the best opportunity for growth?

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## 3. What do they need to do as a result of this communication?

"Do" means do. What change in actual behavior are we bringing about?

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## 4. How will the communication achieve this?

A call to action, a desire for information, a shift in perception: which, and how?

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## 5. What do we need to convey?

The core thought that will lead to a highly creative solution. The single-minded proposition.

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## 6. What do they need to know?

The product facts that support the choice.

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## 7. What do they need to feel?

The emotion that makes the choice. Emotional campaigns sell harder.

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## 8. Why should they care?

What is in it for them: something useful, or something worth passing on.

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## 9. How will success be measured?

More buyers, more frequent buying, switching, higher spend per buyer: which?

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## 10. Mandatories

What must appear, and what cannot. The client's non-negotiables.

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## 11. Channels

Where the audience is reached and influenced.

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Other formats on the class page: [the one line](/course/business-of-design/handout/brief-one-line) · [Goodby, Silverstein](/course/business-of-design/handout/brief-goodby) · [Ogilvy DO](/course/business-of-design/handout/brief-ogilvy) · [the design studio's](/course/business-of-design/handout/brief-design-studio) · [Workhorse's](/course/business-of-design/handout/brief-workhorse) · [the course template](/course/business-of-design/handout/creative-brief-template)