The choice is yours: the collaboration between your agency and your client on the latest campaign can either be a pain point or a productive process. It all depends on the briefing process, how you allow your client to get involved and what system you have in place to help manage this communication.

The importance of the creative brief

The brief is a vital part of the project-management process, as it helps you, your team and the client clearly understand the goals and constraints of the campaign. When you get the briefing process right, your agency benefits in a number of ways:

• Saving time and money – a clear brief means fewer revisions and changes at a later stage
• Inspiration – a good brief will get your team thinking out of the box to bring it to life
• A reference point – when reviewing the project at any point, you should always be able to check if it’s reflecting the requirements of the brief

Collaboration with the client is key…but also a lot of work

Naturally, the client will be the one to hand you the brief explaining what they want achieved. The problem here is that, although some clients provide a detailed brief of what they want, many clients only turn in a half-thought-out brief or a confusing concept they’re unable to explain. But because the brief is the foundation of any creative project or campaign, it’s crucial that the client is given more agency to collaborate with the team until the brief is as clear and detailed as it can be.

However, managing a project is a time-consuming and sometimes overwhelming process – having to juggle the expectations and needs of everyone from executive management to the creative team – so, it may seem that going back and forth on emails with the client to gain clarity on a brief might just be asking too much.

This is why every project manager or project lead should be using a management system that not only helps you to track your projects and handle the financial side of things but is also a collaboration tool – designed to help you prioritise your communication with clients and make better strategic decisions about projects.

Using a management system to make your creative workflow, well, flow

Raise your hand if you’ve got more than three apps or programs on your computer or phone that help you to manage various functions of the project. Most project managers end up having one tool for communication purposes, one tool for task-planning, one for document sharing and so on. Most of them don’t have anything to help with the initial briefing process and client collaboration. In a recent poll we took , we found that 67% of those surveyed don’t currently use a software system for briefing.

But imagine you had one system that did it all and, most importantly, allowed you to have better alignment with your clients at the beginning of the project process. You’d no longer have to worry about remembering the login details for the 10 different management programs you’ve been using, but instead would reap the benefits of using the right software, such as being able to:

• streamline projects, people and finance from end to end in one best practice solution designed to help you grow;
• boost productivity and optimise utilisation through better project and resource planning; and
• increase profitability and control costs by scoping accurately, increasing efficiency and reducing delays.

Power your agency’s success with Deltek WorkBook

Built by agency veterans, Deltek WorkBook is a total agency management system that provides best practice solutions to help your agency grow. WorkBook makes it easier to focus on your clients and make strategic decisions for the future by streamlining projects, people and finance from end to end, giving you better control, insight and visibility at any time.

WorkBook’s client portal feature, enables you to:

• Streamline the briefing process between the client and internal teams
• Provide clients with an easy login to the system and determine whether they can create a new brief or just view current briefs
• Give client contacts access to new jobs created by the studio as well as remove client access to jobs that have been closed or cancelled
• Easily liaise with clients, using the cleverly designed customer portal

Want to ensure your project process starts with a clear brief and is streamlined with helpful collaboration with your client?