The parallels between AI prompting and the creative briefing process explored.

We can’t have been the only ones to see similarities between writing AI prompts and the creative briefing process. Others have certainly seen parallels between the role of prompt engineer and other creative jobtitles. Not long ago, as GPT-4 emerged into the common consciousness, one of our fellow PRCA B2B Group members, Alex Warren, suggested that the term prompt engineer is just another name for copywriter. The resemblance, however, goes beyond creative roles and can be seen between processes: that of writing AI prompts and that of drafting the creative brief that then shapes the entire creative approach and all outputs.

Here’s a collection of tips for ‘How to write a detailed prompt’ along with how these translate into creative briefing:

Tip #1: The order of your text matters.

Translation:

– Prioritise the information/materials you want to communicate.

– Be clear on the project’s priorities and where these sit in relation to those of other projects from the start. This will also help you with project budgeting and internal buy-in.

Tip #2: Add in any missing elements to your prompts.

Translation:

– The more detail (and context) you provide to your creative partner the closer the result will be to what you want, even if you don’t know precisely what that looks like at the outset.

Tip #3: Be thoughtful of text placement and the positioning of any description to avoid confusing the AI tool.

Translation:

– Ensure you have given your creative team/partner all of the necessary information and this is logically ordered so that they can interpret it successfully.

– Check that your approach will make sense to your intended audience.

Tip #4: Examine all angles from 3/4 view to overhead when prompting the AI tool on how to present the visual.

Translation:

– Give direction on the intended use.

– Advise on the different perspectives/viewpoints that need to be considered.

Tip #5: Use colourful language.

Translation:

– No, not that type of colourful language, cheeky!

– Beyond any brand guideline considerations, can you provide any direction on the palette that should be used or the mood or experience you wish to create?

Tip #6: Use film or photography language.

Translation:

– Think about the format or output you’re aiming for and the effect you wish to create.

– Bring in relevant references from other fields for a fresh take or to highlight what you want to achieve.

Tip #7: Use commas to compartmentalise meaning.

Translation:

–  Chunk up and organise your thoughts and information: priorities and objectives; information and background; audience; brand guideline considerations; mood and experience; format; sense and success check.

The advent of the ‘Client Whisperer’

Let’s face it, few people like having to brief. Most of us would like to leapfrog this part of any process and just know that someone is on the case, working on the solution. Telepathy would make all the difference to workflow and commercial advantage, particularly when speed is increasingly of the essence.

But, in the absence of reading minds, the next best thing is probably working with a proactive creative partner (aka a Client Whisperer) who intuits what you need, who doesn’t wait to be prompted but will prompt you, smoothing the collaborative process – from ideation, through creation, to final delivery, employing AI tools as appropriate and where they can add real value.

Briefing really doesn’t have to be arduous, though, not if you think about it in terms of prompting.

Sources include: Bridget Johnston at Shutterstock, Mike Taylor, James Phoenix, LinkedIn, General Assembly, Udemy