The creative brief
It is the creative brief that ensures that the results of the strategic planning process inform message execution, and that everyone is on the same page. In fact, all of the key people involved in the planning and execution of an IMC campaign should ideally be part of the development of a creative brief. This would include account executives, planners, and creative from the agency, as well as brand management from the company; or, whatever individuals in comparable positions are involved if the brand is not using a traditional advertising agency. The reason it is so important to include all of those playing a key role in the process is that once completed, the creative brief provides the consensus of how the message will be executed, and the benchmark against which the resulting advertising and promotion will be evaluated.