#034 How to Brief a Creative Team on Scientific Content: A Practical Guide for Scientists, Innovators, and Biotech Founders
- Dr Elisabeth Kugler
- May 28
- 6 min read
Contents
Communicating science clearly and effectively isn’t always easy, but given that funding, investments, and sales depend on how well you communicate, the need for science communication is non-negotiable. This can be made easier by bringing in external creative teams with expertise and experience in how to showcase your science through excellent science communication.
Whether you are applying for European Innovation Council (EIC) funding, planning a public engagement campaign, or preparing a biotech product launch, how well you brief a creative team will determine whether your science communication will be effective (or not).
This guide walks you through the essential steps to briefing a creative team on scientific content so that your end product is accurate, compelling, and strategically aligned with your goals.
Why a Good Brief Matters in Science Communication
A scientific brief is not a manuscript draft. It is a structured blueprint that gives a creative team enough understanding to distil your science without oversimplifying it.
A strong science communication brief:
• prevents time-consuming back-and-forth
• reduces the risk of scientific inaccuracies
• accelerates delivery timelines
• improves visual cohesion and narrative focus
• maximises return on investment for design, marketing, or other deliverables
In competitive funding environments like the EIC, accurate yet engaging communication can be a differentiator. A professional creative team can transform your complex technology into narratives that stakeholders not only understand, but also remember and find engaging.
Step 1: Define the Project Goal and Desired Action
Before sharing datasets, methods, and case studies, clarify why you want to create the asset(s)/campaign and what action you want to achieve.
Examples of clear goals:
• “Explain our AI-powered assay platform to potential investors without loosing the technical details.”
• “Support our EIC Transition proposal with a narrative that shows potential impact and market relevance.”
• “We want to drive traffic to our website to collect leads.”
Avoid vague statements such as:
• “We want people to know what we do.”
• “We need it to look professional.”
Defining a clear goal is important as it allows the creative team to help you develop a science marketing strategy and content that aligns with these goals. For example, if you want to drive traffic to your website, efforts will be different to when you want to improve your investor's pitch (i.e. different media, target audience, and action you want to achieve).
Step 2: Identify the Target Audience
One of the most common briefing gaps is assuming the audience has the same domain knowledge as the scientists. But it’s not just the knowledge, it’s also the tone, level of detail, and terminology that need to be adjusted depending on audience.
Be specific:
• funding reviewers familiar with cellular therapies but not image-based readouts
• biotech executives who understand regulatory signalling pathways but not zebrafish models
• PhD candidates with strong scientific literacy but limited commercial awareness
Answer these three questions for your creative partners:
1. Who exactly are we speaking to?
2. What do they already know?
3. What must they understand after engaging with this content?
Understanding who you talk to ensures that the creative team selects the right metaphors, analogies, and visual language.
Step 3: Distil Your Key Scientific Messages
You may have 10 major discoveries, but even if each one is outstanding, the reality is that your audience will probably remember less than three.
So what is the one key message?
For example:
• “Our approach increases imaging throughput 10-fold without compromising resolution.”
• “This platform predicts treatment response earlier than current industry standards, and therefore reduces mortality.”
If you have multiple key messages, order them with priority, always starting with the “key message”. The creative team will take the “key message” as a North Star to anchor the story and integrate supporting detail.
Step 4: Supply Context, Not Just Data
Context enables creatives to understand why your message matters. This does not only mean “what’s the challenge” and “what's the solution”, but also, “why should people care”.
Think about Dragon’s Den, a TV series where startups pitch to investors to gain investment, networks, and mentoring. The most successful pitches are not just absolutely clear, but they also contain a story.
• Simplicity and Storytelling: how the product came to be
• Drama + Emotion = Impact
• “Skin in the Game” Pressure: e.g. “I invested all my savings into this”
• Real-Time Negotiation
• Bring the product / make it tangible
• Investor-Centric Framing
• Live Offer Dynamics
In life sciences and biotech, you can support this with data, but don’t make the data the main message. Contextualise your work and add information around:
• unmet need or problem statement
• positioning relative to existing solutions
• implications for patients, end users, or technology pipelines
• emergence path from fundamental research to commercialisation
• why now? why this? why you?
Step 5: Provide Reference Materials and Constraints
Scientific accuracy sits at the core of any scientific communication. But even though you may live and breathe your science 24/7, others don’t (I know, how dare they!). So this means that you have to provide knowledge, content, and context that others can use to create streamlined communication.
Anything you can share, you should share.
• peer-reviewed publications
• conference abstracts
• regulatory summaries
• internal technical slide decks (especially these, as we can learn what is important to you and other team members)
• competitor landscapes
• approved language or restricted terminology (e.g. competitor differentiation, domain jargon, etc.)
Also clarify constraints:
• claims that must not be made (e.g. competitor differentiation)
• embargoed results
• language/cultural sensitivities (which falls into – know your audience. Where are they and what (scientific) language do they speak)
• mandatory regulatory statements
The clearer the guardrails, the safer and faster the delivery!
(Don’t suddenly share materials 3 weeks into the project.. )
Step 6: Specify Format, Timeline, and Success Metrics
Creative teams excel with structure.
Define deliverables early to avoid scope creep.
Examples:
• 3-minute animated explainer video for fundraising pitches
• landing page copy plus three social assets to support a training programme
• whitepaper visual overhaul aligned with institutional branding
• EIC proposal narrative refining scientific clarity and innovation messaging
Timelines matter. Scientific communication projects often involve iterative review, especially where scientific accuracy is critical, when teams haven’t worked together before, or if multiple levels of sign-off are needed.
To avoid delays, build feedback stages and buffer times into the schedule. For example, working internationally, bank holidays may fall on different days or time zone differences mean delayed action.
Similarly, define what success looks like. Just because something seems “clear” or “obvious” to you doesn’t mean it’s the same for others.
Success metrics could include:
• page views and conversions
• training registrations
• investor engagement or follow-up calls
• number of leads
Success is easier to measure when it is defined upfront.
Step 7: Maintain Collaborative Review and Rapid Feedback Cycles
The best outcomes emerge from collaboration, not content handovers. Scientists ensure accuracy; creatives ensure comprehension. Make sure you schedule time for regular check-ins to make sure everyone is informed and on the same page.
If asking for feedback, keep the review focused and time-bound. For example, ask for a text review in the next week.
Useful guidance:
• comment on scientific accuracy or company strategy, not personal style (yes, there is a question of taste, but companies should have a style guide that overrides personal taste)
• avoid rewriting (check in early and often!)
• flag mandatory terminology, then allow narrative smoothing
• give unified feedback, not individual reviewer comments that conflict with each other
A single scientific contact point helps streamline review and prevents contradictory instructions, but if there are multiple people involved in the sign-off, make sure to communicate this early and clearly. If needed, multiple people can be involved in meetings (but think “what’s the minimum number of people needed to make decisions” rather than “who else could join”).
Bonus Step: A Note on Timelines
You wouldn’d believe the stories we could tell you about timelines.
Suffice to say, DON’T WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE.
Getting to know you, the company, the product/service, your values, your style of working, your decision-making, and your preferences takes time.
Backend admin and overhead take time.
Creating compelling science marketing and communication takes time, and creativity flourishes with time, but diminishes under pressure.
So PLEASE do not leave your science marketing to the last minute when you are ready to launch. Contact us, or anyone supporting your science marketing, as early as possible.
Final Checklist
Before starting, ensure you have provided:
• goal, purpose, and desired action
• audience definition
• 3-5 key scientific messages
• core context, impact, and relevance
• reference materials and constraints
• required formats, deadlines, and metrics
• a named scientific point of contact or decision maker
• review stages and expectations
Ready for the Next Steps of Science Communication?
If you want your science to resonate with customers, reviewers, investors, or partners, a structured creative brief is the first step.
Zeeks works with scientists, universities, biotech startups, and EIC beneficiaries across the UK and EMEA to transform complex science into communication that drives action.
If you need support refining your brief, training your research teams, or outsourcing delivery, contact us to discuss how we can help.
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