How to write a creative brief that gets better work

The quality of creative work depends heavily on the brief it starts from. A vague brief leads to safe ideas and long feedback cycles. A clear one gives creative people something to push against.

What a creative brief is

A creative brief is a short document that explains what a piece of creative work needs to achieve and the constraints it must work within. It is the shared starting point for everyone who works on it, inside or outside your business.

What to include

1. Background. The situation in a few lines: what is happening in the business or market that makes this work necessary.
2. Objective. One thing the work must do. If you list five objectives, you have none.
3. Audience. Be specific about who they are, what they care about and what they currently think or do. A real person is easier to write for than "adults 25 to 45".
4. Insight. Something true about the audience that the idea can build on.
5. Main message. The one thing you want them to take away, in a single sentence.
6. Reason to believe. The proof that makes the message credible.
7. Tone. How it should feel, with examples of what to avoid.
8. Mandatories. Logos, legal lines, product names, required links.
9. Formats and channels. Where it will appear and in what shapes and sizes.
10. Budget, timeline and approvers. Practical limits and who decides.
11. How success will be judged. The measure you will look at afterwards.

Keep it to one page

If it takes more than a page, the thinking is probably not finished. Longer background material can be attached separately. The brief itself should be quick to read and easy to remember.

Common mistakes

• Several objectives competing with each other
• An audience of "everyone"
• Asking for a style instead of describing a problem
• Leaving out the budget and deadline, then being surprised
• Changing the brief halfway through
• No single person responsible for decisions

A simple template

Background: (2 to 3 lines)

Objective: (one sentence)

Audience: (who, and what they think now)

Insight: (one true observation)

Main message: (one sentence)

Reason to believe: (evidence)

Tone: (three words, and one thing to avoid)

Mandatories: (list)

Formats and channels: (list)

Budget, timeline, approvers: (details)

Success measure: (what and when)

Briefing a partner

Share the brief in a conversation, not just an email. Invite questions, and expect good partners to challenge parts of it. A brief that survives that challenge is usually stronger.

Using it to plan for attention

The brief is also where you decide what the work needs to do at each stage: be noticed, be understood and prompt a next step. We describe that in Metatriggers, our framework for planning attention, and in visual hierarchy.

If you want a partner to help turn objectives into a brief and then into campaign work, see our creative and content service.