creative brief assignment

How to Write a Creative Brief in 11 Simple Steps [Examples + Template]

Updated: April 27, 2023

Published: April 26, 2023

The first step in any successful project is drawing up a game plan with a clear objective. It's one of the reasons marketers love creative briefs.

A creative brief acts as a roadmap that takes a project from ideation to completion. It ensures the scope, timeline, key stakeholders, and purpose of the project are communicated clearly. The creative brief is the single source of truth for everyone working on a project. If questions come up or tasks become unclear, the creative brief will steer things in the right direction.

What is a creative brief?

A creative brief is a short document that sums up marketing, advertising, or design project mission, goals, challenges, demographics, messaging, and other key details. It's often created by a consultant or a creative project manager. The goal of a brief is to achieve stakeholder alignment on a project before it begins.

The Purpose of a Creative Brief

Whether you’re a consultant pitching a creative brief to a client, or a project manager presenting a brief to your team, start by speaking with the project stakeholders. These discussions will help you understand the company's mission, project goals, and challenges your team faces. Then, you’ll have enough information to write a compelling brief that focuses on what’s really important to your company or client.

The idea of a creative brief sounds simple, but it can be hard to wrap a lot of important details into just a few pages. Therefore, a creative brief is typically comprised of eight sections that can fit on one to two pages.

Free Creative Brief Templates

Three customizable templates designed to serve as the blueprint for your next campaign.

• Campaign brief template.
• Video brief template.
• Client brief template.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

How a Creative Brief Works

Creative briefs are pretty standard documents within just about every marketing, advertising, or design team. For smaller projects that live in-house (like designs, templates, marketing assets, etc.) the brief is owned by the team who will be executing on the information in the brief. This is usually the creative team, but this team can fall within the brand department or even live within marketing.

For more advanced, long-term projects that involve an agency, the creative brief is owned by the creative team or agency who will be executing the work. This is because they'll work closely with the stakeholders on the project to understand what is needed, plus they'll bring their own expertise and competitive research to the brief that the internal team may not have access to.

These types of creative briefs aren't rare, but they are created infrequently due to the nature of the projects they support. So for this post, we'll focus mostly on the day-to-day creative briefs that you're likely to use often. Here's how they work.

Creative Brief Outline

• Project Name
• Company Background
• Project Objective
• Target Audience
• Competitors
• Key Message
• Key Consumer Benefit
• Call to Action
• Distribution

Step 1. The teams who need assistance from the creative team will retrieve the creative brief template from a repository like OneDrive, Google Drive, or an online form.

Step 2. The team that is requesting the project will complete the brief according to their team's needs and goals. The completion of the creative brief starts with the team requesting the project so that they can explain their vision and goals clearly to the creative team.

Step 3. From there, the brief is sent back to the creative team to review. They'll be looking for timelines, resources, and budget requirements.

Step 4. If they have any questions, they'll go back to the team who wrote the brief and finalize the details.

Step 5. After that, the project is kicked off, sometimes with the help of a project manager, who will check-in with stakeholders on the project and keep everything on schedule, within scope, and within budget.

Step 6. Once the project is complete, both teams will review the deliverables against the creative brief to ensure everything is completed correctly.

The format of every company's creative brief might vary slightly to suit the needs of the project or client. Below is a simple outline that will be the foundation of your creative brief. It includes the most important steps in the creative process and information that'll be relevant to stakeholders involved in the project.

Once you’re fully informed and ready to write, use the following steps to draft yours. To make it even easier, I've included a fill-in-the-blank template in the last step.

How to Write a Creative Brief

• Decide on a name for the project.
• Write about the brand and summarize the project’s background.
• Highlight the project objective.
• Describe the target audience.
• Interpret the competitive landscape.
• Prepare the key message.
• Choose the key consumer benefit.
• Select an attitude.
• Determine the best call to action.
• Draft the distribution plan.
• Share the creative brief with stakeholders.

1. Decide on a name for the project.

The first step in developing a creative brief is deciding on a project name. This might sound simple, but it's one of the most critical components of a creative brief. If you're building a campaign around a brand new product or service, the campaign name will be the first time many members of your team will be introduced to it. Referring to the campaign (and therefore product or service) by the correct name prevents the game of telephone from happening. Without a specific and clear campaign name, people will make up their own terminology which can alter the intent of the campaign .

To create a project or campaign name for your creative brief, keep it creative and brief. A few words or a short sentence should work just fine. If you're launching a product, identify what the call to action will be for the target audience, then center the name around that. Here are a few examples of fictional campaign names:

• The Search for Adventure Campaign- A scavenger hunt-themed amusement park.
• The Don't Forget Your Memories Campaign - A photo frame company.
• The "What's hotter than Pepperco hot sauce?" Campaign - A hot sauce brand.

2. Write about the brand and summarize the project’s background.

Another simple, yet essential section is the company background. If you work in an agency setting, this is non-negotiable as your team is likely handling several client campaigns at once. However, if you're developing a creative brief for an in-house project, you'll still want to include this part. New hires on your team, freelancers, and vendors will appreciate the background that your internal team is already privy to.

The company background shouldn't be a general history of the company or a copied and pasted paragraph from the about page. Instead, tailor this to the project at hand. Set the scene with one or two sentences that sum up the brand’s mission. Follow this with a few sentences that give background on the brand and what led to the development of the project.

While some creatives have put this information all together in a quick paragraph, others separate it with headers like “Brand Statement” and “Background.”

Here are some questions to consider when writing a company background for your creative brief:

• Has the company launched a campaign like this before?
• Why is the company choosing to launch this campaign right now?
• What's happening in the market and how will this campaign respond to it?

3. Highlight the project objective.

Here is where the creative brief gets more specific. The project objective should briefly explain the purpose of the project, the timeline, and the audience it'll target. This can be done in a sentence or two, but you can get creative and stylize it in sections.

This part of the creative brief will be helpful in emphasizing why the project needs to happen. The goal aspects will help you and your team align on the project’s expectations. If the company or client hasn’t identified any major challenges, you can focus this section on goals and objectives. Explain what a successful project looks like and how it will benefit the company.

Pro Tip: Writing a project objective is very similar to writing a goal, so take a look at this blog post for more detail on goal and objective writing.

Here’s an example of a sample creative brief for PayPal that offers separate sections for “The Problem” and “The Goal”:

4. Describe the target audience.

Next, it's time to define the target audience for the project. This is the segment of your market that will directly benefit from the product or service being launched. You can take audience segmentation a step further by identifying a primary and secondary audience. Doing so will give your team more freedom to explore creative ideas that might resonate with one group more than the other.

When crafting the target audience section, be sure to include the following:

• Demographics - Simple demographic information gives your team insight into exactly who the audience is. This includes data points like age, income, education, ethnicity, and occupation.
• Behaviors - Buying behaviors, trends, and other customer history make up the target audience behaviors. These provide important context to the creative brief because they explain where the customer is in their buyer journey.
• Psychographics - This is how the audience thinks and feels about your brand and the product or service you sell, in general.
• Geographics - Digital, physical, and hybrid campaigns will benefit from having geographics stated explicitly in the creative brief so that media buyers can price ad slots in each market.

Pro Tip: Your creative brief shouldn't be too long, and this section can take up quite a bit of space. To make this section more digestible, consider using buyer personas .

Here’s how the sample brief for PayPal noted above thoughtfully explains a new product’s target audience:

5. Interpret the competitive landscape.

Knowing what your competitors are doing is advantageous for the whole team. You can use competitive data to come up with ideas that haven’t been tried yet, learn from their failed projects, or build a project that improves on a strategy they’ve used in the past.

Include a quick list of competitors with similar product or service offerings. Briefly list a few things your company has in common with them, how your brand has differentiated itself already, and a few areas where this project can help you get ahead.Get Your Free Templates

6. Prepare the key message.

The key message can be the most difficult part of the creative brief to develop because just about every stakeholder will have a different opinion of what it should be. To get buy-in faster, try this simple trick. Ask yourself "We're launching this project, so what?" The "so what?" is your key message. It explains why your target audience should stop what they're doing and pay attention to your campaign.

The key message includes the pain point, what the audience's experience might be like without the pain point, and the benefit they'll receive as a result of your company's solution. This framework places the customer in the spotlight of the campaign. Instead of telling them what this product or service could do for them, it positions them as the main character in the journey from problem to solution.

7. Choose the key consumer benefit.

If you're launching a new product, there are likely several features and benefits that the target audience will experience when they decide to purchase it. However, it's very difficult to structure a campaign around several different features. That's why marketers and creatives use something called a key consumer benefit (KCB) in the creative brief to keep everyone aligned on the primary benefit being communicated. To choose the right KCB, you'll want to get input from the project stakeholders and rely on consumer data to guide the decision.

Pro Tip: Your KCB won't always be the fanciest feature of your product. The benefit that solves the biggest problem for your audience is a great choice for the KCB.

8. Select an attitude.

The tone and voice of your campaign create the overall attitude and that should be consistent throughout every creative element that's being developed. Identifying a few adjectives that describe the attitude of the campaign can help copywriters draft copy that sends the correct message within the right context. Graphic designers can use colors and techniques to portray the tone and voice as well.

In this section of the brief, you should also note the appropriate voice for your audience. While some audiences, like those in the business world, prefer more formal language, others might engage more with a casual, relatable tone. To substantiate your decision to choose a particular brand voice and tone, you could write something like, “Our brand voice is a casual and carefree tone because it speaks to younger Gen-Z audiences.”

Pro tip: Use a thesaurus to find specific words that evoke nuanced emotions and attitudes for a hyper-targeted campaign.

9. Determine the best call to action.

Finally, your audience needs something to do once they see your campaign. The good thing about CTAs is that they don't have to be physical actions. A CTA could have a goal to change thoughts and perceptions about your brand which doesn't require the audience to do anything at all.

Your creative brief might include several different CTAs, especially if you have a primary and secondary target audience. But it's a good idea to have one primary CTA that drives the project objective we talked about earlier.

10. Draft the distribution plan.

When the project is done, you’ll need to make sure your audience actually sees it. List a few channels or platforms on which you plan to announce the launch, as well as any promotional content you plan to create.

When drafting this section, think about your target audience. Don’t waste time on a promotional strategy that they won’t see. For example, if you’re promoting a project to Gen-Z, you’ll want to invest in social media rather than billboards or newspaper ads.

11. Share the creative brief with stakeholders.

Once you’ve drafted a creative brief, share it with the team you’ll be working with. You’ll also want to circulate it around the company via Slack, email, or presentations. If you’re a consultant working outside of a client’s company, encourage your clients to share the brief internally.

As you or your clients spread awareness, you should be open to answering questions or taking feedback from colleagues in case they have any great ideas. This strategy will improve team alignment , increase support of the project, and ensure that all of your colleagues are on the same page.

Follow Along with HubSpot's Free Creative Brief Templates

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Creative Brief Template

Having trouble with the flow and organization of your brief? Here’s a simple template that could help. Copy and paste it into a document and fill in the blanks. You can also add to it or adjust it as needed for your project.

Download More Creative Brief Templates

[Inset company or client logo at the top along with the project name.]

COMPANY BACKGROUND:

For ___ years, ______ [Brand Name] has been serving customers in the ____________ [group/job field/geographical area] with ____________________ [product or service].

[Brand Name] has made achievements including __________,__________, and ___________. We have also launched marketing campaigns that have touched on ____________,________, and ____________. With the launch of _________ [project name] they hope to ___________.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE:

With this project, the company aims to solve problems related to ____________________, while also expanding on ___________ and improving on _____________.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Our target audience is ____ [gender], in the age range of _ and _, and live areas like ____, _____, and ______. They enjoy _____, dislike ______, and might work in fields like _____, _____, and _____. They want more of ________ and their daily pain points include ________.

Their favorite products might include _______ and ______. They learn about these products through channels including ________, _________, and _______.

COMPETITORS:

Our three biggest competitors [are/will be] ________, ________, and _______. These competitors offer _____, ______, and ______. We are ahead of them in _____ and ______, but we are behind when it comes to product offerings like __________ and _________.

KEY MESSAGE:

The target audience is experiencing __________ [pain point], but with our newest project ___________, they'll get to experience _________ [new experience without the pain point]. That's what makes ______ [solution] an unrivaled solution within the market.

KEY CONSUMER BENEFIT:

________ [feature] is the best way for our target audience to experience _____ [benefit].

[Include three to five adjectives that describe the tone and voice of the project.]

CALL TO ACTION:

When the target audience sees our campaign, they will [feel/think/do] _________.

DISTRIBUTION:

We will promote the launch on platforms and channels that our demographic regularly engages with. These will include ________, ________, and _______.

We will also release content including _______, _______, and ________ to gain attention from our audience and inform them of the project.

Below are a few messages we will use:

• _________________________________________________.

Types of Creative Briefs

Creative briefs serve several purposes in the communications field. Marketers, designers, and advertisers use them differently. Depending on your role, your team, and the project you're working on, one might be more effective than the other. Below are some of the most common types of creative briefs used across industries today plus examples of what they might look like.

1. Marketing Creative Briefs

A marketing creative brief is most commonly used to bring campaigns to market. This type of creative brief can be used for both new and existing campaigns. Broad business goals and strategies to accomplish them are usually included in this type of creative brief. It's also not uncommon to see revenue goals and a budget included in a marketing creative brief.

Simple Marketing Creative Brief Example

2. Product Design Creative Briefs

Product design creative briefs outline the go-to-market strategy for a new product or feature launch. Product marketers are responsible for developing this type of brief. Developed in conjunction with the product manager, the product design creative brief will describe the features and benefits of the product and how the audience will benefit from them. Unique features of this type of creative brief include product documentation and product descriptions.

Product Design Creative Brief Example

3. Advertising Agency Creative Briefs

Advertising agencies develop creative briefs often for the various clients they serve. These briefs are concise and include the client's brand guidelines as well as the specific project guidelines. A budget may also be included in the brief so that all teams can make wise decisions about the tactics they recommend for the client. An account manager or supervisor develops the creative brief and shares it with client stakeholders before the agency begins working on the project.

Advertising Agency Creative Brief Example

Creative Brief Examples

1. creative request template.

For the day-to-day management of creative projects, using a creative request template in Asana acts as a dynamic take on a traditionally static creative brief. With a few tweaks to suit your business's needs, this template flows through each stage of the project while specifying tasks, deliverables, and key points that need to be included in the project. Moreover, Asana provides several types of views that make this template easy to look at from a calendar view, list view, board view, and timeline view so you'll always know the progress of your project in relation to the creative brief.

When to Use This Creative Brief:

This creative brief example is great for marketing, brand, creative, and design teams who handle a large backlog of projects with stakeholders on many different teams. Use this brief for both ad-hoc and regularly occurring projects.

2. Creative Brief Presentation Template

This creative brief example was designed by TemplateForest. It's a visual-forward example of a brief that works well for long-term projects like building a business or refreshing a brand. This longer brief includes a variety of information from internal brand insights to an external competitive analysis.

Use this creative brief when you're partnering with a creative agency on bigger projects. They can use this layout to inspire a creative brief that fits the needs of your business.

Streamline Projects with a Creative Brief

Scope creep happens to the best of us. Projects get bigger, stakeholders are added, and the objective of the project seems to morph as time goes on. Streamline your next product launch or marketing and advertising campaign with a creative brief. As a result, you'll find that your team is more aligned with the project's goals. We've even provided free creative brief templates to get you started — download them below.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in July 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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The complete guide to writing creative briefs

Just like any other task, creative work deserves a clear plan and measurable goals before work begins. That’s where a creative brief comes in. Developing a creative brief allows you to take a proactive approach and outline requirements while planning out your creative work. Among other important elements, your creative brief is your opportunity to define the scope, deadlines, and deliverables specific to the creative part of your project.

Overall, a creative brief helps keep everyone on the same page—reducing feelings of frustration or confusion—while making sure no part of the design process is bottlenecked.

What is a creative brief?

A creative brief is used to define any relevant creative requirements, including messaging, audience, and outlining how success will be measured. Once the brief is created, plan to host a  kickoff meeting  to discuss conflicts or restrictions. That way, you have time to revise and update your creative brief before the work begins.

Remember this—creative briefs aren’t meant to be written and then left stagnant. Before your work begins, your creative brief should be an ever-evolving document that may change as the creative requirements continue to be scoped or tweaked. However, by the time the work starts, your creative brief should be a  clear plan  and have specific goals that your design, content, and creative teams can refer back to throughout the process, making sure everyone is aligned and making the right decisions.

Essential elements of a creative brief

Understanding what a creative brief is and why you need one is important. However, knowing what to actually put in one will save you significant time and reduce back and forths with your creative team. You can avoid having to circle back to questions and conflicts down the road by putting the appropriate information in your creative brief up front.

Take a look at these “must-haves” for every creative brief. Whether you’re planning a marketing campaign, writing a creative brief for an advertising agency, or preparing a creative brief for your internal team, these nine steps will help you clarify the key information your team needs for success. Keep in mind that your brief may contain more elements—and you can certainly add them as they relate to your work—but the criteria mentioned below should be part of nearly every creative brief.

Title and description

Goals and objectives, messaging and tone, assets and deliverables.

Stakeholders

Distribution process

First, give your creative brief a title. Provide a short description of the creative work so team members understand why they are a part of it. Let them know the intention of the creative work.

Title:  Advertising campaign for new product launch

Description:  As we prepare to launch Apollo Enterprises newest product, we’ll be putting together a series of advertisements to introduce it to the market.

Why are you working on this? At this point in your creative brief, you want to define the specific business need and what the work will accomplish. What does success look like for this particular body of work? As you’re writing down your goals, make sure they are measurable. At the end of the project, you’ll want to look back on them and clearly know if you’ve met your objectives.

Goals and objectives:  Reach 500,000 potential customers via paid search over a one-month period and add 5,000 new subscribers to our email list.

Outlining your target audience will help better tailor your creative to them. Look for specific insights, as those become your gems of valuable information. Get clear on who will be consuming your deliverable (video, ad, etc.). Try your best to define what that person looks like by outlining demographics such as age, gender, income level, marital status, or education level.

Also note what your audience values, along with their interests, wants, and needs. State if you’re trying to reach current customers or potential ones. Answering as many questions as possible about what your audience looks like will help you and your team along the way.

Audience:  Men, 30-65, mid-high income, at least a high school diploma. They value time outdoors, working with their hands, tools, and gadgets. They’re not current Apollo Enterprises’ customers.

Now that you know who your audience is, you need to clearly establish what messaging you want to put in front of them. Also, when your target market receives that message, what should they think, feel, want, and do? Are you asking them to take an action?

If you already have brand guidelines be sure to include them in your creative brief, or direct stakeholders on where to find them. Following brand guidelines ensures the tone and voice of your messaging matches that of your overall brand, and keeps your messaging consistent across marketing initiatives.

If you don’t have established brand guidelines, work with the right team members to put together some information about the tone and voice that this particular creative work should follow. Think of your message as a person. It should have a voice (a personality) and a tone (a mood or attitude).

Messaging and tone:  We want to empower our audience to be creators and use Apollo Enterprises’ new product as part of their most valued suite of tools. We should celebrate the target audience for working with their hands and make them feel proud of their creations.

Since your team’s work will produce some sort of creative asset (or many), this part of your brief should describe what those assets and deliverables are. For example, if you’re creating an advertisement, the final deliverable would be the actual ad. Make sure you specify asset requirements such as dimensions, number of versions, and design elements.

Assets and deliverables:  Three different advertisements, each with a different tagline and image (one version for each of the following sizes: 250x250, 728x90, 120x600).

Creative work usually requires cross-functional  team collaboration . Marketing and design are almost always involved, and oftentimes other departments will also play a part. This means several individuals from different teams working together on the same desired outcome.

This is why it’s so important to identify all important stakeholders upfront. Each team member should know who is involved and what they’re responsible for. You’ll save yourself a lot of time fielding questions down the line if you add this to your creative brief.

Stakeholders:

Creative team: Larry (ad copy), Emma (ad design)

Marketing team: Hannah (team lead), Caleb (email marketing setup for campaign), Terry (ad distribution)

Product team: Zach (Product Manager)

Establishing your budget from the start will help you actually stay in line financially and guide your decision-making. Be sure you write down actual numbers and identify costs where you can. Conducting some quick research ahead of time will help. Are there ways you can cut some costs? Giving yourself some time to play with the numbers before you even begin the work will keep you in good graces with your boss!

Budget:  The overall budget is $8,000 with $5,000 going to ad spend, $1,500 to design, and $1,500 to copywriting.

Establishing a  timeline for your work  early on will keep you and your team on track. Decide on a start date and end date, and then fill in as many important dates as you can in between. Knowing the important deadlines from the beginning gives all stakeholders an idea of how long their part of the work will take. They can plan accordingly and let you know of any conflicts. Be as specific as you can with dates and deadlines, and keep in mind that adjustments may need to be made as the work progresses.

Kickoff meeting: May 5

Final creative brief due: May 10

Ad copy due: May 30

Ad designs due: June 10

Ad buy plans due: June 15

Ads are live: July 1 - July 31

Measure ad success: Ongoing

Wrap-up: August 15

Identifying how your media assets will actually get to your audience is a part of your creative brief that can’t be skipped. All the hard work you put into every other step of your creative process culminates with an effective distribution strategy. In other words, how will you communicate your message? Social media, email, blog posts, and paid advertisements are just a few ways to distribute your media.

Distribution process:  Google Adwords platform to deploy ads.

Creative brief example

Seeing examples of what great creative briefs actually look like can help you formulate your own. Check out this stellar example and pay close attention to the details. You can tell that the project manager took time and thought to develop this creative brief, and help their team work together smoothly.

Creative brief template

Get started with this creative brief template to outline your campaign goals, creative deliverables, due date, marketing strategy, and more.

Title and description:

A clear name that your stakeholders can easily identify, and a short summary that conveys the intention of your creative brief.

Goals and objectives:

Define the metrics of success for your creative brief.

Who are you targeting in your campaign and what are their values, interests, and needs? This section should include any relevant demographics.

Messaging and tone:

What type of tone are you trying to strike? How do you want your audience to feel when they see your creative assets?

Assets and deliverables:

Asset and deliverable 1

Asset and deliverable 2

Asset and deliverable 3

Stakeholder 1

Stakeholder 2

Stakeholder 3

What is your overall budget? Are there any specific details to how the budget should be spent?

Date:  Description

Date: Description

Distribution process:

Specify how you will reach your audience once your assets and deliverables are ready.

Using a creative brief when working with agencies

Sometimes internal stakeholders aren’t the only people you’ll be collaborating with on creative work. Companies may choose to hire an agency to help. If you find yourself  working with an agency , here’s how you can use a creative brief to make the most out of the partnership.

Make your creative brief a starting point

When you deliver the creative brief to your agency contacts, take the opportunity to discuss your goals with them and refine the creative brief if necessary. Ask for their input. They are there to help and getting their buy-in will make every part of the overall process easier. Allow your agency partners to educate you on what will work and what won’t.

Create a robust final version of your creative brief

The more valuable information you put it in, the less questions will come your way later. And, remember, while the agency is a partner of yours, they are working with other companies as well. Giving them as much information as you can will make you and your creative brief stick out (in a good way). For example, you’ll want to include any applicable style guides, tone of voice recommendations, relevant internal messaging information, and any brand guidelines the agency should keep in mind while working.

Be open to change

Creative work moves quickly, and some project leaders make the mistake of thinking their creative brief has to be rigid in order to support fast-moving teams. In reality it’s a living document. Until you start executing on the work, it should always be open to conversations and edits.

Write your best creative brief

You’re feeling good, right? Hopefully developing your own creative brief doesn’t seem so daunting after all and you’re ready to get moving on building your next one. After you’ve written your creative brief, manage the next steps in your creative process in a work management tool, like  Asana . Not only will it help keep you organized—it will actually help you run the show.

Build a creative brief that makes your life (and those of your stakeholders) easier to execute your creative work successfully.

Related resources

Smooth product launches are simpler than you think

What is stakeholder analysis and why is it important?

How Asana uses work management to optimize resource planning

Understanding dependencies in project management

How to Write a Creative Brief with Examples and Templates

By Joe Weller | March 5, 2024

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A  creative brief  is a roadmap for teams planning a marketing or advertising campaign, including the objectives, deliverables, and target audience. Strong creative briefs keep team members and external stakeholders aligned as the campaign develops.

  Inside this article, you’ll discover how to write a creative brief , the main elements to include, and downloadable example briefs and templates . Plus, you’ll learn how to use generative AI to help draft a creative brief .

Main Elements of a Creative Brief

Creative briefs should include sections detailing the campaign’s goals, deliverables, style, and target audience. The brief will also have information about the brand and competition in the marketplace.

A project manager for the team requesting the content or a  member of the marketing or advertising team will write a creative brief. The specific sections of a creative brief might vary depending on the project and its stakeholders, but keep these eight main elements in mind:  

• Brand Identity and Project Overview: The first section of the creative brief provides relevant background information about the brand’s mission and the campaign’s purpose, whether it is responding to pain points or advertising a new product. Summarizing these key details at the outset gives the creative team a focused direction and ensures the campaign fits into the overarching brand identity. 
• Objectives:  Clearly define goals and be sure to link them to  key performance indicators (KPIs) . Using  SMART  (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals when crafting objectives help you focus on the project and key metrics. 
• Competitive Analysis: Reviewing examples of recent campaigns from rival brands is a valuable strategy when seeking insight for a creative brief. Analyzing competitors’ strengths and weaknesses sheds light on what resonates with consumers and how to make a campaign stand out in the market.
• Target Audience:  Creative briefs should boil down which segment of the brand’s audience the campaign will target. Specific demographic profiles help the creative team understand customer behaviors and deliver the most effective and appealing assets.
• Tone and Style:  Whether defining a personality, listing adjectives that correspond with the core message, or designating a color palette, the creative brief clarifies the attitude and visual identity of the campaign. Designers need direction on the desired voice and style to ensure a unified final project that speaks to the target audience.
• Content Format and Deliverables:  Every creative brief must outline the specific content that the creative team needs to produce, such as social media assets, print advertisements, graphics, video content, online copy, or other elements of the campaign strategy. Include any format requirements or other specifications, so that the creative team can align their output with the campaign objectives.
• Timeline and Budget:  Stipulating key deadlines, checkpoints, and budget requirements enables the creative team to deliver on target. This information is crucial when working with external agencies, for whom the brief can function like a contract. Concrete schedule parameters give project managers details that they can follow up, warding off scope creep. Learn  how to manage scope creep  and keep projects on track.
• Stakeholders:  Briefs should include the contact details and roles for all the team members who will be involved in the project. Establishing individual responsibilities and review processes ensures internal and external stakeholders can communicate seamlessly throughout the process.

How to Write a Creative Brief

Writing a creative brief starts with gathering the information that will guide a campaign’s direction. Begin with a focused overview of the project and include concrete details on your objectives, audience, and deliverables.

A strong creative brief is clear, specific, and short. Think of it as a blueprint to inspire creativity and keep your team on track from ideation through delivery and execution. Consider using  creative brief templates  to save time and maintain consistency across multiple projects.  For branding campaigns or launches, a more specialized  brand brief  might be necessary. 

1. Gather Information and Resources  

Before you start writing, do the prep work for your brief. This might include researching competitors, analyzing pain points, meeting with stakeholders, and referencing past campaigns. Use this information to finalize your core message, target audience, and objectives.  

Once you have a clear idea of the campaign, gather the necessary supporting documents. Compile links to important resources, such as a brand style guide, digital asset library, and any example content for the creative team to reference.  

2. Decide What to Include  

The details of the campaign, stakeholders, and objectives will determine which elements of the creative brief are necessary. For example, internal team members might not need comprehensive information about your brand mission. Or you might include a budget for advertising campaigns, but not for designing a new website banner.

Keep in mind that the creative brief should be concise and focus on the creative direction of the campaign. If you need to determine a comprehensive marketing and distribution strategy, consider completing a  marketing strategy brief first.   

3. Name the Campaign and Write an Overview   

Naming the project is a simple first step to streamline communication. The campaign name should point to its core message — the idea, consumer benefit, or call to action (CTA) — the creative team needs to get across with their assets.  

Start by writing an overview that defines the core message in a few sentences. Consider including relevant brand identity aspects or drafting a short section with brand and product background. Establish why you are launching this campaign, the opportunities or challenges, and the takeaways for your audience. 

“For example, in our creative brief for a new rug collection launch, we highlighted our rugs’ unique designs inspired by Southwestern traditions and their high-quality sustainable materials. Conveying these key points up front allows designers and copywriters to center their creativity around the communication of these distinguishing factors,” offers  Connor Butterworth , CEO and Owner of  Southwestern Rugs Depot . 

4. Set Clear Objectives

Highlight one or two goals for the campaign that align with its core message. Be sure to define the KPIs you will use to measure success. Common campaign objectives include boosting engagement, increasing conversions, and communicating a specific call to action or desired consumer behavior.   

5. Analyze the Competition

Survey the competitive landscape for real-world models. Focus on a few major competitors and provide examples of their recent campaigns for similar products. Highlight key successes and failures to learn from, and create a list of the ways in which your brand or product differs.  

Elaine Chen , Founder of marketing consultancy Excogita, advises, “Creatives understand that not every project will immediately hit the mark, but they need feedback to get to the right place. Spend time looking at competing campaigns so that you have concrete ideas about what you feel will and won't work, and share some of these insights in your brief.”

6. Define the Demographic

Determine a primary target audience for the campaign. Are you trying to reach a segment of the current brand audience or potential new customers? Break down your target audience with demographic data — such as age, gender, and geographic location — as well as buying behaviors and psychographic information, such as preferences and interests. 

Instead of listing all the aspects of your target audience, use profiles or personas to draw a precise portrait of your customer in a couple sentences. Learn  how to create customer profiles  to better understand your audience with individualized buyer personas.  

7. Explain the Tone

Choose several adjectives that describe an attitude or personality for the campaign. Align this personality with the key message, cater it to your target audience, and fit it within your brand identity. Include links to any brand style guidelines or designated fonts and color palettes.

Should graphics feel sophisticated and minimalistic or playful and energetic? Is the tone authentic and empowering or confident and provocative? The adjectives you choose will guide both the visual direction and voice of your campaign, keeping all the elements of the project cohesive.

8. Designate Deliverables

Determine what assets or content the creative team needs to produce to meet the campaign objectives. Specify the content format, the number of deliverables, and any requirements or specifications, such as image dimensions or character limits. You might mention your distribution strategy if modified versions of the assets will be needed for different platforms.

9. Walk Through the Timeline and Budget

Working backward from the campaign launch date, determine when assets need to be delivered in order to be reviewed by key stakeholders and released on schedule. Fill in important due dates, review periods, meetings, and final approval deadlines leading up to the release date. If the creative team will be producing video content or multichannel advertising campaigns, establish a budget.

10. Present to Stakeholders

Share the completed brief with all the stakeholders involved, from the creatives who will be producing the content to the executives who will approve final designs. The creative team might consist of in-house designers and marketers, or it could be an external agency. Consider including a project manager to track deadlines and deliverables. Project managers can create a separate  project brief  to summarize high-level details.

Whether you present the brief at a  project kickoff meeting or distribute it electronically, be open to feedback. The creative team might have questions on the timeline, resources, tone, or approval process. The marketing director could help you fine-tune the target audience and core message. Refine the brief if necessary before you share the final version. Make sure everyone understands the direction of the project and their responsibilities.

Examples of Creative Briefs

These creative brief examples use variations on the basic creative brief template to communicate specific project details to stakeholders. These downloadable and customizable templates include example copy for a variety of creative brief scenarios.

Simple Creative Brief Example Template

Download the Simple Creative Brief Example Template for Microsoft Word

Download the Simple Creative Brief Blank Template for Microsoft Word

Here’s an example of a creative brief for a marketing campaign designed in-house. This short creative brief template keeps a tight focus on the project itself — and doesn’t waste time providing unnecessary context.

Client Creative Brief Example Template

Download the Client Creative Brief Example Template for Microsoft Word

Download the Client Creative Brief Blank Template for Microsoft Word

This example shows how a creative brief might be completed for implementing a marketing campaign with an agency. There is more information about the client — the brand, project message, and call to action — while leaving room for the creative team to innovate. 

Graphic Design Creative Brief Example Template

Download the Graphic Design Creative Brief Example Template for Microsoft Word

Download the Graphic Design Creative Brief Blank Template for Microsoft Word

Here’s an example of a creative brief for a graphic design project that is perfect for solo graphic designers or graphic design firms planning projects in collaboration with their clients. The simple, adaptable layout has room for details on image requirements and design elements, as well as direction about the project. 

For more elaborate design projects — such as a logo design or product design — consider using a specific  design brief .

Advertising Creative Brief Example Template

Download the Advertising Creative Brief Example Template for Microsoft Word

Download the Advertising Creative Brief Blank Template for Microsoft Word

This creative brief example uses a straightforward advertising campaign template to cover objective, tone, messaging, target audience, and non-negotiables. There are also key advertising elements needed for the campaign. 

What to Keep in Mind When Writing a Creative Brief for Internal Use vs. an Agency

Creative briefs are a campaign’s starting point for both in-house teams and agencies. The project’s stakeholders will determine the brief’s content. Both internal and external creative teams need information about the campaign’s message, but agencies might need more brand details.

Internal creative briefs are often short and direct, since the stakeholders will bring their understanding of the brand and its identity to the project. Internal creative teams might already be familiar with style guidelines, recent campaigns, and customer personas. It’s still important to include focused direction specific to the campaign objectives, but the brief can be more informal and flexible.

Creative briefs shared with external agencies, on the other hand, are often more extensive. CEO and Founder of  Awning.com Shri Ganeshram recommends crafting a “more detailed and structured brief” when working with an agency. “It has to convey the essence of your brand and project requirements without any assumed knowledge,” he continues. “When I worked with an external design agency for our marketing campaign, the detailed brief we provided helped them grasp our brand ethos quickly, resulting in a highly successful campaign.”

As a marketing executive with both in-house and agency experience, Chen points out that projects that are contracted out might also require more comprehensive briefs. “Many companies are only working with agencies on high-profile or very strategic assignments such as major advertising campaigns, creating new brands, or significant rebrands. Accordingly, the briefs will need to include lots of insights about the product and audience, while avoiding being too prescriptive to give the agency room to innovate.”

Additionally, while both internal and agency creative briefs typically include deliverables and deadlines, these stipulations might carry more weight externally. In his experience working with agencies, Ganeshram explains, “The creative brief acts as a contract of sorts that outlines what the client expects, providing a clear framework within which the agency operates. This distinction is crucial for ensuring both parties have aligned expectations.” 

Pitfalls to Avoid When Writing a Creative Brief

An effective creative brief empowers designers, advertisers, or marketers to deliver original and compelling content. On the other hand, vague or complicated briefs make it impossible for creative teams to meet expectations. Avoiding these pitfalls streamlines the creative process.  

There are five common pitfalls to keep in mind when writing creative briefs:  

Ambiguity:   

A vague direction can make it impossible for the creative team to understand the vision for the campaign. Provide specific information about the tone and message, as well as clear guidelines for the format of the final product. “If you leave anything up for interpretation, then you risk the result not being what you expected,” advises Kristien Matelski, Content/PR Manager at  Vizion Interactive . “I’ve found that a few good examples are much more valuable than just describing what I’m looking for.”

• Overprescription: Conversely, including too much detail can limit creativity and overwhelm the core message. Designers, copywriters, and other creatives need freedom to bring their own expertise and imagination to the project. “While detailed background information is always helpful, realize that you can only convey so much in a single communication,” Chen notes. “Avoid requiring your creative team to fold in too many messages or else you could end up with a garbled mess.”
• Broad or Unspecified Audience: It’s crucial to define a target audience with as much detail as possible. Large campaigns might have primary and secondary markets, but to create effective assets, the team needs to have a specific audience in mind and understand their behaviors. “Too often companies are so focused on what they have to say that they end up failing to incorporate customer perspectives and create a message that just falls flat,” cautions Chen.
• Unrealistic Expectations:  The purpose of a creative brief is to keep stakeholders’ expectations and responsibilities aligned throughout the project’s development. However, if the brief sets impossibly tight deadlines or unattainable objectives, creatives won’t be able to deliver compelling results.
• Complicated CTA:  Campaigns work best with a simple and clear core message or desired outcome. Creative briefs that fail to develop a clear call to action result in campaigns that can’t meet their objectives. Chen adds, “It's most realistic to ask consumers to do just one easy thing after seeing your ads. A complicated, multistep process or a confusing mix of options is doomed to fail.”

How to Use Generative AI to Write a More Effective Brief

Recent advancements in generative AI have made it a powerful tool for crafting creative briefs. AI can analyze pain points and customer data, suggest relevant core messages, and elevate directions on tone and style. Think of the AI as a partner or assistant when drafting your prompts, and be prepared to finetune the results.

“Generative AI can be a game-changer for crafting creative briefs in marketing and advertising,” observes Peter Wood, CTO at  Spectrum Search . “It's essential to leverage AI for initial idea generation. By feeding the AI system with your campaign’s objectives and target audience demographics, you can get a diverse range of creative concepts and narratives, which might not be immediately obvious to a human team.”

You can also use AI to assist in data analysis when researching your competitors and establishing customer personas. Wood continues, “This analysis can inform the tone, style, and content of your brief, ensuring it is aligned with what resonates with your audience.”  

“As a content manager, I’ve found that creative briefs have been a primary use for AI,” reveals Kristien Matelski. To get the best results from the AI, she recommends providing it with background information about your brand and objectives, as well as detailed instructions for the content you want it to generate. Keep revising and updating your prompts as you work, and make sure to verify any facts or data in your results. 

Here are four tips to keep in mind when utilizing AI to draft your creative brief:  

• Pretend the AI Is Your Assistant:  AI is not a search engine, and it can handle more complex directions. “Be as detailed as possible with what you want, like you’re giving instructions to an assistant to write a brief or outline for you,” suggests Matelski.
• Provide Background:  Feed the AI relevant information about the brand, product, or campaign objectives. Matelski says, “I generally start by giving the AI some context about the who, or the company we are generating a creative brief for, including a link to their website. Then I tell it the what that we’re creating, a creative brief or outline for a new product page.”
• Include Specifics:  If you are using a template, make sure to list the fields you want the AI to generate. Establish any requirements and important campaign directives to include in the brief. As an example, Matelski offers, “Be sure to mention X, Y, Z brand names, color choices, and keywords.”
• Edit, Edit, Edit:  Once the AI has generated the brief, read through the results and determine next steps. “You’ll need to edit yourself or go back and forth with the AI a few times to get it how you want it,” Matelski acknowledges. You might ask the AI to condense the overview, suggest a more playful core message, narrow the objectives, or tailor the deliverables for a specific social media platform. Consider whether you need to provide additional information with your instructions.

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Creative Brief Examples: How to Write a Creative Brief in 8 Steps

Haillie Parker

March 15, 2024

As Boromir once said in the cinematic masterpiece The Lord Of The Rings , “One does not simply make a funny video .” 🤌

OK, we took some artistic liberties—but the sentiment rings true! You can’t just whip up a creative project from scratch and expect it to be successful. 

Creative projects require careful research, intentional planning, and collaboration to make a splash. And before teams can hit the ground running, these elements must be packaged together in an informative document known as the creative brief. ✨

But how do you know if your creative brief is checking every box?

Follow along to learn everything you need to know to build an effective creative brief including a detailed outline, step-by-step workflow, top examples, and more. Plus, access to customizable creative brief templates!

What Is a Creative Brief?

What belongs in a creative brief , advertising campaign creative briefs, content marketing creative briefs, website redesign briefs, step 1: give the project a proper name, step 2: coordinate your objectives with long-term goals, step 3: identify your target audience , step 4: solidify your messaging strategy, step 5: determine the final deliverables, step 6: budget your time and resources, step 7: set your milestones, then the timeline, step 8: name your key players, step 9: lock in the brief, creative brief templates.

A creative brief is a short but informative document outlining the main details of any creative project and leads the team from ideation through the final deliverables. It’s the key to creating your roadmap and solidifying must-know information like:

• Project requirements
• Brand guidelines
• Creative assets
• Audience and messaging
• Scope and timeline

And more—depending on your project! 🎨

Creative briefs are standard practice for most agencies and marketing teams . And like a design brief , the creative brief begins with a request from a client, company stakeholder, or another department within your organization.

While the team developing the project ultimately owns the creative brief, constructing it is a collaborative effort between everyone involved. 

Start by discussing the request itself. Go into this meeting with the intention of understanding the requestor or client’s vision, mission, and purpose to find the elements that really matter to them. From there, you can address any immediate challenges and offer your industry expertise to bring the project to life. 

The goal is to get everyone on board with the project plan—especially your stakeholders. With the requirements set in stone, design teams , writers, and marketers will know exactly how creative to get with your project and what’s expected.

What makes standardizing creative briefs so difficult is the ever-changing nature of each individual project. But that’s also what makes your brief so valuable! 

A creative project could be almost anything—from launching a complex advertising campaign to producing a web series. Each project will pose a distinct set of challenges, but the creative brief is there to help creative teams identify and solve those issues as quickly as possible.

Think of your creative brief as a reliable source of truth to refer back to throughout the project process. Whether it’s to provide updates, cross reference your work with the original plan, or double-check your messaging, the brief is your North Star. ⭐️

Creative Brief Examples

The outline and workflow we’ve covered will fit virtually any creative project. But that doesn’t mean each brief will look the same. Creative briefs are the starting point for every creative project—no matter how big or small. Some projects will lean heavier into certain sections of the creative brief than others. Here are a few creative brief examples to help you gauge the differences between projects.

Bonus: AI Outline Generators !

Advertising and marketing campaign briefs range from somewhat simple to extremely complex, depending on the scope of work. In this creative brief example, you may want to include additional research, multiple visual references, and several draft reviews to ensure the production and delivery goes off without a hitch. 

This is also a great example of the type of project that may include more than one CTA. While there will always be one primary purpose behind the campaign, it’s important for the creative team and stakeholders to align on the marketing KPIs , deliverables, and delivery process as quickly as possible. 

New to writing campaign briefs? The best place to start is with a customizable template like the Campaign Brief Template by ClickUp !

A content marketing creative brief guides the blog and SEO teams to develop articles, copy, and materials that resonate with the company, its customers, and beyond! The audience, objectives, messaging strategy, and timeline are crucial in content marketing projects , especially if you’re following a tight content calendar . 

Content marketing objectives include anything from increasing brand awareness to generating potential sales leads. They are often created for the brand’s own website, social media platforms, newsletters, or content database .

The project’s success is generally determined through website traffic, engagement rates, conversions, and various social media metrics to tie back to the company’s larger goals.

Many companies use these projects to establish their thought leadership by partnering with third-party publications which requires a detailed brief to properly follow a brand-specific tone of voice and style guidelines.

Web design workflows are no small feat and open the door to tons of unique creative elements including UX considerations, functional requirements, creative process needs, and more! Website redesign creative briefs still follow the same basic steps and structure but must be looked at through additional lenses:

• Are the graphics, typography, and messaging consistent with the brand?
• Can users easily navigate the website and reach the product or services with ease?
• Does the design support the functionality you need? 

With so many elements to any website, there can be a lot of back and forth between the designers and the client. To avoid draining your team with constant review sessions and minor tweaks, make sure you as the creative project manager set clear boundaries on the number of edits you’ll allow on the project before the final deadline.

There’s no need to exceed two rounds.

How to Write a Creative Brief 

Even with your outline ready to go, there is a strategic approach to completing your brief as efficiently as possible. Follow these steps to ensure your team and stakeholders are on the same page throughout your creative briefing process so no stone is left unturned! 

Starting things off strong with one of the most crucial pieces of your project—its name! Your project name should be clear and concise while communicating the intent. It doesn’t have to be flashy or funny, but it should resonate with your target audience and be compelling enough for them to want to learn more. In a sense, the name is your project or business’ first impression.

The overview is where you can dissect the project name a little more for the sake of the team. In a sentence or less, use your overview to answer any questions that may remain from the project name to avoid miscommunication or back-and-forth between stakeholders and the creative team. This could be a brief explanation of what the project will be and its core message.

With your project name and description in hand, you’re ready to outline your main objectives and goals. Your objectives are detailed and project-specific. It’s your opportunity to align the team on potential setbacks before they happen, CTAs, and prove the project’s worth. 

All of this starts by defining these key points:

• The problem you’re addressing
• How the project will solve it
• Why it needs to happen

Nailing down the what, how, and why of your project will set the expectation for what a successful outcome will look like when it’s all said and done. From there, you can draw connections between the project’s more granular objectives and the company’s larger goals or mission. 

Your target audience is the group that will benefit most from your project or campaign and tells the creative team who they’re connecting with. If you already have user persona profiles created for your business, use those resources and market research to build this section! You don’t have to tell your user’s life story, but be sure to cover basic information including:

• Demographics : Age, job title, education, marital status, and ethnicity
• Behaviors : Buying trends and histories
• Psychographics : Their general interests, opinions, and attitudes)
• Location : Not just physical! Think about where to find your customer digitally

Now that you know who you’re marketing to, you can strategize the best ways to connect with them. Your messaging strategy is all about being in the right place at the right time and speaking to your audience the way they want to be spoken to. 

AKA, how will you distribute your creative project to the intended people?

Consider the social media and online platforms your target audience most commonly consumes, and create tailored content for those channels. This forethought will help you make significant decisions like whether to create a video, written post, or series of photos to draw your audience toward your product or service. 

But it doesn’t stop there. Once your audience member visits your website, reaches your CTA, or clicks on your link, be sure to greet them with consistent and familiar messaging to guide them all the way through the funnel. 

Ahh, now for the good stuff—what the project actually is. 

The prior sections of your creative brief are essential for justifying, setting up, and framing your assets for a successful launch. But there are many ways to interpret the project strategy and vision up to this point. Use this section to eliminate any gray area and potential miscommunication by detailing exactly what the creative team will provide. 

Your final creative deliverables include all digital or physical media requested, specific design elements, references to similar work, size or format requirements, mockups, and more. To ensure your client or stakeholder is completely satisfied with the final product, it’s better to lean into the details than leave too much for the imagination. 

It may not be your favorite part of the job, but it’s so important to be fully transparent about your budget. Your budget isn’t a limitation, it helps the creative team determine how creative they can get with the request. 

Be sure to note whether there’s a bit of wiggle room in the budget and when the project has hit the maximum amount. Think of your budget like the bumper rails on a bowling lane. Having these boundaries give the creative team clear guidelines to work within.

If you need help with budgeting your project—try the ClickUp Budget Project Management Template to break down every detail and cost.

And let’s not forget—the creative team members are experts in this! The challenge of crafting projects within a predetermined set of requirements is nothing new for them. 

With a crystal-clear budget to lead start the project off on the right foot, no one will be disappointed or met with an unwanted surprise.

When mapping out your timeline, it’s easier to start with the significant dates in your project—also known as your project milestones! These benchmark events include:

• Your project kick-off
• Creative brief approval
• Draft reviews
• Production completion
• Final asset turnover

With these dates, you can flesh out the tasks between each milestone, subtasks, dependencies, recurring meetings, and more. 

Your approved timeline and milestones will be the central resource for building a detailed project roadmap and properly delegating the teams’ individual workloads. 

To establish full transparency with everyone involved, make sure you identify each major player for the creative project. 

For the project manager, this clarifies each point of contact, their titles, and final sign-offs. As for the project itself, this portion of the creative brief also acts as a paper trail documenting whether certain aspects of the project have been approved and when. 

Once you’ve taken the first pass at constructing your creative brief, send it back to your client and stakeholders for final approval—then it’s time to put it to use! 

After the creative brief has been reviewed and accepted, no further edits should be made. But of course, all projects are different! If changes are made to the brief at any point, be sure to thoroughly document, date, and share those updates with everyone involved in a proper project meeting. 

Even with a clear outline and step-by-step workflow, nothing beats a pre-built and customizable template to streamline your creative brief process. 

These tools were designed to include every critical element to avoid errors that may haunt you down the road. Your ideal creative brief template will seamlessly integrate with your creative project management software and be easily tailored to each project’s needs. 

ClickUp leads the charge when it comes to templates for creative and design teams with its own vast Template Library . With over 1,000 templates and new ones created every week, ClickUp has you covered—no matter your use case! Here are a few of our favorite creative brief templates to jump-start your next project.

1. Creative Brief Document Template by ClickUp

If you’re looking for a carefully curated, beginner-friendly, and collaborative creative brief template—this is it! The Creative Brief Document Template by ClickUp is the secret to aligning the marketing team, stakeholders, and clients on all creative project elements well before the project begins.

From defining your project’s purpose to outlining the budget, this template breaks down every must-have creative brief element in an easy-to-use format with pre-built tables, checklists, and prompts to guide you.

This ready-made ClickUp Doc also comes loaded with every powerful feature ClickUp is known for including:

• Threaded and assigned comments to streamline your editing process
• Slash Commands to embed tasks, third-party websites, rich styling, and media for added context throughout your template
• Nested pages to expand your creative brief into the production process and build a visual hierarchy
• Simple @mentions to call members to your Doc
• Custom sharing and permission settings to control who can edit or view your brief

And more! Access this template in all its glory at absolutely no cost

2. Creative Brief Demand Planning Template by ClickUp

Use the Creative Brief Demand Planning Template by ClickUp on its own or pair it with the template mentioned above to set clear goals before your creative project. This template takes your traditional creative brief example a step further with features to help you act on your ideas the moment inspiration strikes you.

This intuitive List template is every creative project manager’s dream with five Custom Statuses to visually convey progress, 20 Custom Fields to filter and sort tasks in seconds, and seven custom views to manage your projects from every angle. Among these many views, you’ll find:

• A pre-built List to organize all of your creative work 
• A creative brief Form to collect all necessary information from the client
• Every accepted project is arranged in a clean Table view
• A detailed project calendar to stay on top of deadlines and project Milestones

And much more. Especially if your agency juggles more than one creative project at a time—this template is for you. 

3. Creative Brief Whiteboard Template by ClickUp

We’re not saying we saved the best for last—but it’s certainly the most interactive! The Creative Brief Whiteboard Template by ClickUp bridges the gap between business and design to effectively communicate ideas and requirements from the same highly visual canvas.

Unlike your typical digital whiteboard software , ClickUp Whiteboards connect instantly to your workflow with the power to convert any text into actionable tasks. This isn’t just a pre-structured diagram .

This template stays with you long after your own creative brief is approved with workflow Automations , seven Custom Statuses, and nine Custom Fields to take the edge off of your creative process. Plus, there are four ready-to-go project views to help craft your timeline and workflows. 

Take Your Creative Briefs Further in ClickUp

OK, we covered a lot of material there. Let’s regroup, shall we? By now, you’ve got:

• The must-have elements of any creative brief
• A detailed outline to craft your own
• A step-by-step workflow 
• Three creative brief examples
• Multiple creative brief templates

All that’s left to do is log into ClickUp and watch your creative brief transform before your very eyes!

ClickUp is the only productivity software powerful enough to centralize all of your creative work in one collaborative platform. With over 1,000 integrations , a vast Template Library, hundreds of project management features , and flexible pricing , ClickUp is the one-stop-shop solution for teams across industries.

What’s not to love? Try ClickUp for free, today !

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8 Steps to Writing a Creative Brief for Successful Project Delivery

Updated on: 22 August 2022

A project typically involves teams from different departments. As usually these teams speak and think in completely different ways, it often leads to communication challenges that will eventually thwart the results expected from the project. 

Aligning these disparate groups is key to delivering a quality product. To do so, you need to properly document what is expected from each team, leaving no room for confusion. One such document is the creative brief. This single document briefly clarifies the scope, deliverables, and deadlines specific to the creative requirements of a project. 

In this post, we will discuss what a creative brief is and how you can use it to successfully complete your projects.

What is a Creative Brief 

Let’s start with the basics. 

A creative brief is a document that details the mission, deliverables, challenges, demographics, messaging, deadlines, budget, and other key details pertaining to a creative project. It is often created by a creative project manager or a consultant to inform the company stakeholders or the clients on the important details of the project.

The creative brief helps establish agreement between the client and the marketing agency, or among the internal project team. It clarifies expectations and helps gain buy-in for the creative vision from those who are involved.  

A creative brief is usually a single page – sometimes may take up to two pages – document. However, a best practice to follow would be to try and keep it concise and limited to a single page. This will allow you to further extract the most important details and create a more refined picture of what you want to accomplish for the team.

Importance of a Creative Brief 

• Helps align the project participants around clear goals and get them on the same page.
• Documents and centralizes the key project details required to help the team work and collaborate efficiently. 
• Help clarify how you want your brand to feel and sound like in your creative assets to your creative partner/s.

Elements of a Creative Brief 

Although different projects or campaigns have different creative deliverables, creative briefs written for them may essentially contain more or less of the same elements. Based on whether you are employing internal or external support, you can include the following elements in your creative brief.

• Company background
• Problem or opportunity (project context and background 
• Goals and objectives
• Information on the audience 
• Messaging and tone
• Competitors
• Deliverables and KPIs
• Budget and timeline

How to Write a Creative Brief 

Whether you are creating the creative brief to present to a client or your internal team, it helps to first consult the project stakeholders to clarify the mission, project goals, priorities, and the possible challenges your team is facing. With this knowledge, you can write a compelling brief that focuses on what’s really important to your client or your company. 

Here are the steps to writing a creative brief effectively. 

Explain who you are

In case you are working with an external agency, you need to explain the core element of your business so they can better understand your brand before developing the campaign. This section can include a brief overview of your company , its mission, and other key details on the background of the brand. 

Specify the problem or opportunity (project context and background)

This is where you need to explain the’ why’ of the project – or the reason for initiating this project in the first place. This may either entail a challenge that your project aims to address and solve, or an opportunity you want to embark on. A brief statement explaining the need for the project and the proposed solution should be included here. 

Define the goal and objectives

Now that you have identified the specific business need your project will address, it’s time to write down the goal of the project. Include a statement of what needs to be accomplished, accompanied by the metrics that will be used to measure success. 

Resources: The Easy Guide to the Goal Setting Process

Profile your target audience 

This section answers who you will be targeting with your project or campaign; whether you are trying to reach out to your existing customers or a segment of new customers. The more information you have on them, especially in terms of demographics, their behaviors, pain points, motivations, and desires, the more you will be able to develop a campaign that successfully caters to their specific needs.

If you already have developed a customer persona, you can extract the necessary details from there.

Resource: The Easy Guide to Creating a Buyer Persona

Summarize the messaging and tone 

Clearly establish the message you want to convey to your target audience. The key message should not only reflect your brand but also the tone and voice of it should match that of your overall brand identity. 

If you already have defined brand guidelines, you can add them in your creative brief or share them with the project stakeholders so they can refer to them. 

Define your competition 

This element isn’t essential. However, this extra piece of detail will help your creative team further understand what needs to be done. Understanding how the competitors are branding themselves to their customers and how they have positioned themselves in the market will help inform your own decision on how to market or advertise a product or service uniquely.

Resource: How to Analyze Your Competitive Landscape

Outline the deliverables 

What is the final outcome of the project or campaign? For example, it could be a TV ad, a landing page, a new blog post, an ebook, or a video. This section should specify what those deliverables are and clarify the asset requirements such as dimensions or number of versions.

Resource: Work Breakdown Structure for Identifying Project Deliverables

Establish the budget and timeline

Estimate the associated costs for running the campaign early on. This will help the team stay within budget. Highlight the overall budget and include a breakdown of how it will be allocated. 

Likewise, establishing a timeline for the project at the beginning can also help the team stay on track and deliver on time. Mention the important dates and deadlines so as to allow stakeholders to estimate their tasks properly.   

Resource: How To Create a Project Timeline

Additionally, you can include details on stakeholders (departments or the teams that will be involved), the process explaining the steps that need to be taken to complete the project, distribution channels, and how you will distribute your media. 

Ready to Write Your Own Creative Brief? 

Now that you are aware of what is a creative brief, the elements that need to be included in a creative brief, and how to write one, you can start creating your own with a Creately creative brief template. 

Share your Creately workspace with other stakeholders to collaborate with them in real-time, and make use of the infinite canvas to centralize other resources such as brand guidelines, customer personas, and competitor profiles, pertaining to your creative brief; you can import and add them as PNGs or SVGs to the canvas or link to them. 

Got any questions or suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

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How to Write a Creative Brief with Template

What is a creative brief?

A creative brief is a 1-2-page strategic document used by in-house marketing teams, ad agencies, and freelancers to clearly define the scope, goals, and requirements of a creative deliverable. 

It goes beyond the standard project brief by capturing the vision, voice, and target audience of a brand or campaign for writers, designers, and video teams assigned to the project. 

Here are a few examples of projects that benefit from a well-crafted creative brief:

• Brand and marketing collateral
• Print, radio, and TV advertising
• Interactive and web design
• Content strategy and marketing
• Video production

Why is a creative brief important?

Free artistic reign may work fine for personal creative projects. But if you’re delivering corporate campaigns or client projects, clarity is everything. 

If your creative team doesn’t understand the who, what, and why behind a project, they’re more likely to miss the mark. That creates unnecessary stress and frustration and adds more time and money to the project. No one wants that!

A clearly defined creative brief enables your team to deliver high-quality work with fewer rounds of revisions. By aligning your client’s goals and expectations with the people doing the creative work, delivering the desired outcome will be quicker and easier.

How to write a creative brief

There’s no single right format for writing a creative brief. It really depends on the kind of projects your creative team will work on and what you need to know to deliver quality work effectively and efficiently.

For example, ad agencies may want to include background info about the client and brand guidelines, while internal teams already understand those things and don’t need those extra details cluttering their creative briefs.

What elements should be in a creative brief?

Let’s take a quick look at some common elements you may want to include in your creative brief.

Company background

If you’re writing a creative brief for an advertising agency or freelance client, you’ll want to capture a brief snapshot of the company so you and your team understand the organization behind the project. 

Give a quick summary of the company and the products/services they offer, and be sure to include a link to their website so team members can dig deeper if needed. 

Project overview

A general idea of the project helps set the stage for what’s to come. Don’t worry about going into a ton of detail here. 

Simply explain what the project is and why it was initiated in 1-2 sentences. If this project will help solve a particular business challenge, this is a great place to capture that info. 

Project goals 

Understanding project goals makes it easier for your team to get creative right the first time. So draw a clear picture of success in this section. 

Here are a few questions you may want to answer:

• What’s the goal of the project?
• What action do you want the audience to take?
• What key metrics will you use to measure success?

Scope and specs

This is where the rubber meets the road as far as what will actually be produced. List the key project deliverables (with estimated hours, if applicable), and specify any size, format, color, or quantity requirements.

Feel free to customize this section based on the kind of creative work that will be delivered. For example, you may want to break out specific options for file format and dimensions in a graphic design creative brief, while word count might be the only spec that matters to a copy job. 

You don’t have to flesh out your entire project plan in this small space. That will come later. Just focus on major milestones , deadlines, and constraints your creative team needs to know right now.

This line item might not apply if you manage projects for an in-house team. But if you work for an agency or as a freelancer, you better believe your clients have a budget. Use this space to document the amount of money and/or hours that’s been allocated to the project.

Project team & stakeholders

Depending on the size of your project team and stakeholder group, you may want to spell out who’s doing what in your creative brief. Think of this as a high-level look at the people involved. 

Here are a few questions to consider:

• Who is the main point of contact for the client on this project?
• Who will serve as the project manager/lead?
• Who will be involved on your team? What are their primary responsibilities?
• Who are the key decision-makers?

Target audience

Good creative doesn’t happen in a vacuum. That’s why it’s important to know who your audience is and how your project will make their life easier. 

These questions can help paint a clear picture of the people this project will serve for your creative team.  

• Who are you trying to reach with this project or campaign? Include any relevant user personas and/or demographics. 
• Why will this project or campaign matter to your target audience? Describe how it solves a pain point, supports your audience’s values, or motivates them to make a change.

Competition

Understanding the competitive landscape can help your content writers, graphic designers, and video team find a unique hook and create truly innovative work. If your creative team doesn’t have a firm grasp of the competition, use this section to answer questions like these:

• Who are the key competitors in this space? Include relevant links to examples. 
• What sets your client/business apart from the competition?
• How will this project or campaign stand out?

Tone & messaging

Tone speaks volumes and sets the direction for any creative work. So provide clear voice and/or style guidelines, as well as any specific messaging that needs to be incorporated. 

One simple way to communicate this info is to list 3 adjectives that describe the tone or personality your client or stakeholder wants this project to convey.

Resources and examples

Be sure to include any relevant source materials (brand guidelines, logos, content, research, etc.) the team will need to get started. Feel free to share examples of past campaigns or outside projects you’d like your team to use as inspiration for this project.

Download a free creative brief template

We created a free creative brief template and example in Google Docs to help you save time. Feel free to customize it to fit your creative project needs! 

Download your free creative brief template

How to edit the creative brief template

To edit the creative brief template, you’ll need to save a copy to your own Google Drive or download it as a Microsoft Word document. 

Simply click File > Make a Copy (or File > Download as) , and you’re ready to go!

How to add your creative brief to a project in TeamGantt

Once you’ve completed a creative brief for your project, you’ll want to share it with your team. There are 2 easy options for doing that in TeamGantt.

• Add a link to the Google Doc in the Notes section of the Comments tab.

• Upload the creative brief as a Word or PDF document to the project or task comments.

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How to Write a Creative Brief [Free Template & Examples]

• October 10, 2022

Content Writer

There comes a time in the life of every business professional when they need to create a creative brief, and the first questions that pop up are What are the elements of a creative brief? and How do I write one?

But don’t worry, we are here to provide you with some insightful answers.

As we all know, there’s much more to a creative process than just being creative.

Before starting, you need an effective plan that sets the tone for your future strategies.  And in this case, your plan is called a creative brief that can be used for multiple business projects and digital marketing campaigns.

In today’s article we will talk about:

• What is a creative brief
• The 20 essential elements of a creative brief
• How to write a creative brief

Let’s get started!

Use the template to guide your creative brief creation.

What Is a Creative Brief?

Let’s see how we can define this concept a bit better so we can understand what we’re working with.

So a creative brief is a document used by creative professionals, marketing departments, and diverse agencies to:

• Outline a creative project and its progress
• Develop creative deliverables such as marketing campaigns, visual designs, promotional videos, advertising, websites, print ads, and more creative assets
• Brainstorm creative ideas

The document is usually developed in the initial stages of the creative marketing process by the requestor, which in most cases happens to be a marketing team member, creative project manager, or account manager. 

But no matter who creates the brief, they should be in close consultation with the client. After a thorough analysis, it is then approved by the creative team of graphic designers, writers, and project managers.

The creative brief is one of the many tools marketers have that ensure their marketing and advertising campaign materials connect with the audience they are targeting.  Not only this, but it also allows creative teams to better understand a project from start to end. 

Why Is a Creative Brief Important? 

There are many reasons why an effective creative brief is important to the marketing department, and essentially, to the whole business. 

To better understand the importance of a creative brief, let’s see how it can help your marketing and creative departments deliver better results.

The benefits of writing a creative brief:

• Allows you to outsource your digital marketing tasks
• Provides a stable plan
• Saves up time
• Keeps you and your internal team accountable
• Improves communication
• Helps you deal with requests faster

1. Allows You to Outsource Your Digital Marketing Tasks

Running a business is more than a job, and it usually doesn’t leave time for any other responsibilities. Any small business owner has been a jack of all trades at a certain point in time because they had no choice.

We know that hiring full-time content writers and digital marketing specialists can be expensive, but there is a better way to approach things — and a creative brief can be a huge help.

Let us explain. Having a detailed creative brief ready at all times allows you to share your vision with skilled freelancers who deliver customized services that will help you achieve your business goals. 

Outsourcing your digital marketing tasks is way more affordable, and by using a creative brief, you make sure the professionals you are working with provide customized and on-brand services.

SocialBee’s freelancers are ready to help whenever you need them.

Share your creative brief, thoughts, and objectives with our specialists so you don’t have to worry about creating content for your website, blog, and socials or growing your social media audience.

We got you covered!

Here are all the concierge services you can choose from:

• Social Media Specialist  – Starting at – $129/ month
• Article Writing – Starting at: $129/ month
• Copywriting – Starting at: $129/ month
• Guide Creation  – Starting at: $499/ guide
• IG Community Management – Starting at – $129/ month
• LinkedIn Lead Generation – Starting at – $129/ month
• Concierge Migration  – Starting at: $199/ one-time only
• Concierge Onboarding  – Starting at: $199/ one-time only

SocialBee offers digital marketing services for all your business needs. Pick the subscription that works best for you and start collaborating with skilled freelancers that have the creativity and knowledge to grow your business online.

Outsource your digital marketing now with SocialBee!

2. Provides a Stable Plan

When you have a plan, you know precisely how you can get from point A to point B. 

Not only that, but you know who is involved in the creative marketing process and what business tools you will be using in order to get to your destination. 

So, the creative brief offers you the plan that you need to get the job done. 

3. Saves Up Time 

Again, the creative brief will have all the details that the creative and marketing team members need. 

Every single participant knows what they are supposed to do and they know the deadline. So there is no more confusion and fumbling when it comes to completing tasks. 

4. Keeps You and Your Team Accountable

If the creative brief is well-thought-out, and all the tasks are shared equally among team members, then you will know exactly who doesn’t complete their work on time. 

As a result, you can ask if your colleagues need help or more time to complete a task and improve team collaboration. 

5. Improves Communication

In order for a project to be completed successfully, effective communication is essential. If you can’t communicate with your team about your project, then the project is most likely set to fail. 

But a creative brief can prevent this and make sure everyone is on the same page. With everything outlined, you know to whom you need to go when you need something and when. 

6. Helps You Deal with Requests Faster

In any project, creative or not, you will need higher-ups or clients to take a look over what you’ve already done, so you can see if you can proceed with the creative project. 

If you follow the creative brief thoroughly, then your clients or supervisors will have an idea of what was done and what follows. This makes them check requests faster and have them approved.

Creative Brief Key Elements 

• Project Name
• The Context and Background
• Business Profile
• The Product or Service
• The Target Audience 
• Buyer Persona 
• Customer Benefit
• Key Insight 
• Project Objectives 
• The Message 
• Calls to Action (CTAs)
• Communication Channels
• Desired Customer Behavior 
• The Tone of Voice 
• Essential Project Details 
• Deliverables 
• The Budget 
• Involved Team Members 
• Approval System

So now that we know what a creative brief is and some of the reasons why it’s important, let’s see what goes into creating an effective creative brief. 

Right off the bat, it’s good to mention that not all creative briefs are the same. Each team or business chooses what is important for them and customizes their brief to reflect those elements.

After a few creative projects, you too will see that your business might value different things and prioritize certain elements that other businesses don’t. 

The ideal is finding something that works for you .  

That being said, there are some essential elements that usually appear in the most effective creative briefs that you can use as inspiration for your own creative brief.

Here are some elements that you can consider including: 

1. Project Name

This is simple, any project needs a name — mainly for keeping things tidy and organized.

Try to name your creative brief as obvious as possible so that you can find it with a simple search.

2. The Context and Background

This section is necessary to establish the context for the project. Who wants this project to be done and more importantly, why? Moreover, here you should also include what lead to the development of this project, the mission it has and why is it important for the brand.

3. Business Profile

The business profile reveals general details about the business, such as values, mission, and vision, details that can put things into perspective and give your stakeholders an idea about your company’s culture.

4. The Product or Service

Every project has a purpose, and most of the time that purpose is to sell more of a product or a service.

So, it’s important that everybody involved in the project knows:

• What are you trying to sell
• Its features
• Product/service benefits
• The unique selling proposition (USP)

You should also mention how your product is different from what your competition offers and list some of your competitors.

5. The Target Audience  

Any creative project has a target audience . 

Defining your customers in detail will help your team and stakeholders understand who you are trying to reach through your marketing efforts. In addition, this will help you develop a better plan that resonates with your target market.

6. Buyer Persona  

Creating a buyer persona is an extra step that makes all the difference. 

Besides describing your customers by presenting general information about them, which is usually quite difficult to remember, try thinking about them as just one person (or more, depending on your business).

Building a character and giving it a story will help you and your team remember who you are trying to reach at all times.

7. Customer Benefit

Mention the main benefit your customers will have after purchasing from your business. In this way, the people involved in the project will know what to focus on while creating a promotional plan for your product/service.

8. Key Insight  

This element refers to all the information you have acquired regarding the public’s attitude towards your company, brand, product, or service.

The key insight is the starting point for your project. 

9. Project Objectives 

You can’t start a project without knowing what you want to achieve. 

What is to be accomplished? How will you track your performance and measure your success? 

State your objectives in the creative brief so you can have a constant reminder of what you are trying to accomplish and keep your team on the right track.

10. The Message  

This represents the main thing that your audience should remember from your marketing campaign or from your creative project. Make sure your team knows it and that they are able to present it in an effective and memorable manner, perhaps through an interactive digital presentation .

11. Calls to Action (CTAs)

CTAs are short and actionable statements that reflect the actions you want your customers to make after being exposed to your marketing materials.

List all of them in the creative brief and suggest how they should look and where should they be placed.

12. Communication Channels

In your creative brief, you should also mention your communication channels, the platforms you plan to share your messages for your target audience.

These can be online and offline channels, such as:

• Social media platforms
• TV channels
• Physical locations

13. Desired Customer Behavior  

Would you like the customers to purchase a product? Or maybe to recommend your business to other people? 

This is when you need to think about how you want your customers to act when they are in contact with your product or service.

14. The Tone of Voice  

This and the way you present yourself are things that are very important for your brand. When deciding on your brand’s tone, you can go for something that represents your brand’s personality. 

Your tone of voice can be serious, light-hearted, humorous, friendly, anything that best describes your business.

15. Essential Project Details  

These are the elements that are an absolute must in the creative project, such as the client’s information and contact details.

16. Deliverables 

Representing the means of delivery, or the best way in which your message will reach your audience. Here you can include the marketing materials you plan to use and the communication strategies that suit your project.

17. Due Dates  

Time management is very important in any business, so this element is a must in most creative briefs. It represents the deadline by which you need the creative project to be done.

18. The Budget 

Another thing that you need to know is the budget that the creative project is going to have. Monetary resources are finite, so you need to be careful with the amount that you can spend and not surpass it. 

19. Involved Team Members 

Split up the roles as soon as possible and decide who does what. This way, you will know who to turn to when you need updates and help with the project.

Moreover, you will eliminate any confusion regarding roles and responsibilities. 

20. Approval System

Designate people that need to check, edit and approve each task from the process. As a result, you establish an effective approval system and make sure the information you publish is correct, on-brand, and up to your company’s standards.

How To Write a Creative Brief

Start with the your company , mention your business objectives, provide details about your target market , list your competitors, establish your messaging strategy, include essential project details .

Now that you know the elements of a creative brief, let’s see how you can write one that is going to make your creative project stand out. 

Before starting the writing process, it’s important to remember this tip: keep your creative brief as simple as possible . 

After all, a creative brief is one-two pages long and it should only contain key information. This means that you shouldn’t crowd the brief with unnecessary details. Try to keep it concise and easy to follow. 

As we mentioned, you can use any elements that you find important.  If this is your first time coming up with a creative brief, then we suggest following this pattern, or even using a template. 

So without any further ado, here are some of the elements that most businesses have in the creative brief:

When you’re writing a creative brief, imagine that you are writing it for somebody who has never heard of your company. This person might be a client or a third-party agent, like a designer or a writer. 

This portion usually provides details regarding the history of the company, the mission, the brand, the product, etc. You need to try to give the essential details that will make your business stand out. 

Here you can add the main objectives of the project. Basically, you need to underline what you are trying to accomplish through this creative project. 

This can be done by uncovering a problem that your company has faced and presenting a solution for it, an action plan that will help you achieve a set of ambitions that will take your business to the next level.

Here are a few examples:

• Promoting a new product or service
• Expanding your target audience by getting the attention of a new group of people
• Increasing brand awareness

Image source

When starting a business, the target audience is one of the things that you need to consider first. And when you’re starting to work on a new creative project, you need to take the target audience into consideration. 

Generally speaking, the target audience of the creative project should be the target audience of the business. But some projects focus on expanding the target audience or getting the attention of a new class of customers. 

In any case, you need your project to be seen by the right people. And this can be done by defining the target audience. 

To find out who your audience is, here are some guiding questions that you can ask yourself or your team:

• Who is the product designed for?
• What is your client’s demographic? (for example, location, age, gender, job, annual income, etc)
• What are your client’s needs? Does the product fulfill those needs? 

Here you can also add information about:

• Key insights about how your audience perceives your brand
• The customer benefit
• Desired customer behavior

If you pay attention, you can learn a lot from your competition. Your team can see what other businesses are doing right, but more importantly, it can see what other businesses are doing wrong. 

Because although some marketers believe that bad marketing is still marketing, it’s best to stray away from making any mistakes and tarnishing your image. This is why having a solid list of competitors, local and international, is a good idea. 

The message is what your audience gets to see from your creative project. If your message is not clear enough, your customers will not know:

• If the message is intended for them 
• If your product is the solution for their problem 

So when drafting your message you need to pay close attention to the tone you’re using and to the channel that it will be promoted on. Also, remember to add clear and convincing CTAs that will encourage your customers to do the desired action.

When it comes to tone, take a look at the company’s brand and try to match it to the already established image. 

For example, if the company is generally using a more serious tone, don’t go for something overly friendly or humorous. If you don’t stay on brand, you risk losing the trust of your existing customer base.

For example, the tone of a brand can be empowering and uplifting. Dove and Cromat are great examples of this, using their campaigns not only to market their products but also to make women feel comfortable and happy in their skin. 

Another great example is Old Spice , whose brand tone is humorous and friendly. This can be seen in the funny commercials the brand has with Terry Crews, which just end up sticking out in the dull drone of TV commercials. 

Of course, your brand tone can be serious, informative, and professional as well, as seen in CloudSmartz example or most B2B businesses. 

Briefs can have different mandatory elements, because generally, what is mandatory is different from business to business and from project to project. 

For example, if you’re working for a new client, then these mandatory elements can be the logo, the brand colors, and fonts, the brand voice, the USP, the differentiators, etc. 

Mandatory elements can also be the budget for the creative project, the timeline, and the team members that will participate in this project. 

Creative Brief Examples

We know reading all of this information can be pretty confusing, which is why we have prepared a few great examples of creative brief templates that you can analyze.

Here are two creative briefs designed by Redbull and Reebok:

Another example of a brief well-done comes from Nike. We can see that the general go-to technique is keeping things sweet and short .

You can see that although some points are the same, businesses usually customize their creative briefs and add whatever seems important. 

Are you looking for free creative brief templates? Look no further, we have created a customizable brief you can start using today.

Write Your Own Creative Brief

So, what do you think? Writing creative briefs is not as intimidating as it sounds, right?

Plus, by considering our tips and having access to our creative brief template, we believe that coming up with your own brief will be a much easier and even a fun task to do, dare we say.

So, check out our creative brief examples, download our template and start creating your next big project today.

Don’t forget to use SocialBee to share your messages on your social media platforms and make the most out of your business projects.

Start your free 14-day trial today to test all the content creation and publishing features SocialBee has to offer!

Article written by

Content writer at SocialBee

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How to write an Exceptional Creative Brief with 8 Key Elements

In many projects, we encounter budget overruns, extended deadlines, and changing project scopes. These challenges often arise from a lack of initial alignment, emphasizing the necessity of an effective creative brief.

A well-designed creative brief clearly identifies the project's challenges and provides a roadmap for resolution. It empowers the creative team with the necessary project details, aligning with the client's vision and project goals.

This approach avoids prescribing exact solutions, allowing creativity to flourish within the parameters of budget and timelines.

By focusing on these aspects, a creative brief act as a guide, steering the project in the right direction and ensuring that everyone is on the same page. This strategic approach supports the team in delivering creative solutions effectively and efficiently.

In this guide, we'll explore the contemporary method of crafting creative briefs with Milanote. Keep in mind that the process of drafting a brief isn't linear. Feel free to navigate back and forth among the steps as needed.

What is a creative brief?

It's a document where we outline the key elements of our project: our objectives, who we're trying to reach, and what message we want to convey. This isn't just a simple to-do list; it's a complete guide, a thoughtful, comprehensive guide that informs every aspect of our creative process.

By defining our target audience, project goals, and the key messaging, the creative brief template helps us stay focused and aligned. It ensures that our creative efforts are not just imaginative, but also strategic and effective in achieving our desired outcomes.

Who should create a creative brief?

A good creative brief should be used by a variety of professionals and teams who are involved in creative and strategic projects. This includes:

• Marketing Teams
• Graphic Designers
• Creative Agency
• Advertising Agency
• Project Managers
• Web Designers and Developers

Why are creative briefs important?

The creative brief aligns all key stakeholders involved, ensuring clarity and consistency across the project scope. 

This essential document outlines the project details, including the project timeline and the client's vision for the final project deliverables.

 Its use significantly reduces issues like scope creep, where project requirements continuously shift, and aids in meeting everyone's expectations for the final outcome.

Here’s how a creative brief helps:

Challenges Addressed:

• Budget overruns.
• Extended project timelines.
• Scope changes during the project.
• Misalignment within the team.

Solutions Provided by a Creative Brief

• Clear identification of project challenges.
• Defined roadmap for project execution.
• Empowering the creative team with essential project details.
• Alignment with client's vision and project goals.

Also Read: Top 10 Graphic Design Project Management Software for your Business

How to write a creative Brief

Whether you are developing a creative brief for a marketing or advertising client, you can employ a similar strategy. Follow these steps when writing a creative brief.

1. Defining the Creative Team and Client's Vision

Creating a successful project begins with understanding the client's vision, a task that falls squarely on the shoulders of the creative team. Think of them as the architects of your project's success. Their role?

To dissect the creative brief, extracting every ounce of insight to ensure every team member is aligned with the client's objectives.

How do they do it? By asking the right questions, delving deep into the brand's essence, and transforming abstract ideas into concrete plans.

The creative brief is your magnifying glass. It’s more than just a document; it’s the roadmap that guides you through the maze of the client's mind. Your mission? To uncover the hidden gems of their expectations, the subtleties of their brand, and the exact nature of what they seek.

This process involves an in-depth exploration of the client's business, target audience, and the ultimate message they want to convey.

2. Identifying the Target Audience

When embarking on any project, pinpointing the target audience is a cornerstone of success. This task becomes remarkably crucial when drafting a creative brief. Let's break down how identifying your audience not only sharpens your creative direction but also aligns your marketing team's vision and goals.

Demographics tell you who your audience is, but psychographics reveal their why. What are their hobbies, values, and challenges? A creative brief incorporating psychographic data ensures your message resonates on a deeper level.

3. Outlining the Project Scope and Deliverables

When you're crafting a brand statement or creative brief, defining the project scope and deliverables is like plotting a roadmap for your marketing journey.

Project Scope

Let's start with the project scope. It's essential to establish clear boundaries and goals. What is the campaign aiming to achieve? Is it brand awareness, increased sales, or customer engagement? For instance, if you're launching a new product line, your scope might include market research, content creation, and a multi-platform advertising campaign.

Creative Deliverables

Remember, a successful project is rarely a solo effort. It's about collaboration. Regular brainstorming sessions with your internal team can unearth innovative ideas and prevent any oversight. Now, onto the deliverables. These are the tangible outcomes of your project.

Check this: The 8 Best CRM for Creatives To Manage Their Work

4. Developing a Strong Marketing Campaign Strategy

Crafting a successful marketing campaign hinges on a well-defined creative brief. This document acts as your roadmap to successful campaign, outlining the unique attributes of your product or service and ensuring your messaging resonates effectively with your target audience.

Incorporating Key Messaging

Defining your unique selling proposition (usp).

Identify what sets your product apart. Is it an innovative feature or unmatched quality? For example, a smartphone that's not only cutting-edge but also environmentally friendly distinguishes itself in the market.

• Why a Creative Brief Matters : A detailed creative brief lays the groundwork for your campaign, ensuring all efforts align with your brand's goals and values.
• How to Identify Your USP : Dive into market research, competitor analysis, and customer feedback to unearth what truly makes your offering unique.
• Tailoring the Message : Align your messaging with your audience's expectations and preferences. This alignment increases engagement and conversion rates.
• Measuring Success : Implement tools and methodologies to track the performance of your campaign, allowing for data-driven decisions.

5. Detailing the Brand Voice and Key Messaging

When it comes to crafting a powerful marketing strategy, the cornerstone is undoubtedly a well-structured creative brief. It's this document that breathes life into your brand's voice and messaging, aligning your campaign's vision with concrete, actionable steps.

Establishing a Consistent Brand Voice

A clear, consistent brand voice, outlined in your creative brief, is key to building trust and recognition.

• Identifying Your Brand's Personality : Is your brand more of a friendly advisor or a bold innovator? Your creative brief should clearly articulate this personality. Think of your brand as a character – what words would you use to describe it?
• Engaging Your Audience : Your brand's voice is not just what you say, but how you say it. It's about connecting with your audience on a human level. A touch of humor, a dash of empathy – these are the elements that make your brand relatable.
• Educating Through Storytelling : Use real-life scenarios to illustrate how your brand's voice comes to life. For instance, if your brand is community-focused, share stories of real people and communities you've impacted.

Crafting Effective Key Messaging

• Clarity and Simplicity : Convey your message without jargon or complexity. Your audience should understand your value proposition instantly.
• Alignment with Brand Values : Every message should reflect your brand's core values – be it innovation, sustainability, or customer-centricity.
• Consistent Messaging Across Campaigns : Ensure your campaigns don't contradict each other. Unified messaging strengthens brand identity.

6. Setting Project Timelines and Budget Requirements

A good creative and brief isn't just about the 'what' and the 'how' of a project; it's also about the 'when' and the 'how much'. Effective management of project timelines and budget requirements is crucial to the success of any campaign.

Managing Project Timelines

• Start with the End in Mind : What’s your project deadline? Work backwards from this date to set milestones. Your creative brief should clearly outline these milestones to ensure everyone's on the same page.
• Allocate Time Wisely : How long will each task take? Be realistic in your estimations. Remember, underestimating time can be as detrimental as overestimating.
• Regular Check-Ins : Schedule weekly or bi-weekly meetings to track progress. This keeps everyone accountable and ensures the project stays on track.

Outlining Budget Requirements

Itemize Your Expenses : Break down your project into tasks and assign a cost to each. This includes everything from manpower to materials.

Track and Adjust : Keep a close eye on your spending. If you’re consistently over or under budget, it’s time to reassess and adjust.

Also Read: Top 9 Design Agencies Serving Clients with Comprehensive Creative Solutions

7. Examples and Templates for Effective Creative Briefs

Creating a successful, creative brief template can often feel like an elusive art form. However, the process becomes much more approachable with the right templates and examples at your disposal.

Utilizing Creative Brief Templates

Templates are your best friends in crafting an effective creative brief. They provide a structured outline and content brief, ensuring you cover all essential aspects of the project. These templates typically include sections for project objectives, target audience, messaging, and more.

Creative Brief Sample

Project Title: Launch Campaign for Eco-Friendly Apparel Line

Date: [Insert Date]

Prepared by: [Your Name/Team]

1. Background and Overview

• Project Description: This campaign is designed to introduce our new line of eco-friendly apparel to the market. Our goal is to position our brand as a leader in sustainable fashion.
• Objectives: Increase brand awareness, establish a market position, and drive initial sales.

2. Target Audience

• Primary Audience: Environmentally conscious consumers aged 25-40, who value sustainability in their purchases.
• Secondary Audience: Fashion enthusiasts looking for trendy, eco-friendly options.

3. Key Messaging

• Main Message: "Fashion with a Conscience" – Emphasizing the stylish nature of our apparel while highlighting our commitment to sustainability.
• Supporting Messages: Focus on the quality, durability, and unique design of our products, along with their minimal environmental impact.

4. Creative Considerations

• Tone and Style: Fresh, vibrant, and inspiring, resonating with a young, environmentally conscious demographic.
• Visual Elements: Use of natural and recycled materials in product displays. Imagery to feature diverse models in natural settings.

5. Media and Channels

• Primary Channels: Social media (Instagram, Facebook), Online advertising, Email marketing.
• Secondary Channels: In-store promotions, local eco-friendly events, and collaborations with influencers in the sustainability niche.

6. Budget and Resources

• Total Budget: $50,000
• Resource Allocation: Breakdown of how the budget will be allocated across production, advertising, influencer partnerships, and other expenses.

7. Timeline

• Campaign Launch Date: [Insert Date]
• Key Milestones: Finalize product designs by [Date], Complete photoshoot by [Date], Launch online ads by [Date].

8. Success Metrics

• Quantitative: Increase website traffic by 30%, achieve a sales target of $100,000 in the first quarter, grow social media following by 20%.
• Qualitative: Enhanced brand image as an eco-friendly fashion leader, positive customer feedback and engagement.

9. Approvals

• Required Approvals: Final approvals from the marketing director, creative team, and finance department.
• Deadlines for Approval: [Insert relevant dates]

Also Read: 6 Best Project Management Software for Creative Agencies

Creative Brief Examples

Learning from examples is equally important. Analyze successful creative briefs from past projects or those shared by industry leaders. Pay attention to how they articulate goals, identify target audiences, and outline strategies.

Look at Nike's Creative Brief, it elaborated every element from target audience to its vision in future and the objective of the campaigns along with the problem addressed.

Paypal creative brief is the same as Nike with target audence mentions, challenges, insights from the projects but their main message is simple and appealing.

Quaker Oats has included facts and the universal language of including consumer's data to enhance their creative storytelling.

This creative brief example of coke's showcases company goals and is quite more direct that most creative briefs which are including 4 key elements-target audience, project's purpose/key message, problems and key insights.

Reebok has used to specific details in their company background and target audience structure in their creative briefs. It has written about the company's background which I think only new brand should use to introduce. themselves.

8. Finalizing and Reviewing the Creative Brief

Finalizing and reviewing a creative brief is a critical step in any project.

Ensuring All Essential Elements are Included

First things first, your creative brief needs to be thorough. Make sure it includes the project manager's objectives, target audience, key messages, budget, timeline, and success metrics.

Review Process with Key Stakeholders

Key stakeholders – think project managers, creative directors, marketing teams – should scrutinize the brief. They'll bring different perspectives and might spot things you've missed.

But how do you make this process smooth and efficient? Here are some tips:

Schedule a Review Meeting: Get everyone in one room (or virtual room) to go through the brief together. This fosters collaboration and ensures everyone's voice is heard.

Use Clear Language: Avoid jargon and keep things simple. The easier it is to understand, the better the feedback you'll get.

Be Open to Feedback: Encourage stakeholders to be candid. The goal is to refine the brief, not just to defend it.

Follow-Up: After the meeting, send out the revised brief with the changes highlighted. Ask for a final round of feedback if necessary.

How ClientVenue can help you manage Creative Briefs

A creative brief establishes the foundational guidelines for your creative team, but it's merely the initial phase in organizing a creative project. After crafting a creative brief, the next crucial step is choosing the appropriate project management software to strategize your team's approach to the work.

ClientVenue stands out as a comprehensive project management software, providing an array of tools perfectly suited for planning, scheduling, and monitoring the progress of creative projects.

1. Plan With Multiple Project Planning Tools

ClientVenue simplifies your planning process. Utilize Gantt charts for detailed timelines, kanban boards for visual workflow management, task lists for specific activities, and project calendars to keep track of important deadlines.

These tools facilitate interactive planning, allowing for immediate task assignment and efficient deadline management.

Also Read:  A Guide to Top 10 Project Planning Tools

2. Real-Time Project Dashboards & Reports

Tracking the progress of a project is essential but can often be complex. ClientVenue's real-time dashboards streamline this process.

Get immediate updates on costs, timelines, and team workload. Creating comprehensive project reports becomes effortless, ensuring that all stakeholders are regularly updated about the project's progress.

Check This:  5 Efficient Project Management Software for Creative Teams

3. Track Cost with Timesheets

Budget management is a key aspect of any creative project. With ClientVenue, you get timesheet functionality that allows for precise tracking of labor costs.

Whether your team includes designers, writers, or other professionals, effortlessly monitor everyone’s work hours, helping to keep your budget on track and your project running smoothly.

4. Access to Creative Templates

ClientVenue offers a suite of innovative templates designed to streamline your creative processes. 

With our diverse range of customizable templates, you can efficiently organize creative ideas together, plan projects, and execute strategies, ensuring that your creative vision is transformed into reality with precision and ease.

Understanding and effectively utilizing a creative brief is fundamental in steering creative agency projects towards success.

ClientVenue provides an array of tools and templates, making it easier to manage these projects from inception to completion.

Whether it's through meticulous planning with various project tools, monitoring progress with real-time dashboards, or tracking labor costs efficiently, ClientVenue ensures that every aspect of your creative endeavor is addressed.

By embracing these resources, creative teams can enhance their productivity, streamline their workflows, and ultimately deliver outstanding creative results that resonate with their intended audience. Remember, the right tools and a well-crafted creative brief are the bedrock of successful project management.

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Creative Brief Examples

Unlock the power of effective communication and streamline your creative project management with our comprehensive guide to creative brief examples

Did you know that a staggering 65% of projects encounter delays due to miscommunication within teams? In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, the ability to craft a clear and concise creative brief has never been more critical.

In this resource-packed page, we dive deep into the world of creative briefs, exploring how they impact project management, resonate with target audiences, and drive successful marketing campaigns.

Discover the secrets of top-notch content creation, campaign management, and the innovative AI tools that can revolutionize your approach. Join us on a journey to transform your process with real-world examples and actionable insights.

What is a Creative Brief?

A creative brief is a foundational document used in the planning and executing various projects, particularly in the marketing and design fields. It serves as a guide, providing clear direction and context for the project at hand.

The creative brief outlines objectives, target audience, messaging, and desired outcomes, ensuring that everyone involved is aligned with the vision. Looking at creative brief examples can be enlightening; each creative brief example typically includes details like the scope of work, timelines, and specific requirements for creative assets.

While a creative brief can vary in format and detail, most creative briefs share a common goal: to encapsulate the essence of a marketing campaign or project in a concise, easy-to-understand manner. This clarity is crucial for effective communication and collaboration, leading to successful project outcomes.

Importance of Creative Briefs in Project Planning

The importance of creative briefs in project planning cannot be overstated, especially within the realm of project management. A good creative brief is pivotal as it articulates the project’s purpose clearly, ensuring all team members are on the same page.

This alignment is crucial in any creative project, fostering a shared understanding of the project goals and the desired outcomes.

For a  marketing planner , a well-crafted creative brief serves as a roadmap, guiding the project from conception to completion. It helps identify the target audience, set realistic expectations, and allocate resources effectively.

A creative brief bridges the gap between vision and execution, making it a fundamental tool in achieving project success.

Components of a Creative Brief Template

A creative brief template encapsulates key information for a project’s success. Among its essential elements, the template clearly defines the project goals, setting a clear direction for the internal team and any external agency involved.

These goals help in aligning the project’s vision and execution strategies.

A simple creative brief template often includes a project background, the target audience, key messages, and the expected desired outcome. This helps in ensuring that every stakeholder has a unified understanding of the project.

In addition, a creative brief template should detail the timeline, budget, and specific roles and responsibilities. This level of detail is crucial for effective project management and execution.

Each creative brief example serves as a roadmap, offering a structured yet adaptable approach to planning and implementing a project, ensuring that all parties are aligned and informed throughout the project’s lifecycle.

The Role of the Creative Team in Template Design

The creative team, consisting of creative agency team members and marketing team members, plays a crucial role in template design, especially for creative brief examples. Their expertise is key in ensuring that the designs are visually appealing and effectively convey the project’s objectives.

Working alongside the internal team, creative teams help translate abstract concepts into concrete, actionable plans, making them an essential part of any project that blends creativity with strategic execution.

Tailoring a Creative Brief Template for Different Creative Projects

Tailoring a creative brief template for different creative projects is crucial in aligning the creative process with the project’s purpose and project objectives.

When writing a creative brief, it’s important to adapt the template to fit each project’s unique demands, whether in-house or external.

This adaptation involves adjusting sections like the project timeline and specific goals. Using varied creative brief examples as references can aid in this customization, ensuring that each brief effectively guides the creative team from concept to completion.

Examples of Creative Briefs in Various Contexts

In various contexts, examples of creative briefs demonstrate their versatility.

The brief might focus on marketing strategy and brand voice for a marketing campaign, while an advertising campaign could emphasize the company background and creative approach.

Details about the video creative are crucial when writing creative briefs for a promotional video. As creative work progresses, these briefs guide the project objective, ensuring that each piece of creative work aligns with the intended goals and messaging.

Creative Brief Example in Marketing Campaigns

A creative brief example in marketing campaigns is a valuable tool for both marketing agencies and businesses. It outlines the campaign goals and sets the direction for the marketing creative.

Whether for an advertising campaign or other marketing initiatives, a well-crafted creative brief example ensures that all stakeholders are aligned and focused on achieving the desired outcomes in the marketing campaign.

To edit the brief, select “File” in the upper left-hand corner and then, “Make a Copy”. 

Target Audience Analysis in Creative Briefs

Target audience analysis in creative briefs is a crucial step. Whether for a marketing campaign or any creative project, understanding the target or intended audience is essential.

A creative brief example demonstrates how this analysis helps tailor messaging and creative elements to resonate effectively with the desired audience, enhancing the project’s success.

Brand Voice and Messaging in Creative Briefs

Defining the brand voice and brand statement is key in writing a creative brief. These elements guide the design creative and messaging to connect with the target audience effectively.

A well-crafted brief ensures the brand’s identity and messaging are consistent, creating a cohesive and impactful communication strategy.

Creative Brief Example for Advertising Campaigns

A creative brief example for advertising campaigns is indispensable, whether created by an advertising agency or in-house project. It encapsulates the essence of the campaign, defines the target audience, and guides the creative process.

With the help of creative brief examples, teams can ensure that the campaign’s objectives and messaging are clear and effective, setting the stage for successful advertising endeavors.

Elements of Creative Brief for an Advertising Campaign

The creative brief for an advertising campaign, whether prepared by an advertising agency or in-house creative team, comprises essential components that guide creative work effectively.

These elements in creative brief examples include details about the campaign’s objectives, target audience, messaging, and creative direction.

Such a brief acts as a roadmap, ensuring the creative team is aligned and focused on delivering impactful advertising content.

Creative Deliverables and Outcome Expectations

The essential elements in an advertising creative brief encompass specifying creative deliverables, establishing the desired outcome, and aligning them with the project objective and campaign goals.

Whether prepared by an advertising agency or an in-house team, this brief ensures that the creative work resonates with the company background and contributes effectively to the campaign’s success.

The Process of Crafting a Creative Brief

Crafting an effective creative brief, as demonstrated in creative brief examples, involves a structured approach to writing a creative brief.

Most creative briefs start by understanding the company background and project goals. Then, they define the creative work required to meet those objectives.

Whether you’re part of a marketing agency or learning  how to become a content creator , mastering the process of creating a concise and insightful creative brief is essential for success!

Steps to Write a Creative Brief

To write a creative brief, follow a structured approach. If needed, begin with understanding the project’s goals, using a simple creative brief template.

Define the creative work required in the first creative brief, drawing inspiration from a creative brief example. Keep the process of writing creative briefs concise and focused on guiding the process effectively.

Getting the Creative Team on the Same Page

Ensuring the creative team is on the same page is vital for professional project management.

Utilize a creative brief template and involve the account manager to facilitate alignment. Share a well-defined creative brief that serves as a common reference point.

This approach helps creative teams and team members understand their roles, ensuring that everyone is synchronized in delivering creative work that meets project objectives, as exemplified in a creative brief example.

Defining the Project Scope and Projective Objectives

Defining the project scope and objectives is critical to project management. A creative brief example can serve as a helpful guide for this process.

Involving the creative team and account manager in gathering key insights ensures the design creative aligns with the project’s goals. Keep it concise, and ensure everyone is clear about the scope and objectives in just a sentence.

Utilizing Creative Brief Templates

Utilizing free creative brief templates, like the simple creative brief template, streamlines the process of creating a comprehensive creative brief. These templates provide a structured framework for efficiently outlining project details.

By leveraging these free creative brief templates, teams can save time and ensure consistency in their project planning and execution.

Free Creative Brief Templates and Resources

Free creative brief templates and resources are valuable assets for guiding the creation of comprehensive creative briefs. These templates provide a structured framework for outlining project details and aligning teams.

By leveraging a free creative brief template, teams can ensure clarity and consistency in their project planning and execution, resulting in more effective utilization of creative assets.

Customizing Templates for Your Own Creative Brief

Customizing a creative brief template for your own creative brief is a practical approach. Whether you’re writing a creative brief template or using creative brief examples as references, tailoring the template to your specific project ensures that it aligns perfectly with your objectives.

Typically, creative briefs benefit from this personalized touch, allowing you to address unique project requirements effectively.

Managing the Creative Process Through a Creative Brief

Managing the creative process with a creative brief is essential for a successful creative project. Whether you’re writing a creative brief overview or using creative brief examples as a guide, it is a crucial tool for aligning all project stakeholders and ensuring that the creative work stays on track and meets the project’s goals.

Aligning Creative and The Marketing Team

Aligning marketing creative with the marketing agency is pivotal for a successful collaboration. Ensuring that both teams understand the target audience and project goals is crucial.

By crafting their own creative brief and defining creative deliverables, the creative team can work harmoniously with the marketing team to achieve the desired outcomes. Effective project management and clear communication among team members facilitate this alignment, resulting in a cohesive approach to meeting campaign goals.

Creative Ideas and Marketing Strategies

Fostering creative ideas that align with the marketing strategy is paramount. A good creative brief guides the design creative process, enabling the creative team to develop innovative concepts that harmonize with the overarching marketing goals.

Communication and Collaboration in Creative Teams

Effective communication and collaboration within a creative team, including each internal team member with the broader creative team, ensures that every team member is on the same page regarding the details outlined in the creative brief.

This alignment fosters a seamless workflow and contributes to the successful execution of project objectives.

Role of the Creative Project Manager

The project manager is crucial in ensuring the creative project runs smoothly. They possess a deep understanding of the target audience and project objectives, enabling them to guide the creative team effectively.

By providing a brief overview of the creative brief and overseeing the various elements of a separate project, they bridge the gap between the client’s company and the creative execution, ensuring that all aspects align seamlessly.

Project Management and Timeline Planning

Effective project management and project timeline planning are vital to ensuring that projects stay on track. The project manager and each team member collaborate closely to coordinate and oversee the project’s progress.

Clear project management ensures that tasks are completed in alignment with the creative brief, and the account manager helps to maintain the timeline, ensuring that project milestones are met efficiently.

Advanced Considerations in Creative Briefs

Advanced considerations in creative briefs go beyond the essential elements to encompass key insights about the intended audience, company’s background, and the client’s vision.

These details ensure that project stakeholders comprehensively understand the target audience and the nuances of the company background.

Utilizing a good creative brief template, these advanced elements help align the creative direction with the client’s vision, resulting in more impactful and tailored projects.

Incorporating Company Background and Marketing Campaign Strategies

Incorporating the company background and marketing strategy into the creative brief is essential for a successful marketing campaign.

Using a well-structured creative brief template, the marketing creative and marketing agency can align their efforts with the company’s unique background and strategic objectives, resulting in a more cohesive and effective marketing campaign.

Understanding and Articulating the Brand Statement

Understanding and articulating the brand statement is crucial to crafting effective marketing creative. By referencing a creative brief example, teams can ensure that the brand’s messaging resonates with the target audience, aligning the creative direction with the brand’s identity and values.

Key Stakeholders and Their Influence on the Brief

Identifying key stakeholders and understanding their influence on the creative brief is essential. They play a vital role in shaping the brief to align with the target audience, project objective, and the client’s vision.

Utilizing a good creative brief, these stakeholders help define the scope of creative deliverables and guide the creative work to ensure that it effectively meets the project’s goals.

Specialized Creative Briefs for Different Media

Creating specialized creative briefs for different media is essential to effectively convey the visual elements and align with the client’s vision.

Whether it’s video creative for a promotional video or design creative for graphic designers, tailoring the creative brief to the specific medium ensures that creative work aligns with each project’s unique requirements, resulting in a cohesive and impactful outcome.

Creative Briefs for Social Media Campaigns

Crafting a creative brief for social media campaigns involves considering the  specific elements of a social media campaign , such as social media ads and the  social media kit .

Collaborating with a  social media strategist  ensures that the brief aligns with the objectives of  social selling  and effectively conveys the brand’s message across various social platforms.

Print Ad and Video Creative: Unique Challenges

Creating video creative and print ad campaigns presents unique challenges that require careful consideration within the creative brief.

While video creative involves motion, storytelling, and visual elements, print ads demand a static yet impactful visual message. Tailoring the creative brief to address these distinct requirements ensures that each medium effectively communicates the intended message.

Finalizing and Utilizing the Creative Brief

Finalizing and utilizing the creative brief is the culmination of your strategic efforts, setting the stage for a successful outcome.

Once your creative brief is complete, it’s essential to review it meticulously, ensuring that it aligns with the project’s objectives and resonates with your audience. It serves as the guiding document for your creative team, providing a clear roadmap for content creation and campaign execution.

By leveraging the insights and direction laid out in the brief, you can streamline your creative processes, minimize miscommunications, and enhance management.

This ultimately leads to delivering cohesive, impactful content that resonates with your audience and achieves your project’s objectives.

So, don’t underestimate the power of a well-crafted creative brief—it’s the key to turning your creative vision into a reality.

Key Elements of an Effective Creative Brief

Key elements of an effective creative brief, whether you’re using a simple creative brief template or referencing a creative brief example, include clear communication with the creative team and a well-structured approach when asked to write a creative brief that guides the project seamlessly.

Ensuring Clarity and Precision in Communication

Ensuring clarity and precision in communication is paramount when working with a creative team. Whether you’re writing creative briefs or using a creative brief example, conveying your expectations and requirements for creative assets with clarity ensures that the creative approach runs smoothly and delivers the desired outcomes of the project objective.

Measuring the Success of Creative Briefs

Measuring the success of a creative brief is essential for evaluating the outcome of a successful project. It involves assessing how well the brief aligns with the target audience and the achievement of the project objective.

Effective project management ensures that video projects and other creative endeavors are on track, contributing to the overall success of the creative brief.

The Evolution of Creative Work Post-Brief

The evolution of creative work post-brief is a dynamic process.

Whether you’re using a creative brief example to write a creative brief or relying on a deep understanding of the client’s vision and company’s background, it involves project management and adaptation as creative work progresses.

This evolution ensures that creative elements, such as social media ads, align seamlessly with the brand statement and continue to reflect the overall vision effectively.

Tracking Progress and Adjusting Strategies

Tracking progress and adjusting strategies is vital to project management in creative endeavors. It involves monitoring how well the creative work resonates with the target audience and aligns with the campaign goals outlined in the creative brief.

Adapting strategies based on the evolving landscape and company background ensures that the creative work remains effective throughout the project for initiatives like a social media campaign or video creative.

The Impact of Well-Designed Creative Briefs

Well-designed creative briefs have a significant impact on projects. They ensure that the target audience is effectively addressed, whether you’re writing a creative brief from scratch or using a creative brief template or creative brief example as a guide.

This clarity in communication leads to more cohesive creative work, particularly in the realm of marketing creative. It is instrumental in achieving the project’s desired outcome through effective project management.

How Kiopi Can Help Your Social Media Management Strategy

Kiopi, the versatile social media management platform, extends its capabilities beyond traditional social media management to assist with crafting compelling content briefs.

With its scheduling tool, you can plan and organize content creation tasks in a structured manner, ensuring that your content aligns seamlessly with your designated target audience. Kiopi’s  social media content calendar  is invaluable for content planning, helping you maintain a consistent posting schedule that resonates with your audience.

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What is a Creative Brief — Types, Templates and Formats

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I magine this: You’re an architect designing a grand skyscraper. But instead of a blueprint, all you have are vague ideas and hazy specifications. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? Now, let’s apply this scenario to the world of marketing and advertising. Here, our skyscraper is your campaign, and the blueprint? That’s your creative brief.

But just like any blueprint, a creative brief is more than a piece of paper—it’s a vital tool that can make or break a campaign. In the following sections, we’ll explore the importance of a creative brief, its key components, and how it sets the stage for a memorable and impactful campaign.

What is a Creative Brief for Creatives?

First, let’s define a creative brief.

A creative brief is a roadmap that ensures everyone involved — from copywriters to graphic designers, from marketing strategists to social media managers — knows exactly where they're headed, what they're building, and why they're building it.

Let's begin by looking at the definition of a creative brief.

CREATIVE BRIEF DEFINITION

What is a creative brief.

A creative brief is a strategic plan, or blueprint, that provides a clear understanding of a marketing or advertising campaign’s goals, audience, and expected outcomes. It's a comprehensive document that outlines the project's key elements, such as the campaign’s objectives, target audience characteristics, brand positioning, key messages, and deliverables. 

It acts as a guiding light for all creative individuals involved in the project, providing a clear direction and helping to keep everyone on the same page. In essence, a creative brief ensures that all creative solutions align with the project's strategic goals and objectives.

What is a Creative Brief Used For?

• Guiding creative project direction
• Aligning team on objectives
• Establishing clear audience understanding
• Ensuring consistent branding/message deliverance

The Importance of a Creative Brief

Imagine setting off on a journey without a map, or trying to assemble a puzzle without seeing the picture on the box. That's what embarking on a creative project without a brief is like.

Why is it important exactly? This video breaks down how creative briefs are used and why they are important for creatives. 

Intro to Creative Briefs  •  What they are and how Creatives can use them

Clarity and direction: your creative north star.

A creative brief is the cornerstone of any successful campaign, providing a roadmap for all team members to follow. Without it, there's a risk of miscommunication and confusion, leading to fragmented solutions that lack unity and coherence. 

A well-constructed creative brief establishes a clear direction from the get-go, setting the tone for the project and ensuring everyone is on the same page.

Efficiency and Time Management: Your Route to Streamlined Execution

A creative brief helps streamline the entire creative process, making it more efficient and time-saving. By establishing clear objectives, target audience, and key messages from the get-go, it avoids miscommunication and unnecessary back-and-forth between team members. This allows for a smoother execution of tasks, saving both time and resources.

The Role in Measuring Success: Your Yardstick for Achievement

Lastly, a creative brief serves as a benchmark against which the success of a project can be measured.

It outlines the objectives and deliverables, providing a clear yardstick to evaluate whether the end product has hit its mark or fallen short.  

This is vital for future campaigns, as it allows for a better understanding of what worked and what could be improved upon in the future.

Related Posts

• What is a Moodboard? →
• A Step by Step Guide to Making a Moodboard →
• Commercial Storyboard Examples and Techniques →

What is a Creative Brief Made Of?

Key components of a creative brief.

Now that we've grasped the significance of a creative brief, let's dive into its key components. These components are crucial in crafting a thorough and impactful brief that lays the foundation for a successful project. 

How To Write A Creative Brief? Example Seamless Campaign

As we analyze the components to a great creative brief, let's apply them to a specific example. We'll call this spec creative brief The Great Outdoors: An Adventure Gear Campaign .

Objectives: The Foundation of Your Campaign

The objectives are the starting point of your creative brief. They define what you want to achieve with your campaign and provide a clear direction for all creative solutions. These should be specific, measurable, and tied to overall business goals.

"Our goal is to create an engaging, visually compelling campaign that positions our brand as the go-to choice for outdoor enthusiasts. We aim to increase brand awareness by 30% and boost sales by 20% over the next quarter."

Target Audience: Knowing Who You're Speaking To

Understanding your target audience is crucial for any campaign's success. The brief should include a detailed description of the target audience, including demographic information, psychographic traits, and any other relevant characteristics that will inform creative decisions.

"We're speaking to adventurers aged 25-45, both male and female, who love to explore the great outdoors. They value quality, durability, and functionality in their gear. They are eco-conscious and prefer brands that align with their environmental values."

Brand Positioning: Staying True to Your Identity

A brand's positioning is what sets it apart from its competitors. It defines the unique value proposition and personality of the brand and should be clearly stated in the creative brief. This will ensure that all creative solutions are aligned with the brand's identity.

Example: 

"Imagine this: you're standing at the edge of a forest, a vast wilderness stretching out before you. You're not just a visitor here - you're part of it, connected to the earth beneath your feet and the sky above. That's the feeling we want our brand to evoke.

We're not just selling outdoor gear; we're selling the promise of adventure, the thrill of exploration, the serenity of nature. Our products are more than mere tools — they're companions on a journey, reliable and rugged, ready to face whatever challenges the wild throws your way.

We position ourselves as the brand of choice for the fearless explorers, the weekend warriors, the lovers of the great outdoors. We understand your passion because it's our passion too. And we're here to ensure that nothing comes between you and your next adventure."

Key Messages: Communicating Effectively

Key messages are the main points you want your audience to take away from your campaign. They should be concise, memorable, and aligned with the objectives and brand positioning.

Example: "Embrace your wild side with gear that's as tough and ready for adventure as you are. Our products are not just tools, but companions in your quest to explore the great outdoors."

Deliverables: The End Goal

The deliverables are the final outputs of your campaign. These should be clearly stated in the brief, along with any specifications or requirements.

• A series of social media posts showcasing our products in action.
• A short promotional video for web and television.
• Print ads for outdoor and lifestyle magazines.
• Email marketing campaign targeting existing customers and leads.

Timeline and Budget: Keeping Things on Track

A creative brief should also include a timeline and budget for the project. This will help keep things on track and ensure that all team members are aware of deadlines and constraints.

• Kick-off meeting: January 1, 2024
• Initial concepts due: January 15, 2024
• Final drafts due: February 1, 2024
• Campaign launch: March 1, 2024

The total budget for this campaign is $200,000. This includes creative development, production costs , media buying, and analytics tracking.

There you have it, a simple yet comprehensive creative brief outline. Remember, the more detailed and specific your creative brief is, the better equipped your team will be to deliver impactful and effective solutions.

How to Write a Creative Brief

Tips for crafting a creative brief.

Crafting a creative brief is an essential step towards creating a successful campaign. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Involve all stakeholders in the process to ensure everyone's input and perspective is considered.
• Keep it concise and to the point. A brief should be easy to understand and provide a clear direction without being overwhelming.
• Be specific and avoid vague language or generalizations. This will help avoid misinterpretations and ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Continuously refer back to the objectives, keeping them at the forefront of all creative solutions.

A creative brief is more than just a document — it's a crucial tool for successful marketing and advertising campaigns. By providing clarity, efficiency, and a measurement of success, it sets the foundation for impactful and effective creative solutions. Remember to include all key components and follow these tips when crafting your next brief, and you'll be well on your way to creating a winning campaign.  

What is a Mood Board?

Another essential tool in the creative process is the mood board.  This visual representation of the desired aesthetic, tone, and messaging can serve as a guiding light for all creative decisions. Learn more in our next article.

Up Next: Mood Boards Explained →

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Ultimate Guide to Writing a Creative Brief

March 20, 2022

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Table of Contents:

What Is a Creative Brief?

Creative brief template, how to write a creative brief, creative brief examples, how to evaluate creative campaigns.

Creative briefs provide creative and project direction when requesting work from a creative team—either internally or when working with an external agency. But you’ll often come across different formats for creative briefs, even within a single organization. This causes inconsistency. It also creates confusion since everyone is literally working from different pages—leading to lost time and rework. 

That is the exact opposite of what a creative brief is supposed to do. They’re meant to:

• Eliminate conflicting information so that everyone has a singular understanding of creative direction.
• Provide enough information to understand project scope, expectations and deliverables, including clear measures of success.
• Reduce contradictions in feedback that might arise later in the project.

To do this, all great creative briefs have three important jobs:

• Strategy —Without strategic direction, it’s unlikely you’ll produce a great creative product. Your creative brief needs to detail the strategy, which includes making specific (and sometimes tough) choices. 
• Inspiration —Each brief sets an inspirational starting point, an aspiration. This is not to be confused with inspirational or creative language, which is a common mistake. You avoid misinterpretation by being clear and intentional in the language you use to convey your requirements.
• Agreement —Ultimately, the brief is an agreement between those requesting the work and those who are going to do it, becoming the single version of truth and setting expectations for what’s worthy of approval at the end of the process.

In a nutshell, a creative brief is a document that clarifies communication strategy, sets an inspirational starting point and outlines agreed-upon requirements for evaluation. Stakeholder and team alignment is essential from the very beginning.

The ideal creative brief template places the most important information creative teams need to know up front on a single page. This eliminates the need to create a duplicate or competing brief on the part of the agency.

You can download the creative brief template below . Use it to follow along with the rest of this guide.

Creative briefs shouldn’t be written alone. Just as the development of creative work is a collaborative process, so is the creation of the brief. Including your creative team, marketing team and senior stakeholders up front will set you up for success as you work through each of the following sections:

• What are you specifically tasked with delivering? Is this a new campaign, campaign extension or one-off ad/communication?

Target Statement

• To whom are you speaking?

Key Insight/Tension/Problem

• What have you learned about the target that presents the opportunity?

Current Behavior

• What does the consumer/customer do today that you want to change?

Current Belief

• What does the consumer/customer think/feel today that results in their current beliefs?

Desired Behavior (Communication Objective)

• What does the consumer/customer do today that you want to change with your campaign?

Desired Belief (Single-minded Proposition or Core Message)

• What do you need the consumer/customer to think/feel to elicit the desired behavior?

Reason to Believe (RTB)

• Why should consumers/customers believe you?

Brand Character and Tone

• In what way should you speak to the target?

Once you’ve determined the assignment, it’s time to dive deep into writing each critical component:

• Target statement 
• Key insight/tension/problem
• Current and desired behavior
• Current and desired belief
• Reason to believe
• Brand character and tone statement

How to Write a Target Statement

The target statement is crucial because it answers the central question of the whole project: “To whom are you speaking (who’s your audience)?” If you’re stuck, the answers to these questions will provide you with the information you need to write a well-defined target statement. 

• Are you speaking to current users or competitive users who aren’t using your products/services today? You can also consider in-category versus out-of-category. Basically, you want to figure out where the opportunity is and with whom it exists.
• What are the three most important things you would tell someone so they quickly understand the persona profile?
• What are the target users’ attitudes toward the category, your brand or product, and life in general? Attitudes create a mental picture and help you get inside their heads.

With an initial profile mapped out, there are a few additional things you’ll need to do (or not do in some cases). These aren’t just for consideration. You actually need to do them in order to write a great creative brief.

Things to do:

• Describe a single person —Write the target statement as if you’re describing a single person. It will make it easier to add the kind of detail you need to give your creative team.
• Create a mental picture —You want to do this so that anyone who reads the brief can easily picture the person.
• Use psychographics and behaviors —Go beyond demographics and geography. Diving deep into the person’s mindset and lifestyle behaviors will help your creative work resonate with your target. 

Things not to do:

• Lengthy bullet lists —Long lists of bullet points are not helpful when creating a mental picture of your single target persona. 
• Demographics only —The richness of the mental picture will shine through when you imagine the target holistically—attitudes, beliefs, values, etc.
• Vague language —Don’t leave room for misinterpretation. Doing so may result in final work that could easily be used by any brand.

Examples of Target Statements

Example #1 (not so good)

The first example is just a list of demographics:

• Adults 30 to 55
• $40K+ household income 
• 60% women, 40% men 
• Millennial moms

This type of target statement could fit any number of brands. It’s simply not very useful from a creative perspective. Your creative team won’t be able to develop ideas that are going to resonate with your audience.

Example #2 (much better)

In contrast, imagine a target statement like this one:

• “CEO mom,” head of her household and the breadwinner. She wears a power suit. She likes things in order and sticks to a routine because it makes her feel good when things run like clockwork.

That creates a much clearer and stronger mental picture. It gives you an idea of who this person is—her behaviors and mindset—which is incredibly useful when coming up with creative ideas for this specific audience.

Using these tips will lead to a much more impactful target statement, enabling your creative team to produce stronger work. 

The next step is developing the key insight.

How to Write a Key Insight/Tension/Problem

When you’re writing a great creative brief, the key insight spells out your brand’s opportunity. Everything else cascades from this essential information. 

Think back to the target statement you wrote, and get into the mindset of that person. Then identify the opportunity presented. Here are some ways to come up with insights:

• What are the challenges the target audience faces? Think about the target audience’s goals and the things they want to achieve. Then imagine what might stand in the way of those goals. These challenges often present opportunities that can inform your key insight.
• Identify an educational insight that you can make them aware of. What’s an important piece of information that would unlock an opportunity?
• Consider why they would care about your product or service at all. Complete this sentence: They would care because ____ . This exercise typically reveals a meaningful insight that you can use.

As before, there are some things to do and not to do when including key insights in a creative brief:

• Be human —Consider human challenges and problems, not necessarily business ones. Always think about humans first.
• Use research —Use the consumer voice as much as possible. If you haven’t done research yet, now’s the time to do it. If you’ve heard directly from your consumers in some way, include the pertinent points as part of your key insight. 
• Observations —Observing people’s behaviors gives you signals that you wouldn’t find otherwise or that you wouldn’t have found by simply asking questions and listening to their answers.
• All about you —Don’t make the insight all about the brand, the business or the product. Make it about the consumer.
• More than one problem or desire —Focus on one problem, tension or desire to solve. Including more than one key insight creates issues later when you write other parts of the brief.
• Same as competition —Avoid sounding the same as the competition. Similarly, avoid solving for an insight that the competition already focused on unless you can be meaningfully better and different.

Examples of Key Insights

Imagine this insight for a company that offers tax filing services:

• Customers could do their taxes more accurately with our filing services.

They’ve identified the insight as being a lack of their services. This is a poor insight because it’s all about the brand.

A better insight would be something like this:

• Unknowingly, most Americans make mistakes on their taxes that result in leaving behind over a billion dollars in unclaimed refunds every single year.

A couple of things make this stronger than the previous example. 

First, not only are customers making mistakes that cause them to leave money on the table, but they don’t even know it. That’s an interesting insight that your team can take advantage of when coming up with creative ideas. 

Second is the noteworthy fact about how much money is left behind, which also can be leveraged creatively. 

This example is much more specific, making it a more meaningful insight than the first one. On to crafting the current and desired behaviors.

How to Write the Current and Desired Behaviors

The current behavior is the behavior you are trying to change—it’s what the consumer is doing today before seeing or hearing your brand’s communication.

For the desired behavior , this is the question you want to answer: “What do you want the consumer to do?” In other words, what is the response or action you want to elicit as a result of your creative communication? 

Here are the things to do and not do when writing the desired behavior as part of a great creative brief.

• Action words —Use verbs. You’d be surprised how many desired behaviors get written without action words.
• One behavior —Identify the single behavior or action you want the audience to take.
• Business speak —Steer clear of business language. Use terms that reflect the way a consumer thinks, feels and acts.
• Business objective —Focus on the action you want the consumer to take, not on business goals like increasing sales or driving project trials. 
• Being Vague —Always be specific.

Examples of Current and Desired Behaviors

This section of the brief is about translating the current behavior and contrasting it with how you want consumers to act.

Good Example #1

Revisiting the tax services firm from before this is very likely their customer’s current behavior:

• Filing their own taxes. (current behavior)

The desired behavior might be something like this:

• Switching to using our walk-in tax services. (desired behavior)

It’s important to note here that this is a very specific statement. The tax services firm is not just saying they want more sales; they’re calling out the specific behavior change that will drive those sales. This is a much better way to frame a desired behavior within a great creative brief.

Good Example #2

For this example, let’s switch to personal care products and use the Aveeno brand as an example. For illustration, let’s assume the following current behavior:

• Using home remedies and making their own soaps. (current behavior)

Maybe these are consumers interested in natural and pure products — refusing to use anything with chemicals. They make their own remedies and soaps because they believe them to be safer than the alternatives. 

Knowing this, a desired behavior might be:

• Give up home remedies for Aveeno. (desired behavior)

The desire is for consumers to stop using home remedies or making their own soaps and to start using this brand’s offering. They have identified the exact action they want consumers to take, which will result in more sales. This level of specificity is important because, as you’ll see in the next section, you will use this as your basis to write the desired belief/takeaway. 

How to Write the Current and Desired Beliefs

Now your task is to translate the desired behavior into a message that motivates. With the current behavior you previously wrote in hand, consider what the consumer thinks today that results in the current behavior. The answer to that question is the current belief . 

Next, look at the desired behavior you previously came up with, and write down the mindset required of the consumer to actually change to that desired behavior. This new desired belief is the focal point of your communication strategy. It’s a core message that your campaign will relay to the audience.

Examples of Current and Desired Beliefs

This section of the brief is all about what you want consumers to think/feel as a result of your communication.

Remember the tax services example from before? In this section, they are trying to get their audience to go from filing their own taxes to using walk-in services. The current belief might be:

• Filing taxes is simple. I can do it myself. (current belief)

Since the firm wants them to use walk-in services, this might be the desired belief:

• I might actually be leaving money on the table. (desired belief)

It’s now clear that the firm needs to open consumers’ eyes as to how much they could be missing out on.

Let’s look again at the personal care example. From earlier, the company is trying to get them to give up home remedies for Aveeno body wash. The current belief might be:

• Making my own soap is the safer way to get clean. (current belief)

The company wants them to give up home remedies for Aveeno, so the desired belief might be: 

• Aveeno works better than home remedies without harming my skin. (desired belief)

In this example, it becomes clear that the company will need to reassure the consumer about Aveeno’s safety.

In both examples, having specific behaviors in mind enables you to write clear and specific beliefs for communication to your audience.

Next up, the reason to believe.

How to Write a Reason to Believe

In the previous section you detailed the desired belief, which becomes the key communication takeaway. This section gives the audience the reason they should believe that takeaway is true—the proof to believe in what you’re saying.

Let me give you a few ideas for crafting your RTB statement:

• Help your target audience understand and see your product or service working at a fundamental level. Show them how it delivers what you say it does.
• Use your creative pieces to convey what’s unique about your product or service. Share the process you go through to create your products. Give them a glimpse of the framework your service uses to get results. 

Of course, there are a few things to do and not to do.

• Fewer RTBs —Use as few reasons to believe as possible. This will keep your message focused and memorable.
• Credibility —Use proof points, such as testimonials or torture-test demonstrations, to enhance your credibility.
• Tie to benefits —Make sure that any reason to believe information you provide or show directly supports the key problem you’re solving with the project. If it doesn’t tie back, it’s a miss. 
• More benefits —Don’t add too many RTBs otherwise you’ll dilute the power of your message. Your audience won’t remember anything if you overwhelm them. 
• Sound like competitors —Don’t mimic others in your space. Your supporting details shouldn’t sound the same as your competitors’—be different.
• Tech speak —Avoid including technical information and jargon that your audience may not understand.

Examples of Reasons to Believe

Here are some examples of common RTB types. You can use these as a starting point to come up with your own:

• Example #1—Design/Feature: Luxurious furnishings —A hotel is trying to create a certain type of experience or make guests feel like royalty. They may use design or luxurious furnishings to create the aesthetic.
• Example #2—Mode of Action: Patented algorithm —This falls under “how it works.” Communicating at its most fundamental level is considered sharing your product’s/service’s mode of action. For example, you might have a software program that uses a patented algorithm. That’s the mode of action it uses to do what it does.
• Example #3—Ingredient: Unique combination of moisturizers —As a skincare brand, you might have a product with a unique combination of specific moisturizers.
• Example #4—Process/Source: Builder® workshop process —The process or source could be how something is developed or where it comes from. In this example, a consultant has a trademarked workshop process that’s unique to them. 
• Example #5—Endorsement: 3 out of 4 recommend… —This could be external endorsements. For example, if you’re selling a dental product, you would communicate that it’s been “Recommended by 3 out of 4 dentists.” 
• Example #6—Testing: In clinical studies, 85%… —Leverage clinical or scientific testing that has produced hard data.

Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list of the possible RTBs. It’s simply meant to spark some ideas. Use them the next time you write your creative brief.

The final piece of the brief is the brand character and tone statement.

How to Write a Brand Character and Tone Statement

You’ve gathered all the data and written your target statement, key insight, desired behavior, desired belief and reason to believe. Now you need to detail how you’ll speak to your target.

Once again, here are things to consider as you do:

• Have you ever seen brands categorized as “outlaw,” “hero,” “sage” or “lover”? Those are brand personality archetypes . You can use them as a starting point for defining your own brand character. You can also combine them if needed.
• Consider what makes your brand personality different from anyone else’s in your space. Brand personalities often sound very similar inside the same category. You want to think about how yours is different, and then lean into that differentiation.
• Make sure that your brand character inspires your creative team. Whether it’s an agency or in-house, you want the character to actually be a guiding force that will lead to excellent creative work. Remember, inspiration is one of the key components of a creative brief!

Below are things to do and not do when writing your brand character and tone statement. (You saw this coming, didn’t you?)

• Check Your Positioning —Pull out your brand’s existing positioning document (it could be an equity pyramid, a positioning statement or something else to that effect). There may be character implications within it that you can bring into your brief.
• Name or describe an actual person —Think about a single person. Otherwise, you’ll likely write an impersonal statement that lacks character entirely or that doesn’t paint a clear picture in the mind of the person reading your creative brief.
• Separate brand character from target audience —Think of the brand character as a person, who may or may not be the same as your target audience. 
• Be vague or common —Stop doing it. As has been said several times, don’t be vague or common. Use specific language.
• Lack personality —Think of your brand character as a unique person, or risk a lack in personality… and creative work that stands out.
• Go off-equity —Reinforce your brand position or brand equity; don’t counteract it. 

Let me show you a couple of examples to bring this section to life.

There are many not-so-great brand character or tone statements within briefs, including listing words like these:

• Trustworthy
• Approachable
• Comfortable

These are all nice-sounding words, and many brands would want to be these things, but it honestly tells your creative team a whole lot of nothing. It’s not unique. It doesn’t stand out. And it sounds like what others might want to have associated with their brands, too.

When you truly think about your unique voice, you’ll likely end up with a very distinct brand character. Here’s an example:

• An inspirational General Patton speaker. He’s loud, bold, brash, calculated in pace and confidently persuasive. He’s the kind of person that you would follow into any situation. 

This statement is much more inspirational and specific. You can also see how it will lead your team to create advertising or communications that stand out and are unique in the marketplace—it’s definitely not vague or generic.

Here are two examples of completed briefs using real brand campaigns. I’ve taken each campaign and inferred what their creative brief may have looked like. Each brief is followed by the ad that goes with it.

Mountain Dew Creative Brief Example:

Mountain Dew Ad Example:

Dove Creative Brief Example:

Dove Ad Example:

Once you provide the creative brief to the creative team, your work isn’t completely done. At some point the creative ideas come back for your feedback. Here are some things to consider as you evaluate the creative work:

• Does the idea clearly dramatize (visualize) the core message/benefit (desired belief)?
• Does it only visualize the insight or problem (a watchout)? This can often be a dangerous area.
• Will it drive the desired behavior or communication objective?
• Will the idea immediately grab attention?
• Is the idea interesting enough to hold attention?
• Is the idea/story distinct among the competition?
• Does the idea build or erode equity?
• Is the idea on or off character?
• Can the idea use/reinforce visual or copy assets?
• Can the idea easily be linked back to your brand in viewers’ minds?

Extendibility

• Does the idea lead to other potential variations/contexts?
• Can the idea be extended to other mediums, such as radio, print or digital?
• Can the idea flex from long form to short form (e.g., :60 to :06/still)?

Here are some ways you can get additional value from me:

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Kevin Namaky is CEO at the Gurulocity Brand Management Institute , a marketing education company that trains and consults for notable brand teams including Kimberly-Clark, Scotts Miracle-Gro, Bolthouse Farms and Gorilla Brands. Kevin is a featured instructor for the American Marketing Association, lectures at the IU Kelley School of business, and has been featured in Ad Age, Forbes, Fast Company and the CMO Council. Previously Kevin worked for 20 years in the corporate and agency world growing notable brands. Follow/connect with Kevin on LinkedIn , TikTok and Twitter .

The Creative Brief: Everything You Need to Know

Writing a full creative brief may not always be necessary — but in most cases, entering into a project without a creative brief is like flying blind. With many marketing departments producing high volumes of collateral and needing to be as agile as possible in their delivery, it’s critical that the process is as efficient as possible. And that starts with a well-written creative brief.

Download your free creative brief template

In this creative brief guide you will discover:

What is a creative brief?

• Why you need a creative brief
• How to write a creative brief?

When should you use a creative brief?

Who should fill out the creative brief.

• Creative brief template

A creative brief is a document used to outline the strategy of a creative project. A creative brief contains project details including:

• Project purpose
• Requirements
• Demographics

Usually developed in the project initiation phase, a creative brief will help a creative team better understand a project from the start, and may be presented to key stakeholders and clients.

Although not all creative briefs are created equal, they all share the same basic layout. And since some projects require more detailed planning than others, you’ll waste a lot of time and effort if you try to use one detailed creative brief template for all your work.

This is where electronic creative briefs in marketing work management tools come in handy. If it’s a quality tool, the briefs will be customizable so you can design them to only cover the information necessary for that specific type of project.

Effective creative briefs rely on good questions. Ask the right questions and you’ll write a creative brief that will make your life easier. Essentially, you have to clarify the who, what, where, when, and how of the deliverable . We describe how below.

Why you need a creative brief.

You need a plan.

Obviously, you can’t design something you don’t understand. Your project needs a reason to exist, as well as:

• expectations

In a creative brief, you articulate your vision and justify its benefits, as well as plan how you will target your audience. From the beginning, a creative brief puts everyone on the same page before launching a project.

A well-written creative brief will save you time.

Creative briefing isn’t just cobbling together a document, it’s wielding a tool that facilitates clear and thorough communication from the beginning of the design process. A clear brief can prevent:

• Last-minute changes
• Misunderstandings
• Conflicting objectives

All of which will cost your team valuable time and money.

You’ll maintain accountability and communication.

Agreeing on your scope , deliverables, objectives, the persona and execution of a project will help anchor your team and your stakeholders . Establishing parameters and, perhaps most importantly, building trust at the outset will go a long way toward smoother processes.

Requests and approvals will be processed faster.

Ambiguous goals are difficult to achieve. Consider vague requests such as, ‘I just want a really clean-looking design.’ While some of this is simply a fact of life for design professionals, a creative brief forces clarity upstream, minimizing difficult confrontations during the review and approval cycle.

The creative briefing process is as much about anticipating obstacles as understanding and aligning objectives. Better to get clarification during the planning phase than when you’re in the middle of proofing.

The final product will be higher quality.

This is a direct result of setting clear objectives, aligning with business objectives, and vetting expectations up front. When everyone’s time is valued and expectations are made clear, it’s easier for the team to hit their mark, remain invested, motivated, and proud of their work.

“The brief was always supposed to be a springboard for great work. Not a straitjacket.”

David Trott

author of Creative Mischief

So let the design brief act as your guiding instrument and understand that time spent on a well-designed brief is an investment that pays off in the end with:

• Greatly improved process
• Higher quality of output

And, ultimately, a more trusting relationship between your team and client.

Whitepaper: Agile Marketing for Creative Teams

Elements in a creative brief.

Before writing a creative brief, be sure to ask these 10 questions. Some are left out of briefs too often. Believe it or not, covering these bases can make the difference between a struggling content project and highly effective one.

1. Why are we doing this?

Anyone that’s going to create anything worthy of publishing needs to know some context to the assigned project. They need to know:

• The ‘why’ of the project — what’s the need?
• What’s the pain?
• What’s the opportunity or challenge?

Your team may not need to know every nitty-gritty historical detail of the project, so don’t waste time trying to pin down every little thing — only divulge what’s most important to your team doing great work.

2. Who is our target audience?

How will you know how to target your deliverables unless you know who’s going to see, handle, watch, or read what you’re creating? Make sure you know the ‘who’ of the project before beginning. And I don’t just mean writing ‘potential customers.’ What about these potential customers?

• How old are they?
• Where are they from?
• What's their average salary?
• What are their self-interests?

This type of information could be the difference between a successful campaign and huge waste of time and money.

3. Who are our competitors?

After you’ve identified your target audience, include a list of your main business rivals on the brief. Add links to review what they offer and any similar projects to yours they have attempted. Consider:

• How did they do?
• What can you learn from them?
• Did they do a good job?

Finally, consider how can you differentiate yourself from them with your creative content.

4. What do you want us to deliver?

This is the client’s chance to tell you the ‘what’ of the project — what they actually want your team to deliver. This is where the client unveils their overall vision for the project. This can require a little digging, however, because often clients have a picture in their head of what they want.

If you can't get them to describe that picture, the work your team completes, no matter how fabulous, can disappoint clients if it differs from their vision. This is the time to ask questions, get clarifications and manage expectations by communicating what expectations can or cannot be met and why.

5. What’s the big idea?

If this deliverable or campaign could be boiled down to a handful or less of key messages, what would they be? Some agencies call this the ‘big idea.’ What does this project most need to convey to, or evoke from, its audience?

6. How do we want it to look?

This section is especially important for external agencies that may have to learn a whole new brand with every project. This is where the ‘how’ gets answered, where you clarify the:

And any other guidelines related to the project.

7. What is our core business objective?

Before we get into the work of shaping content, we need clarity on its reason for being. Unless it’s meeting a business objective, even the most dazzling projects risks failing at its ultimate goal of creating value.

Discuss this thoroughly with your team and stakeholders at the outset, ensuring that creative projects aren’t just window dressing, but high-contributing parts of a larger strategy . Ultimately, when a creative asset is produced with the business objective top of mind, defending aesthetic choices becomes easier.

8. Who are the stakeholders?

This also addresses the ‘who,’ but from the working side. Who will work on the project from the creative team? Who are the client’s decision-makers? Who should you go to for approval on drafts and in what order?

9. When is the deadline?

This is the ‘when’ of the project. Some of the key timings to ensure you confirm are:

• When is the start date?
• When is the final version due?
• What are the milestones?
• When are subtasks due?
• How many iterations are expected and by when?

When gathering this information, it’s important to determine what actions and dates are required of the client to keep the project on track. For example, do they only have two days to provide feedback without pushing back the deadline? This must be clearly defined from the beginning so the client will understand that any delays on their part will cause overall delays for the project.

You would be surprised how many creative briefs leave out these critical pieces of information, whether because the team is focused entirely on the deliverables or because they’re not asking.

Create an example timeline.

Create a timeline that looks something like this, working backwards from when the content needs to be deliverable if possible.

• Kick-off meeting: Day 1
• Final creative brief due: Day 10
• Content due to client: Day 30
• Content due back from client to action amends: Day 37
• Second review process: Day 40
• Upload online (or see proof in print): Day 42
• Publish: Day 45
• Measure success, govern and maintain: Day 45 onwards.

Remember, the content you’re creating ties into a campaign with concrete launch dates and your delivery date will become a critical component of its success. You need to know and be able to work with this project constraint , setting it out in the creative brief.

10. Where will this content appear?

Context is crucial in content. Different venues carry unique audience expectations and ways of engagement. You’d never, for example, write a print ad the same way you write a social post.

Where your content appears will determine its:

• Size and scale

And how it moves users to the next point on the customer journey. Be sure to hone in on where your end user will engage with your final product.

Learn more: Workfront for Project Management Whitepaper: Process, Creativity, and the Need for Speed

Creative briefs cover projects of different shapes, sizes, and styles. Because of this a tiering system is applied to projects to show what level of briefing is required. We explain Tier 1, 2 and 3 below:

• Tier 1: Non-standard, non-iterative, highly conceptual work — This work is the most prone to being ambiguous, which means creative briefs are a must. Otherwise, team members may not know where to start, or get started with a high risk of going in the wrong direction. Think about a full advertising campaign — you'll want a lot of direction from the client before your team begins work.
• Tier 2: Execution of previous work across deliverables — Deals with already defined and completed work, so doesn't need the detail of a Tier 1 creative brief. But your team will still run a risk if they don’t use one. This could be a website landing page for an internal client. Chances are, you’ve already created dozens of these, so you have a general idea of the expectations. But it’s always good to make sure you have all the information you need before you start.
• Tier 3: Edits, revisions, templated work — This requires the briefest brief of all, but even though it’s simple you'll want a project description. Plus, if you let the little things through with sticky notes and hallway conversations rather than requiring some form of a creative brief, you'll quickly run into problems.

There have long been questions of who should fill out the creative brief. Is it the:

• Creative director?
• Account manager?
• Designer or writer on the job?

The answer is, it depends. If you’re an agency or an in-house agency, the best practice is to have the representative from client services, or the assigned account manager, meet the client to go through the creative brief. It may make sense to include the creative director as well to make sure everyone has a sound understanding of the project requirements .

If you’re an in-house creative services team, you will need to determine what process works best for your team’s unique workflow. Perhaps it makes the most sense for the creative director to meet with the internal client to complete the brief. Maybe your team has traffic managers or production managers that would better fill that role.

At the end of the day, the thing you want to avoid is sending a document to the client to fill out on their own. This can lead to a number of problems:

• Client takes too long to fill it out
• Client doesn’t fill it out at all and gets frustrated
• Client only fills out some of the information
• Your team reads the brief and doesn’t understand.

To save time and frustration, and whether you’re an agency or an in-house team, have an initial meeting with your client to fill out the creative brief together and clarify points as needed.

An alternative is to use a marketing work management software like Workfront with built-in creative briefs where, upon initial request, the client is required to provide certain information for the team. Even in this scenario, as a best practice it’s recommended you take the time to meet with the client and ensure everyone is on the same page before production begins.

Creative brief template.

If your creative briefings include these principles, you have effectively implemented creative briefs into your workflow. The perfect creative brief template is not built in a day. It takes continual feedback and fine-tuning to match your organization’s needs. As you write more creative briefs, determine what common fields should be included and add them to continuously improve your creative brief template. To get a head start, download our creative brief template .

Remember though, it’s called a brief for a reason, so keep it short. Only ask for what your team absolutely needs. Also, be willing to adapt your creative brief to the tier your project fits under. Now you’re all set to escape ambiguity and finally get some clarity.

Frequently asked questions about how to write a creative brief.

What is a good creative brief?

To write a good creative brief you need to make sure it’s absolutely clear what needs to be done and by when. It should clarify the objective, make clear any deadlines, and provide as much information about the product or service as possible. Ideally both the agency and the client should have input into the brief.

What is a creative brief template?

A creative brief template is exactly that: a template you can use to make completing a creative brief easier. It should give you a clear structure to follow, with fields to include key information such as objective, target audience, and deadline.

Why is a creative brief important?

A creative brief is important for many reasons. Primarily because it helps to agree expectations, deliverables, and deadlines between the client and agency. Another important reason is it ensures work is done correctly and to the right standard. Often when a client or internal agency stakeholder is unhappy with a piece of work, a poor brief is to blame.

What is a creative brief video?

A creative brief video is a filmed version of a written brief. In the context of a project, a video brief is intended to provide the recipient with information about which actions rest with them and how their work relates to project goals.

See why the world’s best creative teams run on Workamajig

How to write a compelling creative brief (with examples & free templates).

• Creative briefs, explained
• The 5 elements of an effective creative brief
• How to write a creative brief

Browse more blogs

Are you ready to finally understand what makes up an awesome creative brief and how to create your own?

In this post, we'll cover:

• Exactly what a creative brief is (and what it is not)
• Great examples of creative briefs
• Our step-by-step process for writing a creative brief

The creative brief is the foundation of any successful creative campaign. It outlines the client’s vision and ensures that everyone is on the same page. So let's get started!

Communication - including the creative brief- is the cornerstone of success for any marketing campaign. And yes, it's more important than creativity. 

As Will Burns of Ideasicle says, the creative brief is the “most sacred of all sacred ad documents”.

From the choice of font in a print ad to the overall theme of the campaign, everything springs from the creative brief.

Creative Briefs, Explained in Detail

The creative brief is the foundation of a creative campaign. Despite its importance, it is poorly understood, mostly because of its open-ended nature.

This section will help you understand creative briefs and their purpose better.

What is a Creative Brief?

A creative brief is a short 1-2 page document outlining the strategy for a creative project.

Think of it as a map that guides its target audience - the creative team - on how to best reach the campaign’s stated goals.

The creative brief is usually created by the account manager in close consultation with the client.

To that effect, it’s an interpretation of the client’s ideas and vision for the brand and the product.

Since this brief is usually created by and for the agency, it is open-ended in nature. You can, and should, include anything and everything that will help the creative team understand the brand and product better.

Most creative briefs include the following:

• A short brand statement.
• A brief overview of the campaign’s background and objectives.
• Key challenges that the campaign aims to resolve.
• Target audience for the campaign.
• Chief competitors.
• Primary message describing the brand’s values and market positioning.
• Communication channels on which the campaign will run.

For example, here’s a creative brief for Hush Puppies :

Essentially, the creative brief describes the “what” of the project (i.e. its objectives) and “how” to achieve it (i.e. the creative approach).

Why Do You Need a Creative Brief?

There is a long list of reasons to create a creative brief.

The most important reason is also the simplest: it is standard agency practice.

Your clients will expect a creative brief before they sign off on a project. And your creative team will expect it before they can start working.

For better or for worse, you can’t start a campaign without it.

But there are other reasons to create a creative brief:

• Ensure that all creative messages are on-brand.
• Give the creative team a broad vision of the brand, the business, and the product.
• Offer inspiration and give your team a starting point to brainstorm ideas.
• Give third-party contributors a quick understanding of the brand and its background.
• Reduce client-creative conflict by ensuring they're on the same page
• Align the client's budget and expectations with your creative media strategy

Who Creates the Creative Brief?

Nominally, the person responsible for managing the client relationship makes the creative brief. Usually, this is the account manager or the project manager.

This person works closely with the client to understand their requirements, their current situation, and the desired future outcomes.

Actually putting together the brief, however, isn’t a one-person job. You usually need input from a range of people such as:

• Creative team: to analyze whether the client’s vision is viable and to brainstorm creative ideas.
• Marketing team: gather customer data, analyze competitors, and develop a viable media strategy.
• Accounts team: to analyze budgets.

Who is the Creative Brief Made for?

It might surprise you to learn that the end-user of the creative brief isn’t the client.

Rather, it’s the creative team .

While you’ll certainly need the client’s approval on the brief to get the go-ahead, the people who’ll actually use it are your creative team.

Your job, thus, is to interpret the client’s vision in such a way that it is accessible to the creative team.

This means no jargon, no fluff, and no “marketer-speak”. Create the brief in such a way that a designer or developer can understand it.

At the same time, the creative brief is not the answer to the client’s problem; it’s a starting point to inspire your team. It should have just enough insight to challenge your team and get them to think creatively about the problem.

As one commentator points out, it’s always good to ask yourself:

“Are you confident that this brief will inspire a solution to our problem?”

If the answer is a “no” or a “maybe”, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

 What Are Some Creative Brief Examples?

The best way to understand a creative brief is to see a few real-life examples.

Here’s a creative brief for Reebok shoes.

This brief focuses extensively on the audience. In a competitive, brand-focused market, understanding the audience is crucial for creating better-targeted marketing.

Here’s a more visual creative brief for Quaker Oats . This one has an unorthodox structure. If you look closer, however, you’ll notice that it has the same fundamentals as Reebok’s brief above.

For another example of an unorthodox creative brief, take a look at this one for PayPal . It eschews conventional sections and uses a bold visual design instead.

This just goes to show that creative briefs are flexible in their content and design. You can use whatever format you need as long as it works for both the client and the creative team.

In the next section, I’ll walk you through the ideation process for making a creative brief.

The 5 Components of an Effective Creative Brief

When it's wrapped up, the creative brief doesn't look like much.

It's at most 2 pages long. A good one will usually be free of jargon and marketer-speak. Many will also be visual.

The effort that goes into creating this simple document, however, is immense.

You have to have an acute understanding of the brand, the product, its target audience, and the message.

To write a good creative brief, you need to know five aspects of the campaign:

1. The Product

A creative campaign starts and ends with the product. After all, this is what you're tasked with selling. If you don't understand it well, you can't expect your creative team to do a good job of it.

Start by asking the client some fundamental questions about the product:

• What product are you advertising?
• What category does it belong to?
• Where is the product currently being sold? Where is it being advertised? Where will it be advertised in the future?
• What is the product's current status in the market?
• What are the product's existing brand values?
• What is the product's price point? How many variants are currently available?

Your goal is to map the product's current brand perception. This will be a combination of factors - price, quality, perceived quality, etc.

Use the client's existing records, market surveys, and customer data to understand the product and its brand better.

You'll use it later when you write the creative brief.

2. The Business

The business and the product can often have a complex relationship. In some cases, the business brand might be completely independent of the product. In most other cases, they might affect each other in a symbiotic relationship.

For example, Toyota (the company) and Toyota Camry (the car) have different brand perceptions.

A customer might see Toyota as "reliable" and "efficient". But he might see Camry as "unreliable" after a spate of recalls.

Business and product brand perceptions often bleed into each other. If a customer has repeated bad experiences with a product, he might associate that with the business itself.

The exception is when the business is "invisible" to the customer. This usually happens with B2B brands, holding companies, etc.

For example, Luxottica manufactures several iconic eyewear brands such as Ray-Ban, Oakley, etc. But the Luxottica brand itself is invisible to customers. Poor performance from one of its products is unlikely to affect its brand perception.

Your goal should be to:

• Analyze the business' brand perception.
• Understand the business relationship to the product brand.
• Map the factors affecting the business' brand perception.

In the creative brief, this information will be a core part of the campaign’s “background” section.

For example, this brief for Red Bull introduces the problem by framing it in the context of the business:

3. The Market

The 'market' is a combination of the “Three C’s”:

• Competitors , their strengths, weaknesses, market position, and media strategy.
• Context for the campaign - political, social, and technological movements.
• Category , i.e. how people see the product category.

All these have a marked influence on the campaign.

For example, the popular "Mac vs PC" campaign wouldn't be successful if Apple was the market leader.

Similarly, an overly positive, upbeat campaign wouldn't work in a down economy.

Your goal should be to analyze the following aspects of the market:

Competitors:

• What are the products and the brand's chief competitors? What is their market share compared to the product?
• What is the competition's marketing strategy? Where do they advertise?
• What kind of messaging and tone does the competition use?
• What kind of customers buys the competitor's products?
• How does the market currently see the product or its category?
• Is there a cultural moment you can tap into to promote the product?
• What cultural values, ideas, or events can you align the product with?
• How is the economy doing? Is it a time for optimism? Or are people concerned with saving?

For example, to celebrate its 100th anniversary, Oreo aligned itself with a bunch of cultural and historical events:

In a time of "activist brands", businesses are increasingly aligning their products with social and cultural movements. Think of how you can tap into the zeitgeist to create a better brand message.

• How do people perceive this product category? What factors affect this perception?
• Is there a change in people’s perception of the category? Is this change positive or negative? What is leading this change?
• Are there any category conventions you can use in the campaign?

4. The Customers

Your customers are important, more so than anything else on this list.

( Image source )

A deep understanding of the target audience, its wants, desires, and tastes is crucial for writing a creative brief.

To do this, start by describing the following:

• Demographics data (age, sex, income, marital status).
• Psychographics data (interests, aspirations, lifestyles, habits).
• What they think about the product and the brand right now ("boring", "fun", "not for me", etc.).
• What you want them to think about the brand ("change perception", "shift frame of reference", etc.).
• Frustrations, aspirations, life need, and shared belief you can tap into.
• The purpose of all this data is to find a trigger that will motivate them. This trigger should align with the campaign's objectives.

For example, Toyota sells an MPV - Toyota Sienna - that had a shrinking market share. Part of the reason for this decline was the general unpopularity of MPVs among young parents. For a lot of young people, MPVs are "boring" and "old school".

To get these customers to consider Sienna as an alternative, Toyota had to change their perceptions.

To do this, Toyota created a YouTube campaign highlighting the inherent “coolness” of the Sienna, such as this music video:

5. The Campaign

Every campaign has a specific goal, message, and audience. It's not uncommon for brands to run several campaigns at the same time with different messages.

Your job is to understand the goals of your campaign and find a way to get there. That is, to define the campaign's strategy and approach.

To do this, answer the following questions:

• What is this campaign trying to do? Increase awareness? Increase traffic? Get more shares? Be as specific as possible.
• What customer action would make the campaign "successful"? Fill out a form? Click a link? Call the business?
• What specific challenge is the campaign trying to address? State this in a single sentence. Example: "We want to advertise new features to get more trials".
• What is your media strategy? Where will the campaign run?
• What is the chief message for the entire campaign?

Your goal is to find the "driving idea" for the campaign and where to run it.

For example, the driving idea for the Toyota Sienna campaign I shared earlier was:

"Awesome parents drive the Toyota Sienna "

This campaign didn't highlight the car. Instead, it highlighted the customers and how their aspirations align with the car. Since the target audience was young parents, all print ads specifically highlighted them.

 ( Image source )

This approach was specific to only this campaign. Toyota had other ongoing campaigns for the Sienna. These campaigns targeted a completely new audience with a different message.

This might seem like a lot of research - and it is - but it is crucial for writing creative briefs. Without understanding the campaign, customers, and product, your briefs will be off-brand.

And if the brief is off-brand, the results will suffer.

This is why I recommend getting input from several people. Ask your marketers for data and your creative team for ideas. The more information you have, the better the final brief.

In the next section, I’ll walk you through the actual process of writing a creative brief.

How to Write a Creative Brief

Creative briefs don't have a fixed format. That said, if you need a template, we’ve got you covered. You can  download free creative brief templates HERE - or read on to learn how to build your own. Most agencies have their own templates. Some have a simple text document, while others use more visual designs.

Regardless of its format, your creative brief must revolve around the five elements we covered earlier.

To write the creative brief, use the following template:

1. The Project

Start your creative brief by writing a broad overview of the project. Establish the identity of the client, talk about the product, and list the goals of the campaign.

2. Key Challenge

Every campaign has a key challenge. This is the "what" of the project.

Describe this challenge in a few short sentences.

You might have something like this:

• "[Client] wants to leverage a new feature to get new trials."
• "[Client] wants to reposition the product so a new user will consider it."
• "[Client] wants existing users to consume more of the product."

For example, here’s the key challenge in the Quaker Oats creative brief I shared earlier:

 3. Purpose of Communication

A successful campaign needs a clear and distinct purpose. This purpose should ideally be trackable and measurable. It should also be tied to the key challenge you described above.

Use this section to describe the action you want to inspire in your customers.

Try something like this:

• "[Client] wants to increase awareness of [Product]'s new feature."
• "[Client] wants to change opinion about [Product category]."
• "[Client] wants to mobilize existing customers of [Product] to visit its website."

4. Competitors

The client's competitors, as we learned above, have a big impact on the campaign. Use this section to briefly describe the key competitors and their media strategies.

Some things you can include about the competition here are:

• Market share
• Media strategy
• SWOT analysis

5. Target Audience

Refer to the audience research you did earlier to describe the following:

• Demographics
• Psychographics
• Current perception/belief about the brand
• Target perception/belief about the brand
• Approach for motivating them to take action

6. Background or Context

Briefly describe the background and context of the campaign. Include specific details for the following:

• Cultural context, i.e. current events and ideas you could leverage to achieve campaign goals.
• Category context, i.e. how customers currently see the product category and how you can change it.
• Brand context, i.e. how customers currently see the product and its brand.

For example, this creative brief for TOMS shoes gives readers a detailed overview of the company’s background and its customers’ aspirations:

7. Tone and Brand Voice

Use adjectives to describe the tone, brand voice, and key qualities you want customers to associate with the:

• Product ("fun, reliable, efficient")
• Brand ("mature, trustworthy, cost-effective")

8. Media Strategy

Briefly describe how you plan to spread the message. Include the following

• Channel(s) you'll use for the promotion.
• Why this channel will help you reach your target audience.
• How can you use the channel's own form and audience expectations to make the idea more shareable (such as adding "tag a friend" on Facebook)?

Include details about the estimated budget for the campaign. If possible, break down budget requirements by creative type and promotion.

10. Chief Message

This is the "driving idea" behind the campaign. Usually, it's a short, pithy statement that condenses the campaign into a slogan.

Think of something like this from Reebok:

Or this one from PayPal:

One way to write a better creative brief is to create a press release that you might send journalists at the end of the campaign. You don’t have to actually use it, but it helps you think of the campaign’s goals and the approach you used to get there.

These are only guidelines, of course. You can change the creative brief as per your requirements. As long as your creative team can understand it, you are free to include or exclude anything you want.

Workamajig has built-in support for creative briefs to make the process seamless, and of course, these can be customized according to your needs. 

Click the link below to get your free Workamajig Demo.

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