How to brief a creative agency (with a template)
Desmond SumFounder & Creative Director·3 min read
> The short answer
A good creative brief explains the business problem, not the solution. It covers the objective, the audience, the one message that matters, what must be included, the budget, the timeline and who approves the work. One or two pages is enough. The clearer the problem, the better the ideas and the more comparable the proposals.
The brief is the cheapest part of any creative project and the one that decides how good the work will be. A vague brief gets you safe work and extra rounds. A sharp one gets you ideas worth paying for.
What should a creative brief include?
- Background. Who you are, what you sell, and what has changed that prompted this project.
- The problem or objective. What needs to happen, in business terms. "Get shoppers to try our rice in-store" beats "make a nice booth".
- Audience. Who you need to reach, what they think now, and what you want them to think or do afterwards.
- The single-minded message. If people remember one thing, what should it be?
- Mandatories. Logos, legal lines, product claims, partner brands, languages, formats.
- Budget. A range is fine. It tells the agency whether to think in stickers or in stages.
- Timeline. Key dates, including the ones you cannot move.
- Approvals. Who signs off, and who else will have an opinion.
- Measures of success. Sales, sign-ups, footfall, awareness, or simply a launch that happens on time.
What are the most common briefing mistakes?
- Briefing the solution. "We need a TikTok video" closes doors. Describe the problem and let the agency propose the format.
- Everyone is the audience. If the brief targets "all Singaporeans aged 18 to 65", no idea will land properly.
- Five key messages. People remember one. Pick it.
- Hiding the budget. Agencies then guess, and you compare proposals that are not comparable.
- Missing decision-makers. The person with the final say should see the brief before it goes out.
What does a good brief look like in practice?
For the SōngHè Plus supermarket launch, the problem was simple to state: shoppers know enriched bread and cereal, but enriched rice was a new idea, and a rice aisle is not where people stop to read. That pointed the work towards a display that does the teaching and a touchscreen quiz that turns the benefits into a game. See how it played out in the SōngHè Plus case study.
Creative brief template
Copy this into a document and answer each line in a sentence or two:
- Project name:
- About us (3 lines):
- What prompted this project:
- Objective (one sentence, in business terms):
- Primary audience and what they believe today:
- What we want them to think, feel or do:
- The one message:
- Mandatories (logos, claims, languages, formats):
- Budget range (S$):
- Key dates and deadline:
- Decision-maker(s):
- How we will measure success:
- Brands or campaigns we admire, and why:
Should I brief several agencies?
Speaking with two or three is sensible. Asking many agencies for free creative pitches is not: the best studios often decline, and you end up judging ideas made without real understanding of your business. Compare approach, relevant work and chemistry instead, then pay for the thinking. Our guide to choosing a branding agency lists the questions to ask.
Briefing Dope Creatives
Our enquiry form asks for the essentials: service, budget band, timeline and a short brief. If you are not sure what to write, a few honest lines about the problem are enough; we will ask the rest on the first call.
Quick questions
How long should a creative brief be?
One to two pages. If it needs more, the objective is probably not clear yet.
Who should write the creative brief?
The client, ideally the person who owns the business problem, with input from the decision-maker. Agencies often help refine it after a first conversation.
Should I include a budget in a creative brief?
Yes, even as a range. It lets agencies propose ideas that can actually be produced and makes proposals comparable.
