Creative brief template
The sections a creative brief needs before anyone can talk about tone, with an example line in each. It routes you to the motion, web or print brief that fits the work.
For marketing and brand people briefing a campaign idea before the deliverables are settled.
This is what a finished brief contains, with an example line in each section. Write it by hand from this, or answer the questions below by tapping and the page writes it for you.
The one thing that must not be got wrong
Every brief has one. It is rarely written down because it feels obvious to the person who knows it.
“The launch date is fixed by the trade show. Everything else can move.”
What we are making
The work in physical terms, so it can be counted and priced.
“A campaign identity and its first three applications: a film, a landing page and a poster.”
Who it is for and what they should do
One person, one verb.
“For a buyer who saw us last year and did not order. They should book a meeting at the stand.”
Tone
Positions on scales, not adjectives.
“Bold rather than understated. Considered rather than energetic.”
References
Work to sit beside, and work to avoid, one reason each.
“Like the 2024 Design Week identity for its type. Not like last year’s stand; too busy.”
What exists
What the designer will not have to make.
“Logo, guidelines, product photography. No copy yet.”
Budget, dates, sign-off
A band, the date, and who says yes.
“Around 200k DKK across all three pieces. Show opens 12 May. Two people sign off; Mette decides a tie.”
Open questions
What is not decided, said plainly.
“Whether the film is live action or animation. Whether the poster is printed or screen only.”
You answer the questions. The brief writes these.
- Ratio, pixels and duration per placement
- Codec and container
- Sound on or silent by default
- Safe areas and caption rules
- Minimum production window
- Adaptation count from the hero cut
A creative brief turns a business problem into a design problem, and it fails in one of two ways. Either it is a page of business context with no decision in it, or it is a page of adjectives with no constraint in it. "Premium but approachable" appears in more creative briefs than any other phrase, and it appears because nobody has chosen yet. Your designer reads it, picks one, and the first review is spent finding out which one you meant.
The document above is what a creative brief looks like once the decisions are made. This page does not end in a generic brief, on purpose. It ends in the motion, website or print brief that fits the work, because the questions that matter are different in each, and a template that fits all three fits none.
The decisions that move the quote
What it is, before what it should feel like. A film is a set of placements with durations. A site is a set of templates. A pack is a container with a quantity. Until that is written, everything else is decoration on an unknown object.
One person it is for. A creative brief that lists four audiences has none. Name one: their job, their situation, what they already believe. One or two sentences keeps the marketing language out.
One verb. Buy, book, sign up, get in touch, understand, trust. Most briefs dodge it with "raise awareness", which is not something a person does. If the objective cannot be written as an action one person takes, the work cannot be judged against it.
Direction by recognition, not description. People are poor at describing what they want and good at recognising it. Five pieces you like and two you would not want, each with one reason. Where they contradict each other, say which way to lean rather than averaging them.
Tone as positions, not adjectives. Considered or energetic. Understated or bold. Warm or cool. Three scales at most, each written as "this rather than that".
The constraints. What must appear. What already exists. What must not be got wrong. These are the lines a designer reads first, and the lines most creative briefs leave out because they feel obvious to the person writing them.
Budget, dates, sign-off. Not because they are creative, but because they decide what is possible. A budget band decides which production is on the table. A date decides whether the technique can be done at all. The number of people who sign off, with a named tiebreak, predicts the revision rounds.
Mistakes we see most
“We want a campaign that feels premium but approachable and really cuts through.”
“For a first-time buyer who has seen the product on a friend. They should tap through and buy. Considered rather than energetic; warm rather than cool. If the two conflict, warm wins.”
A person, a verb, two positions and a tiebreak. The campaign can be designed.
“Target: consumers 25 to 55, B2B decision makers, and press.”
“For an office manager at a forty-person firm who has never bought from a roaster. Press and trade will see it, but it has to work for her first.”
One person to design for. The others still see it.
“Deliverables: campaign assets across channels.”
“One hero film for Reels and pre-roll, one landing page, one A2 poster for the stand. Three briefs, briefed as motion, web and print.”
Named deliverables route to the brief that knows how to specify each.
Pick the brief that matches the deliverable below. Each one asks these questions in its own terms and writes the specifications your designer would otherwise have to ask for.
What it asks, and why.
These are the questions in the motion brief. The other two briefs ask their own.
- ScopeWhat are you making?
Leave it open and your designer prices the smallest reading of the job. Everything after that is a change request.
- ScopeWhere will it play?
Each placement is its own deliverable with its own ratio, duration and sound rules. Three placements briefed as one film is a threefold deliverable count nobody priced.
- CraftHow is it made?
Live action and 3D can differ four times over in cost. Leave it open and your designer quotes for the cheapest one.
- CraftWhat does this need?only when it applies
A shoot day means a producer, talent means casting, a location means permits. Unnamed, they arrive later as extras.
- CraftWhat kind of 3D?only when it applies
Photoreal 3D built from scratch is a different budget from stylised work on existing models.
- CraftIs there sound?
A voice means a script someone has to write. A commercial track means a territory and a term someone has to negotiate.
- LookWhat exists, and what must appear?
Every unticked asset is a line in the estimate. Skipping this produces the phrase 'we assumed you had that'.
- LookWho is this for?
A film for existing customers and a film for people who have never heard of you are different films.
- PracticalitiesBudget range
A band is a signal about which kind of job is on the table, not a commitment. Without one the designer guesses.
- PracticalitiesWhen does it go live?
A date only means something next to the minimum production window. If they do not fit, better to know now.
- PracticalitiesThe one thing that must not be got wrong
Every project has one. It is rarely written down because it feels obvious to the person who knows it.