The quality of the ads you get back depends heavily on the brief you give. A vague brief leads to safe, generic creative and several rounds of “not quite”. A clear brief gives the creative team room to take smart risks. Here’s what to include.
1. The business goal, in numbers if possible
Start with what success looks like for the business, not just for the ad. “Launch the new bundle and make it 20% of orders this quarter” gives far more direction than “make some ads for the bundle”. If you have target costs per purchase or a return-on-ad-spend floor, share them.
2. Who you’re talking to
Describe your best customers as people, not demographics. What were they doing just before they found you? What almost stopped them from buying? Customer reviews, support emails, and post-purchase surveys are gold here. Paste the best quotes straight into the brief.
3. The product truth
What does the product actually do, and why is it better than the alternative, including doing nothing? List the proof you have, such as ingredients, materials, guarantees, press, or awards, and anything legally sensitive that the ads must avoid claiming.
4. The offer and where people land
Spell out the exact offer, how long it runs, and the landing page. The ad and the page should feel like one continuous experience. If the page isn’t ready, say so. It changes what the creative can promise.
5. Brand guardrails, without over-constraining
Share your logo files, colours, fonts, and tone of voice, plus a few ads you love and a few you’d never run. Then leave room to experiment. The best-performing ads often look less polished than brand campaigns, and that’s fine.
6. What you’ve already learned
Share your past winners and losers, with numbers if you have them. Even a rough “this UGC video did well, these studio shots didn’t” saves weeks. If you don’t have this yet, a creative testing process will build it for you.
7. Practicalities
- Formats and placements needed (for example 9:16 video, 4:5 static, 1:1 carousel).
- Product samples, existing footage, and photography the team can use.
- Who gives feedback, and how many review rounds are planned.
- Deadlines for first drafts and launch.
A one-page brief template
- Goal and success metric
- Customer and their main objection
- Product truth and proof points
- Offer and landing page
- Brand guardrails (fixed vs. flexible)
- Past learnings
- Formats, assets, feedback, and deadlines
When you work with us, we build this brief together during the audit and planning stage, so you don’t start from a blank page. Book a call to get started.
