to Write an Effective Creative Brief for any Project (Examples and Free Template) //

You’re probably familiar with the difficulty of transforming abstract ideas into plans that are actionable. A well-written brief can help. A creative brief is more than just a document. It guides your team and aligns your vision. It also sets expectations with your clients.

What should a brief for creative work include, and how can you write one that communicates clearly your desired outcome? This article will cover all of that, and more!

Table of Contents

What is a brief for creative work?

A creative brief is an eloquent document that summarizes the main elements and objectives of any marketing campaign or project. It is a central location for communicating all the details on 1-2 pages.

A creative brief is usually a document. It can be a Google Doc or a PDF file. It can be a sheet, or even a table in a project management software.

An example of a creative brief using Asana .

Remember that your brief should not be used to create ad copy or sketches. The brief is not a collaborative document, as its main purpose is to capture the important details agreed upon by all parties involved in a particular project.

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When is a creative brief needed?

A creative brief is essential for any project that involves the development of creative elements as well as coordination among multiple stakeholders. You’re part of a team that is responsible for marketing, but your boss does not want you to supervise social media content. You do not need to create a creative brief if you are creating your own holiday content. If you are a small marketing team working with an agency, how do you create and manage your holiday social media campaign? You will need a creative brief.

This example of a creative brief is for a blog post on SEO.

Here are some examples of common marketing creatives that may require a brief:

This is an overview but not an exhaustive one. A creative brief will be useful if you want to get multiple people to work together on a particular project. Here’s why.

Why create a brief for creative work?

A creative brief can be used to bring all parties together around a project or campaign. A creative brief with all the essential elements, such as background essentials, creative directions, and follow-through planning, will help you avoid having to redo designs or scrap a blog. This means that you can save time and money on any initiative.

It is no surprise that Monday.com discovered that 93% marketers use some form of creative brief to capture and convey information for their project.

Most marketers who were surveyed did not feel satisfied with creative briefs despite the fact that they used them in the majority. 67% of respondents said that their creative briefs were either completely ineffective or only partially effective.

It’s important that the document you create for your project is effective. Here’s how you can write a creative brief that will lead to better results for your projects, and reduce stress.

How to write creative briefs

Here is a guide on how to write your creative brief.

1. Create a project outline

You need to start with an overview of your project. This will help you identify the purpose and what you are looking for. It will also show you how you plan to complete and finish it.

By defining these, you can avoid scope creep. This is when the original requirements or deliverables of a project are gradually expanded. You’re likely to be familiar with this if you’ve ever worked as a freelancer. It happens when the client requests more features or adds new tasks after a project has already begun. All of this can end up being uncompensated.

It’s not just contractors who suffer. It can take longer to complete a project when you expand its scope. There is also more communication required to review and approve.

You can avoid time and scope delays by having a clear, quick overview of your project.

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2. Define your project objectives

All marketing campaigns, including creative campaigns, should have objectives.

Here is an example of a creative brief for PayPal.



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The campaign’s goal is clearly stated: It aims to clarify any misunderstandings and make PayPal’s offering crystal clear.

In a perfect universe, these specific misconceptions would have been listed here. This is a great example of a campaign’s objective. What do you want to achieve with your creative? This should be communicated to all those involved in the project.

3. Share key messages and facts about your brand

Include your main message, or messages, that you want to convey with this marketing material.

Imagine you are working with a writer who will be writing copy about your new product for Google ads. What is the value proposition for your product? What is the tagline of your product? What is the positioning statement? Your creative brief should include your key messaging.

This is important for all creatives who use copy. However, it can also be useful for visuals. Knowing how to best communicate with your target audience is always useful. This brings us to our next element for a successful brief.

Include any facts you can use to guide your project. This could include stats, brand information, or insights into your audience.

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4. Describe your target audience

Understanding your brand’s target audience will help you develop creative assets that are appealing.

So include relevant details about your target audience. It will contain basic demographic data, such as age ranges, gender identity, or occupations. It should also provide more information about your audience and their connection to your business. Why are they drawn to your brand?

Your creative partner can make designs, media, and content more personal if they know the pain points your customers face, as well as what drives them to purchase your product or service. personalized advertising is effective.

5. Your brand guidelines in a single sentence

You should always include brand guidelines when you are working with anyone outside your organization, or even just the marketing team.

Project-specific information will determine the other brand information relevant to this project. This will include, for graphics, your colors, themes and logos as well as any design rules. This will include your style guide or your brand voice standards.

Masooma Memon is a freelance content marketing expert who writes the Content Workshopnewsletter. She recommends that you keep this background brief and sweet. Link to a one-pager that contains important do’s and don’ts instead of sharing a large document. A thick document is not going to help anyone internalize the information for a freelance project. However, a quick one-pager will allow them to check that everything is in order.

6. Your competitors are worth mentioning

You’ll want key competitors to be included in your creative brief. In your project document, you don’t have to include a detailed analysis of competitors. You should include information about relevant competitors.

Let’s say, for example, that you are in charge of marketing at a dog daycare. There is only one other choice available. You want to ensure that the colors, style and creative feel of your new brand are easily distinguishable from those of your main local competitor.


You’d be in big trouble if you had logos that were so similar to those of your competitors because you forgot to include them in the brief.

7. Please include any inspiration you may have.

Start with this caveat: your creative brief should contain more information about you and your products than those of your competitors. If you have examples of creative work from other companies you want to use as inspiration, you should include them.

You should use examples from companies that are not your competitors. It’s important to not copy anything, but

Below is a creative created by the dog food company Stella & Chewy. This photo would be an excellent reference for photos that highlight dog leashes, pet friendly hotels, or hiking shoes.


8. Clearly define the timeframe and deliverables

The creative brief you provide is not the same as your contract. You should always have a contract with any freelancer or agency you work with. Your contract will include payment terms, timelines, rights, nondisclosure agreements and other elements of the agreement.

Your creative brief should also include a list of deliverables that you are looking for.

If you are looking for a logo, then you will need to specify the file types that you require, such as.svgs and.pngs. You should also specify any variations, like black and white, colour, reversed or a favicon. These additional logos might not require new designs, but will require more work. You need to make sure your designer is aware.



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You should also confirm the method of delivery. For example, videographers may require that you provide a physical hard drive or indicate in advance if you want a digital file delivery. These files can be large if you are working on a larger project. You’ll also need to decide how many rounds of editing will be done and what the turnaround time is.

To be sure you’re covering all your bases, include a list of the deadlines and deliverables that were agreed upon, as well as the delivery method, in your creative brief.

9. State your distribution plan

It’s important to include context in your brief. It’s important that the person who is creating graphics for your campaign or writing a blog knows where their project fits into your marketing.

Consider social media assets as an example. Graphics and copy can be used across platforms but they should be tailored to the personalities of each. The most popular updates on Facebook are family groups and group discussions. Twitter is a secondary platform for images. Instagram has the most polished photos. LinkedIn is a fan of long-winded posts.

The scope of your project won’t change if you know the social network platform that you plan to use. It will ensure that your designer knows the type of content with which you are competing for attention. This is very useful information.

Examples of creative briefs

Do you need some inspiration to write your creative brief? Here are some examples to guide you.

Colgate creative brief

Colgate’s creative brief is simple but effective.

The information they provide is clear and concise. They keep it simple but on brand with some Colgate red icons.

Nike Creative Brief

Nike’s branding is excellent, so their creative brief should be as well.

To guide the project, they clearly state their facts, objectives, problem, big picture and target audience.

LocaliQ creative brief

Here is an example of the creative brief that LocaliQ uses for its internal projects.

This includes all of the information necessary to create final deliverables, such as presentations, guides and ads.

Create a brief template

This simple template will help you to get started. Copy it and start working!



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Your creative brief counts

It may seem like there is a lot to cover, but each step should not take more than one paragraph. Your creative briefs need to be short and sweet. They should contain all the information you need about a project that is in progress in just a couple of pages.

How to write a brief creative in nine simple steps

  1. Create a project outline
  2. Defining the project goals
  3. Share the key messages and facts about your brand
  4. Your target market is a description of your business.
  5. Your brand guidelines in a single sentence
  6. Your competitors are worth mentioning
  7. Please include any inspiration you may have.
  8. Clearly define the timeframe and deliverables
  9. State your distribution plan

These steps will help you spend less time on back and forth with your team, have fewer revisions to your creative work and more time focusing on the best ways to utilize your creative talent.

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