How to Write an Advertising Brief Your Creative Team Can Use
An advertising brief gives your creative team the information needed to communicate one clear offer to one defined audience. It should connect the business objective with the message, evidence, formats and next step. A list of colours or a request to make something ‘viral’ leaves the most important decisions unresolved.
You do not need a long document. A focused page with accurate inputs is often more useful than a presentation filled with general descriptions. Use the sections below to make the campaign concrete before design begins.
Define the customer and the situation
Explain who needs the service and what makes the offer relevant now. Describe the problem, purchase context and likely objection. Avoid an audience description so broad that it includes almost everyone.
Illustrative example: ‘Owners of small product brands preparing a seasonal launch need a set of product videos’ gives a team more direction than ‘all business owners’. It suggests the benefit, content and timing without assuming any particular campaign result.
Write the offer in plain language
State what is being offered, what it includes and what is excluded. Confirm prices, validity dates and availability before placing them in artwork. If the offer requires a consultation or custom quote, say that clearly.
Separate the primary message from supporting details. An advert trying to explain every service at once often makes it harder to identify the next step. The landing page can carry the fuller explanation.
Provide evidence and usable assets
- Approved product or service photographs.
- A current logo and brand guidance.
- Verified testimonials or documented outcomes, if available.
- Accurate package details and contact information.
- Examples that demonstrate the desired tone, with reasons.
Explain permissions for any client footage, people, music or third-party assets. Supplying an image is not the same as confirming it can be used in an advertisement. Keep those approvals with the project records.
Specify formats and the destination
Identify the intended placements and whether the deliverables include static designs, carousels or video. Include the page, form or contact route that the advert will use. The creative team should be able to check that its promise matches the destination.
Agree how feedback will work
Choose one person to consolidate comments and approve facts. Distinguish factual corrections from subjective preferences. Give feedback against the audience and objective: ‘The offer is not clear in the first frame’ is more actionable than ‘make it pop’.
Compare DK’s marketing package deliverables and send your advertising brief. For a filmed campaign, also read our video production brief guide.
Stock photo: Pexels.