What To Include in a Creative Brief, With Template and Examples

The project management process is exciting. The dreaming, the strategizing, the doing! But as experienced marketing teams know, before triumph comes a murky process of ideation, second-guessing, and backtracking, often leading to scope creep if not managed effectively.

A great creative brief is the road map laying out what you want to create and how you’re going to create it. It’s a flexible tool that can be adapted to the specifics of marketing strategies, social media trends, advertising agency projects, and digital marketing campaigns. It ensures that everyone, from the creative director to the design team, stays aligned with the project goals and avoids unnecessary revisions.

While a creative brief is an invaluable tool, its ultimate success hinges on its quality. So, what constitutes a good creative brief? In this article, we’ll break down the basics of the creative brief, explain how it helps your internal team achieve project goals, and provide a free creative brief template.

By the end, you’ll understand how you can use this tool in your next marketing campaign, graphic design work, advertising project, social media content creation—the list goes on. A creative brief is helpful whenever you could use some clarity in executing your creative vision.

What is a creative brief?

A creative brief is an outline for a marketing, advertising, or design initiative that streamlines the creative process and plans the details of project management. It maps out the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your initiatives.

Typically, the creative brief is a short document—no more than a few pages—that summarizes the goals of the project, the company mission, and the parameters such as the budget and timeline.

Purpose of a creative brief

Creative teams benefit from an official overview, which facilitates clear communication with stakeholders such as team leads, copywriters, and graphic designers. Every team member understands how their individual efforts should culminate in the final project, which streamlines the workflow by preventing unnecessary revisions due to miscommunication or a lack of unified vision.

As a result, the creative process becomes more efficient. A shared document to guide efforts also allows the account manager to accurately present ideas to the client, and to incorporate client feedback. Additionally, a creative brief improves efficiency by highlighting how deliverables correlate to the overall marketing strategy, such as improving brand awareness. This is where understanding your personas and their pain points becomes crucial, as it ensures your messaging resonates with the target audience.

For example, if a creative brief states that a luxury high-heel designer is reinventing their brand and launching a line of practical streetwear sneakers, the advertising team won’t run a commercial showing someone laying their coat over a puddle while another person steps over the puddle to avoid ruining their shoes.

Instead, the commercial could show a person changing into sneakers and running through the puddle, which would align with the messaging shift.

When to use a creative brief

Plenty of creative initiatives can benefit from the clarity of a creative brief, but the most noteworthy projects have multiple overlapping responsibilities and interdepartmental collaboration. This includes a new product launch, an advertising campaign, or content marketing initiatives.

In the example of a product launch, it’s likely a multimedia campaign across social media, print ads, and in-person product launch events. A creative brief creates aligned messaging across marketing strategies by establishing guidelines for creative assets such as brand voice (through tone and messaging), design elements (like font, logo, and color scheme), and communication (such as how deliverables are handled). These brand guidelines help the account manager communicate these details, facilitating a streamlined process of transforming ideas into reality.  

Creative briefs are invaluable for both in-house and external creative agencies. They align the granular details of execution with the desired goal for the initiative and the expectations of every team member involved. When everyone understands the shared vision they’re striving for, they can accurately integrate the company’s values and brand voice into each aspect of the initiative.

How to write a creative brief

Now that we’ve covered the importance of a creative brief in streamlining the ideation process, we explain how to incorporate it into your team's workflows.

1. Describe your company

Provide context and background information on your company to help the designer or creative team get a better understanding of your business. Who are you, and what services and products do you offer?

Include links to your website and any other background material that might help others get a sense of your brand identity and mission.

2. Summarize the project

What is the project, what does it entail, and why do you need it? Give a concise, general overview. Don’t get too granular yet, as those details will come into play later.

For example, do you need a corporate identity kit for your new company to create a cohesive brand? Are you refreshing your company’s Facebook and Twitter pages for a new season because you want to promote seasonal products?

3. Explain your objectives

This is probably the most important part of the brief, so consider your strategy and objectives before starting the project.

When developing your creative project objectives, consider these key questions:

• Timing. Why do you need this project? What prompted this idea, and why is now the right time to accomplish this task? Is there a problem you’re trying to solve, such as needing to improve your brand image after an advertising miscalculation?
• Anticipated results. What are you hoping to achieve with it? Is the goal interior, such as strengthening your team relationships, or exterior, like increasing sales?
• Goal-setting. What are your goals? How are these ambitions aligned with your planned actions? Are your goals different from previous projects? For example, a toy company might make a kitchen playset that traditionally appeals to girls, but in an effort to be inclusive, they want to create kitchen playsets that appeal to boys.
• Measurable data. How will you measure success? For example, if you’re developing an ebook, you might measure success by the number of downloads. These details will help the designer understand your goals and come up with solutions that address them.

4. Define your target audience

Who’s your customer? Who are you trying to reach with this project or campaign? Share demographic information about who they are and any psychographic insights you may have, such as how their ideology could affect their habits.

For example, let’s imagine a razor company whose target audience is men who want to trim their facial hair. What’s their age range and average income? Are there behavioral factors to consider, like a consumer interest in recycled materials?

5. Outline the deliverables you need

Do you need a one-page brochure? A batch of 10 banner ads? A logo for print, just for the web, or for both?

Be sure to include the file formats you need (e.g., JPG, PNG, PSD), size information (e.g., 300-by-250 pixels), and any other important details needed to deliver the right creative assets.  

Setting and communicating these standards upfront helps prevent miscommunication and the possibility of having to rework finished deliverables, which costs time and money.

6. Identify your competition

Who are your competitors? You may want to include an overview of the competitive landscape and any trends or market conditions impacting your industry.

For this project, what are your competitors doing as a point of comparison and as a point of differentiation? For example, if you’re refreshing your logo, what types of logos and colors do your competitors use? These details can help inform the direction the designer will pursue, as well as additional research they need to conduct. You can also include a few examples of designs you like or don’t like.

Identifying current trends within your niche helps you stand out to your target audience while also appealing to them.

7. Include details on the tone, message, and style

The style and tone of voice should be consistent across your brand. It will also depend on what the project is, what you’re trying to achieve, and what action you want your customers to take. To inform the messaging and ensure it aligns with your objectives, include your strategic positioning and the key messages that need to be addressed.

For example, if you’re creating a landing page for a contest, you’d probably want the messaging and design to be lively and fun to inspire people to enter. If you’re developing an annual report, you’d most likely want something that looks and sounds more formal and professional to instill trust and confidence.

If you have a brand style guide or examples of past campaigns or related projects, be sure to share them with your designer. Also, provide any other factors or requirements that might affect the creative direction, such as your brand’s mission or code of conduct.

8. Provide the timing

If you have a timeline in mind for your project, include it in the brief. During your kickoff meeting or initial conversations, make sure to discuss the timeline and agree on a completion date. It’s also a good idea to talk about the overall creative process and discuss the editorial process, how many rounds of edits are possible, and whether they’re included if it’s a fixed-price contract.  

These are important details in keeping your project on track and holding stakeholders accountable for finishing deliverables on time.

9. Specify your budget

If you have a set budget for the project (which is often the case), include it in the brief and discuss it with your designer. If the designer’s estimate exceeds your budget, talk it over and agree on realistic expectations, deliverables, and project costs before getting started.

Depending on this cost estimate, you might have to scale up or down the parameters of your project, such as choosing between billboard advertisements and a subway advertising campaign instead of doing both.

10. List the key stakeholders

If other people on your team or within your organization need to be included in the review process, provide their contact information. You can also include how you’d like to receive deliverables and provide feedback.

By thinking through and elaborating on these 10 key aspects of your business and project, you’ll be able to produce a creative brief that’s not only thorough but also effective. With a solid creative brief in hand, you’ll help the designer deliver great results and ensure your project achieves the results your business needs.

Creative brief template

Ready to start planning your next big idea? If you need a starting point, look no further than this creative brief template.

1. Describe your company

• Company Name: [Enter your company name here]
• Overview: [Provide a brief description of your company, services, and products]
• Website & Resources: [Include links to your website and any relevant background material]

2. Summarize the project

• Project Name: [Enter the project name here]
• Project Overview: [Provide a concise summary of what the project entails and why it's needed]

3. Explain your objectives

• Timing: [Explain why you need this project and why now is the right time]
• Anticipated Results: [What are you hoping to achieve?]
• Goal-setting: [Outline the specific goals of the project]
• Measurable Data: [How will you measure the success of this project?]

4. Define your target audience

• Target Audience: [Describe who your customer is, including demographic and behavioral insights]

5. Outline the deliverables you need

• Deliverables: [List the deliverables required, including file formats, sizes, and any other relevant details]

6. Identify your competition

• Competitors: [Provide an overview of your competitors and any trends impacting your industry]
• Comparative Analysis: [What are your competitors doing, and how do you want to differentiate?]

7. Include details on the tone, message, and style

• Tone & Style: [Describe the desired tone and style for the project]
• Key Messages: [Include strategic positioning and key messages]
• References: [Provide examples of past campaigns, brand style guides, or other relevant materials]

8. Provide the timing

• Timeline: [Specify the timeline for the project, including milestones and deadlines]
• Process: [Discuss the creative process, editorial rounds, and expectations]

9. Specify your budget

• Budget: [State the budget for the project and discuss any constraints or adjustments needed]

10. List the key stakeholders

• Stakeholders: [List the key stakeholders, their contact information, and their role in the project]
• Feedback Process: [Specify how deliverables will be reviewed and feedback provided]

Adjust the template to meet the specific needs of each project your creative team tackles. You can even test your company branding by customizing the template with your company logo, design elements, and brand voice to communicate to stakeholders and serve as an example for future creative work.

Creative brief example

We present a creative brief in action to help you understand how it connects your target audience, brand voice, and marketing plan. An effective creative brief lays out the project’s goals, your expectations for the final result, and how the plan of execution fits into your creative team’s workflow.

We filled in the key sections of the creative brief template using the example of a wellness company launching a new goat yoga practice.

Project title: Yogi Goat official launch

Date: April 15, 2024,

Prepared by: Amanda Zen

1. Describe your companysome text
   1. Company overview: Yogi Goat
   2. Services and products: yoga classes with goat companions, a line of athleisure clothing, and goat-themed yoga mats
   3. Website and background material: launched by a goat farmer and yoga enthusiast who wanted to find a way to turn her family farm into an event space while sharing what she loves with others.

2. Summarize the projectsome text
   1. Project description: launch a new yoga studio through a series of promotional videos on social media
   2. Purpose: increase brand recognition and generate more profit for the company

3. Explain your objectivessome text
   1. Project goals: increase active interest in our goat yoga
   2. Measurements of success: raising ad engagement rate, increasing product sales, and gaining new program memberships

4. Define your target audiencesome text
   1. Demographic information: child-free women between the ages of 18 and 35 with a high enough income to commit to a membership and enough free time to regularly attend classes
   2. Behavioral insights: animal lovers, fitness enthusiasts, women who want to boost their mental health

5. Outline of deliverablessome text
   1. Specific deliverables: 10-minute promotional video for YouTube, shorter video content for social media platforms
   2. File formats and size: save as .mp4 in aspect ratio matching each platform

6. Identify your competitionsome text
   1. Competitive landscape: outdoor yoga groups, puppy yoga classes, chain yoga studios
   2. Differentiation points: family-owned instead of a large chain, best of both worlds with cute animals and an outdoorsy element that stands out as a little weird but a lot of fun
   3. Design preferences: too many orange fitness logos; want something in another color with text and an illustration of a goat doing yoga

7. Details on tone, message, and stylesome text
   1. Tone and style: cheerful, enthusiastic, gently encouraging and not overly pushy or aggressive like other fitness classes
   2. Key messages: benefits of yoga and animal companionship on your physical and mental health
   3. Brand style guide: sans serif text, the color scheme is shades of pastel purple, blue, yellow, and green

8. Provide the timingsome text
   1. Timeline: The official launch of the studio is in four months; we want to start the promotion a month before
   2. Creative process: developing script for introduction to Yogi Goat, then filming in the studio, editing the video, and recording the voice-over

9. Specify your budgetsome text
   1. Budget details: $5,000 for the video launch campaign
   2. Expectations and cost: need to rent filming equipment

10. List the key stakeholderssome text
    1. Stakeholder information: founder, studio manager, social media assistant, videographer
    2. Communication preferences: text group chat for general conversation, email for deliverables

What success looks like with a creative brief

You’ve done the planning, met with your creative team, and filled out the free creative brief template. But how do you know if you’ve made an effective creative brief?

First, you’ll notice the changes within your internal team. When your process, goals, and expectations are laid out from the start, kickoff meetings become a true launchpad for your creative project. Additionally, this clarity streamlines revisions because everyone’s on the same page and understands how feedback is communicated.

For results outside the office, your consistent brand voice, identity, and messaging can improve brand awareness. When your target audience understands your company background, what you offer, and how you present your values, this reliability can increase customer loyalty and engagement.

Another plus? An expanded customer base encourages more successful product launches and impactful advertising campaigns.

Master creative briefs with Upwork

Creative briefs are your roadmaps for ideating spot-on campaigns, communicating your goals and vision to stakeholders, and crafting aligned, branded messaging that resonates with your target audience. An effective creative brief walks the line between daydreaming and action by being both an overview of your creative process and a step-by-step plan for executing your design, advertising, or marketing campaign.

Do you want additional help to expand your creative brief into a finished project? Find project managers on Upwork who have the know-how to make your ideas a reality.

And if you’re a project manager looking for your next opportunity, browse Upwork’s project management jobs.