In an agency, there are two main types of briefs. The creative brief (which you can read more about here) and the client brief.
A creative brief is an internal output (a deck or doc) made by a strategist. A client brief is an external input (a doc) made by the client that kicks the agency off on a new project. It is the very first artifact made for a new project.
I have also heard it called a project kickoff brief, an intake document, an IAT brief, or an assignment memo.
Regardless what your agency calls it, it is imperative to get this doc right. Billions of dollars are wasted every year due to poorly written client briefs1. Bad briefs lead to countless reworks that waste money and momentum.
You combat this by making a strong client brief template.
Agency teams should partner with clients to develop a bespoke brief template tailored to client needs. While the specific sections may vary, most high-quality client briefs contain the following core ingredients:
Project Name: What are we going to call the project?
Client Lead: Who is the key client contact / approver?
Background: Is there any background info that is useful to know to solve for the ask?
Ask: In one clear sentence, what is the ask?
Deliverables: What are the exact assets the agency needs to deliver?
Objective: What is the business objective? How will we measure success?
Audience: Who is this for?
Market Forces: What market, category, competitive forces are at play?
Key Message: What is the one thing you want to communicate?
Mandatories & Considerations: What must we do and what should we consider?
Budget: What’s the budget for the project?
Timing: What are the key milestones?
Supplemental Info: Anything else worth sharing?
Within each of these sections, it is important to write clear prompts that guide the client to fill out the brief to the highest caliber.
🌟Paid subscribers can download a client brief template, with the exact prompts I include in every client brief at the bottom of this article🌟
By Alex Mason · Thousands of Subscribers
Auditing and updating client brief templates not only leads to better strategic work, it’s also a fairly easy way to add value for both your internal and client teams.
Review the client brief template and ask yourself:
Are these the right sections for the brief? Is there anything we routinely ask for that isn’t included in the brief?
Is the order of the sections right? Does it flow logically?
Is it clear what every section is asking from the client? Are there common misunderstandings clients have when filling out different sections?
Sometimes, you may discover that have a strong template, but the client doesn’t fully understand how to fill it out. In this case, run a workshop on how to write better client briefs.
Walk clients through each section and explain what good looks like. Make sure to include examples of well-written client briefs alongside the work they led to. This helps clients understand what good looks like and why good matters.
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“A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” — Charles Kettering
Next week, I’ll teach you why tension matters in insights and how to build it in. Chat then!
🌟Paid subscribers can download a client brief template below🌟
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