Creative brief

A short document that aligns an agency and client on the goals, audience, message and constraints of a creative project before work begins.

For example, before a campaign, the agency writes a one-page creative brief covering the objective, target audience, key message, mandatories and deadline. With it signed off, the team creates against a shared target instead of guessing what the client wants.

Why it matters to your firm: a good creative brief prevents the most expensive kind of rework - work that is skilful but aimed at the wrong goal. Agreeing the brief up front aligns expectations, speeds approvals, and gives you something concrete to point to when feedback drifts off-target.