How to write a brief a creator can actually use
31 August 2026 · 5 min read · Brief
The difference between a brief that produces good work and one that produces an ad, with the seven things every brief should contain.
By wesocialthen
A brief is not a script. It is the set of constraints inside which the creator is free. Get that boundary right and the work gets better; get it wrong and you have paid someone with an audience to read your copy out loud.
Seven things to include
- The goal in one sentence. Awareness, trial, sales or something else — pick one.
- Who you are trying to reach, described as people rather than a demographic bracket.
- The one thing that must be said. Not five things. One.
- What must not be said — legal limits, competitor mentions, claims you cannot make.
- Format and platform, with length. A Reel and a YouTube video are different jobs.
- Deadlines that include the approval round, because approval always takes longer than anyone plans.
- What success looks like, so both sides can tell afterwards whether it worked.
What to leave out
Leave out the exact words. Leave out the shot list. Leave out the instruction to smile at the camera on the third second. The creator knows what their audience stops for; that knowledge is the reason you hired them.