Get 300 new members to book a first class in March. One measurable outcome, not a list of hopes.
02
Audience
People within three miles who’ve tried a gym before and stopped going. What they believe now, and what should change.
03
Single-minded message
“You don’t need to be fit to start here.” One sentence the work has to land.
04
Approvals
One named approver signs off the concept and the final artwork, each within two working days.
What is a creative brief?
A creative brief is a short document that tells the creative team what to make, who it’s for, what it needs to achieve and how it will be approved. It’s written before any concepts, so everyone judges the work against the same agreed goal instead of personal taste.
A good brief is short. One or two pages is normal. If it runs longer, the decisions probably haven’t been made yet, and the brief is passing that work on to the designers.
Client brief: what the client sends the agency, often loose and incomplete.
Creative brief: what the agency writes back, sharpened into one objective, one audience and one message, and agreed by the client.
Statement of work: the commercial scope, deliverables and acceptance terms. The brief guides the creative; the statement of work defines what’s delivered.
The sections in this template
The download contains the full brief with placeholders, plus a short client brief form you can send before the briefing call.
Section
What it covers
1. Project overview
Client, project name, brief owner and date.
2. Background
What’s prompted the project, in two or three sentences.
3. Objective
The one measurable result the work should achieve.
4. Audience
Who you’re talking to, what they think now and what should change.
5. Single-minded message
The one thing the audience should take away.
6. Supporting points
Reasons to believe the message: facts, proof and offers.
7. Tone and brand
How it should feel, and the brand rules that apply.
8. Deliverables
Each asset, with format, sizes and channels.
9. Mandatories and constraints
Legal lines, logos, words to avoid and technical limits.
10. Timeline
Key dates, including review windows for the client.
11. Approvals
Who approves each stage, and how feedback is given.
12. Measurement
How you’ll know it worked.
Example: a gym membership campaign
Here’s how the key sections read for a typical campaign. Riverside Fitness is a fictional client used for illustration.
Objective: get 300 new members to book a first class during March.
Audience: adults within three miles of the gym who have tried a gym before and stopped going. They think gyms are for people who are already fit. We want them to feel a first class is a low-pressure place to start.
Single-minded message: you don’t need to be fit to start here.
Supporting points: beginner-only classes on weekday evenings; the first class is free; coaches adjust every exercise.
#
Deliverable
Format
Due
1
Campaign concept
Two routes, presented as mood boards with headlines
6 Feb
2
Social ads
Six static ads, 1:1 and 9:16
20 Feb
3
Poster
A2 print-ready PDF for the gym entrance
20 Feb
Approvals: the marketing manager approves the chosen concept and the final artwork, each within two working days. Feedback is sent as one consolidated set per round.
Five ways briefs go wrong
Several objectives. “Raise awareness, drive sales and refresh the brand” gives the team three briefs. Pick the one result that matters most.
An audience of everyone. “Adults aged 25–55” describes a population, not a person. Say what they believe now and what should change.
A message that’s a list. If you can’t write it in one sentence, the creative can’t land it either.
Missing mandatories. Logos, legal lines and banned words that appear at the artwork stage cost a full round of revisions.
No named approver. When the brief doesn’t say who signs off, new opinions arrive late. Name the approver for each stage and agree the review window before work starts.
Get the brief agreed, then keep it
Send the brief back to the client and ask for written sign-off before concepts begin. Then judge every round of feedback against it: if a change doesn’t serve the agreed objective, audience or message, it’s a new request, not a revision.
In the Angelwood client portal, clients approve work and record decisions, so the signed-off brief and each approval stay with the project instead of in an email thread.
Use it in Word, Google Docs or PDF
Microsoft Word
Download the Word (.docx) file and open it. If Word opens it in Protected View, select Enable Editing.
Use Find (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) and search for “[” to jump between the placeholders you need to replace.
Save a clean copy as a Word template (File → Save As → Word Template) so every new document starts from it.
Google Docs
Upload the .docx file to Google Drive.
Right-click it and choose Open with → Google Docs, then File → Save as Google Docs to keep an editable copy.
Use File → Make a copy for each new client so your master stays clean.
PDF
Fill it in Word or Google Docs, then export it: File → Save As → PDF in Word, or File → Download → PDF document in Google Docs.
MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU
Useful structure. Your way of working.
01
Agree one objective.
Write the single, measurable result the work should achieve. When the client asks for changes later, check them against this line first. A brief with three objectives produces work that achieves none of them clearly.
02
Describe a person, not a demographic.
Say what your audience believes now and what you want them to think or do after seeing the work. That shift gives the creative team something to aim at that an age range never will.
03
Name the approver before concepts.
Agree who approves each stage, how quickly and how feedback is given. Ask the client to sign off the brief itself, so every later review has an agreed reference point.
Yes. The download includes a short client-facing version you can paste into your form tool and send before the briefing call.
What should a creative brief include?+
Background, one objective, the audience, a single-minded message, supporting points, tone and brand rules, deliverables, mandatories and constraints, a timeline, approvals and how success will be measured.
Who writes the creative brief?+
Usually the agency’s account or strategy lead, using what the client provides in their own brief or an intake form. The client then reviews and signs it off before creative work starts.
How long should a creative brief be?+
One or two pages. If it’s longer, key decisions such as the objective or the message probably haven’t been made yet. Make them before briefing the team.
Can I edit this template in Word or Google Docs?+
Yes. Download the Word (.docx) file and open it in Microsoft Word, or upload it to Google Drive and choose Open with → Google Docs. There’s also a Markdown version for any text editor. No account or email address is needed.
How do I save it as a PDF?+
Fill it in, then export it: File → Save As → PDF in Word, or File → Download → PDF document in Google Docs. On this page you can also print just the template or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print dialog.