Writing Project Briefs That Inspire Creativity

We see a ton of creative briefs at GetAds, so this post made sense to dissect what makes a brief, a great one. It’s not just about filling in the blanks → it’s about setting up your team for success. Let’s break it down: 1️⃣ Clarity Over Complexity  ↳ A strong creative brief is concise, free of jargon, and gets to the point. Overloading it with unnecessary details only slows the process and creates confusion. Focus on simplicity without sacrificing purpose. 2️⃣ Start with the Why  ↳ The purpose of your campaign should be crystal clear. Why does this campaign exist? What problem does it solve for your audience? This gives your team direction and creates alignment from the start. 3️⃣ Know Your Audience  ↳ Go beyond demographics. Understand what motivates your audience, their pain points, and aspirations. The deeper your understanding, the more your creative resonates. 4️⃣ Define Success  ↳ Establish clear, measurable goals. Whether it’s increasing CTR, driving conversions, or boosting brand awareness, everyone on the team should know what success looks like. 5️⃣ Inspire, Don’t Dictate  ↳ While a brief provides structure, it should also leave room for creativity. Share tone or examples for guidance, but avoid being overly prescriptive. Creativity thrives in flexibility. 6️⃣ Pinpoint the Message  ↳ What’s the single most important takeaway? If your message tries to do too much, it risks losing its impact. Keep it focused and powerful. 7️⃣ Deadlines + Deliverables  ↳ Be explicit about deadlines and formats. Ambiguity derails projects. Set expectations early to keep everything on track. Why it matters: A well-crafted brief saves time, aligns your team, and sets the stage for impactful work. Great creative starts here—it’s non-negotiable. Found this helpful? Like, follow, and share ♻️ so others can too! ps. struggling with creative bottlenecks? We can help.

No room for creative collaboration? That's missed opportunities, uninspired work and waste of budget. I've spent half my life in the creative industry. I’ve seen all kinds of briefs. To thin, too bulky and everything in between. And then there are the ones that just work. They deliver magic. So, what makes a dope creative brief? Here’s the lowdown: Guardrails with room for creativity. → Problem A problem when we on the creative production side receive a brief; It's usually already more or less set in stone. In my opinion, we're creatives as well, believe it or not. Not just hands. We love to contribute idea in form of new trends, techniques or just some cool sh*t we've seen as reference. So.. When production partners get handed something to build per IKEA instructions, or paint by numbers.. excuse us, but we lose a little bit of energy, pep in the step.. a little bit of life, bit of spark. And I think that's sad. Because the project suffers. And ultimately, the creative. Because mostly, there isn't enough time to correct this problem on the fly. → Solution So, lets talk about the brief, how I believe it should be structured and approached. In my opinion, the best way to write a brief, is to be as clear on your vision as possible. *Obviously—duh* But make sure you leave room for input from your creative production partner. They obsess over production and they know what’s trending, what lands, and what’s possible Also, plan for a creative powwow towards the end of the project. When the creative is fully visible to everyone on all teams. Ultimately I think a creative brief sets the partnership up as follows: 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: ↳ Hitting all the creative baselines ↳ Controls overall creative vision ↳ Space to push execution further 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀: ↳ Engaged because: skin in the game ↳ Mentally prepared for possible curveballs ↳ Encouraged to elevate the work Trust the process. The best work happens when vision meets expertise. 📌 Have a swipe through of the carousel → And since this falls under my 𝗨𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗫𝗬 umbrella, I’ll probably never post about this again. So if you find this valuable… Save the PDF ⬇️

How much is a weak creative brief holding your team back? You know the feeling – your team has incredible talent, passion, and drive. Yet, somehow, projects keep missing the mark. There’s a disconnect, and it feels like everyone is constantly circling around, trying to hit an invisible target. I’ve been there, and it’s incredibly frustrating! It drains the team’s energy and often leads to burnout or, worse, to the belief that “this is just how it is.” Once upon a time, I was part of a team facing the same challenges. We were dedicated, creative, and driven. But every time we launched a campaign, there were misaligned messages, missed opportunities, and frustration over what the end result should have been. The culprit? Inconsistent or unclear creative briefs that left too much room for guesswork and assumptions. This is a common issue. BUT, it’s something YOU can change. Weak briefs are silent killers. They waste time, derail great ideas, and create confusion rather than clarity. Here are five steps I’ve found that make a huge difference in creating a brief that works: 1️⃣ Spot the gaps in understanding – Listen to your team. Are there points where people are hesitating or asking questions they shouldn’t have to? These are your clues. 2️⃣ Align on a single-minded message – Set one clear, central idea. This is the heartbeat of your campaign. If everyone’s chasing different messages, no one will truly know what success looks like. 3️⃣ Prioritize the audience’s perspective – Bring your audience into the room. Who are they? What do they need? Make sure every brief starts from this foundation, not just product features. 4️⃣ Challenge the assumptions – Avoid buzzwords and vague language that can mean different things to different people. Be specific. A strong brief leaves little room for misinterpretation. 5️⃣ Commit to training and coaching – Don’t leave the skill of brief writing up to chance. Help your team learn the craft of writing clear, actionable briefs that inspire great work. When the team sees how a good brief leads to better results, they’ll want to keep improving. Every team can face this challenge, and it’s up to leaders to tackle the weak-brief epidemic. Clear, inspiring briefs help teams do their best work and unleash their full potential. I’m all about making the creative process more effective and impactful. If you’ve been part of a team that mastered the art of great briefs, I’d love to hear ONE tip that made a difference. Comment below! And if you’ve got a confidential “brief gone wrong” story to share, DM me – I promise it’ll help others too.