A creative brief is an essential document for businesses and agencies that work on any creative projects. It is used to describe every aspect of a creative campaign or project so that the people working on it know exactly what is expected.
Creative briefs can be put together by the a client requesting a creative service or campaign, or by the team or agency that is providing a creative service. But it is usually a collaborative effort, since input from the decision makers is essential for making sure their vision is included. It is then distributed to the creative team who is tasked with actually executing the campaign. This can either be an in-house team of creatives or an outside agency.
Creative briefs should include a brand statement, an overview of the campaign and its goals, the target audience you’re trying to reach, key messaging points and the channels you’ll use to spread those messages. They should also have basic details about the project, like deadlines and contact information of all the necessary parties. Overall, the document should be kept fairly simple and is often just one or two pages long.
Creative Brief Examples
If you’re looking to create a creative brief for your business or organization but don’t know where to start, templates and examples of other briefs can sometimes provide a good jumping off point. There are plenty of these available online. Here, we’ve rounded up 15 spots where you can find decent starting points for your own creative projects.
SmartSheet
SmartSheet offers creative brief templates for Microsoft Word and Excel. The site breaks it down into categories. So you can find options for advertising campaigns, client-led projects and general creative briefs.
TemplateLab
TemplateLab has a wide array of starter templates available for business and individual documents. They have about 40 creative brief templates available for you to download as Microsoft Word files.
Workmajig
Workmajig provides project management software for creative teams. Their website includes several examples of creative briefs used by top companies in their ad campaigns.
Hubspot
Hubspot offers a couple of different creative brief templates for download. There’s one for simple campaigns and another for video projects. You can simply sign up with your email and contact details to access them.
AdCracker
For advertising campaigns or professional, AdCracker offers a sample creative brief that was created specifically for the ad industry. Their website also includes plenty of examples of what type of information is needed for specific types of creative briefs.
Milanote
Milanote is an online organization tool for creatives. A section of their website is dedicated to templates for various forms and documents that creative teams might need, including a creative brief.
CoSchedule
CoSchedule offers several creative brief examples on their website, including basic ones for ad campaigns and even a more involved, Q&A style option for a video campaign. They also offer a free, downloadable template so you can easily customize your own.
Filestage
Filestage is a content management platform that offers a free creative brief template on its website. You need to request the file via email. But it’s available as a Powerpoint file, which can be beneficial for those who need to present their brief to clients. You can also easily convert it to a PDF if needed.
Toggl
Time tracking tool Toggl offers a free creative brief template on its website. It comes as a fillable PDF so you can easily input your information. But there’s not a ton of customization options when it comes to the layout or design.
Canva
Canva is an online graphics tool that is popular with a lot of creatives. The website includes a thorough explanation of what to include in a creative brief, along with plenty of examples and templates that you can use to create the graphics.
99designs
Online design platform 99designs has a section of their website dedicated to the creation of creative briefs. You can learn more about what goes into creating one and then download their free template via email.
Creative Market
Creative Market offers plenty of different design elements and assets that creative businesses can use. The site also includes a free creative brief template that was made specifically with designers in mind.
FunctionPoint
Agency management software provider FunctionPoint offers several creative brief templates for various situations, including basic templates, website projects and branding and design.
Workfront
Enterprise software company Workfront also has a free template for a creative brief. They also include an explanation of what important information you need to include.
JotForm
JotForm is an online form builder that has tons of forms and templates you can edit directly online. Find a basic creative brief template here are view all the other marketing and creative form options they have to offer.
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