Imagine what would happen if the coach of your favorite sports team didn’t share their playbook with the players, or a general told their army to just “go out there and win.”
This is what it’s like to have an ineffective marketing brief.
Marketing campaigns require careful planning and clear communication, and a well-crafted, well-executed marketing brief is the key to a winning campaign. It ensures all of your team members are aligned on objectives, strategies, and expectations.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the essentials of writing an effective marketing brief and provide a detailed example to help you get started.
Let’s dig in!
What we'll cover
Table of contents
What is a marketing brief?
A marketing brief outlines the essential details and strategic direction of a marketing project or campaign. Basically it ensures that your marketing team and stakeholders have a clear understanding of the project's goals, target audience, strategy, deliverables, timeline, and budget. You can think of the brief as a roadmap, guiding your team through each phase of the campaign, from conception to execution and evaluation.
Who is involved in the creation of the marketing brief?
Creating a marketing brief is truly a team effort, and it involves several key players within an organization. Some of the people you’ll tap to put it together are marketing managers, project managers, creative directors, content strategists, and sometimes even senior executives. Why so many? Because each of these roles brings a unique perspective to the brief, ensuring that it is comprehensive and aligned with the overall business objectives.
Marketing brief vs. creative brief
While both marketing briefs and creative briefs are must-have documents in the marketing process, they serve different purposes.
A marketing brief is broader and focuses on the overall strategy and objectives of a marketing campaign. You’ll get detailed information about the target audience, market analysis, and success metrics (the who, what, when, where, why). A creative brief is more focused on the execution of creative deliverables (the how). It provides specific guidelines for designers, writers, and other creative professionals, detailing the messaging, tone, and visual elements required for the campaign.
Think of the marketing brief as the view from 30,000 feet, and the creative brief as your street level view. Got it?
The importance of a marketing brief
You probably can guess that marketing briefs are important, but here are some of the reasons why they are:
- Alignment — It ensures that everyone involved in the project is on the same page, with a clear understanding of the goals and strategies.
- Efficiency — By outlining the necessary details upfront, it reduces the chances of miscommunication and minimizes revisions and rework.
- Consistency — It helps maintain consistency in messaging and branding across all marketing materials.
- Measurement — It provides a framework for evaluating the success of the campaign, with defined metrics and KPIs.
Without a marketing brief, you’re setting your marketing team up for some ugly scenarios: going off-track, missing deadlines, and failing to meet your objectives, to name a few. And when you don’t have a clear plan, your team will be confused, waste resources, and get subpar results.
Key components of a marketing brief
What goes into a solid marketing brief? There are a few essential elements that you’ll find in all the greats:
Background and objectives
The background section provides context for the campaign, including the company’s current market position and any relevant history. The objectives outline what the campaign aims to achieve, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or driving sales.
Say you’re an eco-friendly consumer goods company called Très Vert, and you’ve seen steady growth in online sales but want to expand your brick-and-mortar presence. You might say your objective of the campaign is to increase foot traffic to physical stores by some percentage.
Target audience
Identifying the target audience is crucial for tailoring the campaign’s messaging and strategy. This section should include demographic information, psychographics, and behavioral insights.
The target audience for Très Vert’s campaign might include adults who live in urban areas, are environmentally conscious, and tech-savvy.
Campaign strategy
The campaign strategy outlines the approach and tactics that will be used to achieve the objectives. This can include content marketing, social media, email campaigns, SEO, and more.
The campaign for Très Vert will use a mix of social media ads, local influencer partnerships, and in-store events. Content marketing will focus on blog posts and videos highlighting the benefits of eco-friendly products.
Deliverables
This section details the specific outputs of the campaign, such as blog posts, social media content, videos, or print materials. Clear deliverables ensure everyone knows what needs to be created and approved.
For Très Vert, the campaign will produce blog posts, social media posts, promotional videos, in-store event posters, and email newsletters.
Timeline and budget
Providing a timeline and budget helps manage expectations and ensures that the project stays on track. It includes key milestones, deadlines, and the allocation of resources.
You decide the campaign for Très Vert will run during the summer and have particular milestones (we’ll cover those later in this piece).
Brand voice and tone
Maintaining a consistent brand voice and tone is essential for brand recognition and trust. This section provides guidelines on how the brand should sound and feel in all communications.
The Très Vert brand voice is friendly, fun, informative, and inspirational. The tone should be positive and encouraging — with a bit of cool confidence — emphasizing the environmental benefits of their products.
Competitive landscape
Understanding the competitive landscape helps in positioning the campaign effectively. This section includes an analysis of your key competitors, their strengths and weaknesses, and market opportunities.
You scan the room and see that Très Vert’s competitors include Green Goods Co., which has a strong online presence but limited physical stores, and Eco Essentials, known for high-quality products but lacking in customer engagement.
Channel distribution
Outlining the channels through which the campaign will be distributed ensures a cohesive strategy. This can include social media platforms, email newsletters, paid advertising, and more.
The campaign for Très Vert will utilize Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for social media ads and engagement (you don’t feel like you have the bandwidth for TikTok).
Success measurement
Defining success metrics and KPIs provides a way to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign. This can include metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, engagement rates, and ROI.
Success for Très Vert’s campaign will be measured by tracking an increase in foot traffic and website traffic. Also, a conversion rate goal from social media ads, and overall ROI from the campaign budget.
Marketing brief example
Here’s a comprehensive, final example of a marketing brief, adhering to the guidelines outlined above:
Project title: Summer 2024 Product Launch Campaign
Background: Our company, Très Vert, is launching a new line of eco-friendly products this summer. We aim to position ourselves as a leader in sustainable consumer goods. The campaign will focus on raising awareness and driving sales through online and offline channels.
Objectives:
- Increase brand awareness by 30% within three months
- Generate 10,000 leads from the campaign
- Achieve a 5% conversion rate from leads to sales
Target audience:
- Demographics: Adults aged 25-45, primarily in urban areas
- Psychographics: Environmentally conscious, health-focused, early adopters
- Behavioral Insights: Frequently purchase eco-friendly products, active on social media
Campaign strategy:
- Content marketing: Blog posts, infographics, and educational videos about sustainability
- Social media: Targeted ads, influencer partnerships, and interactive posts
- Email marketing: Newsletters, product announcements, and exclusive offers
Deliverables:
- 10 blog posts
- 5 infographics
- 3 educational videos
- 20 social media posts (across platforms)
- 4 email newsletters
Timeline and budget:
- Campaign Duration: June 1, 2024 - August 31, 2024
- Budget: $50,000
- Key Milestones:
- June 1: Campaign kick-off
- July 1: Mid-campaign review
- August 31: Campaign wrap-up
Brand voice and tone:
- Voice: Friendly, confident, informative, and inspiring
- Tone: Positive and motivating
Competitive landscape:
- Competitors: Green Goods Co., Eco Essentials, Pure Planet
- Analysis: Green Goods Co. has a strong social media presence but lacks educational content. Eco Essentials is known for its high-quality products but has limited engagement with customers. Pure Planet focuses heavily on online sales but has minimal offline presence.
Channel distribution:
- Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn
- Email: Weekly newsletters to our subscriber list
- Paid Advertising: Google Ads, Facebook Ads
Success measurement:
- Website Traffic: Track visits to the campaign landing page
- Lead Generation: Monitor sign-ups and inquiries
- Sales Conversion: Analyze the percentage of leads that convert to sales
- Engagement: Measure likes, shares, comments, and email open rates
How to write a marketing brief step-by-step
1. Define the purpose and objectives
Start by clearly articulating the primary goals and objectives of your marketing campaign. Ensure they are specific, measurable, and aligned with overall business goals. For example, if the objective is to increase brand awareness, specify the percentage increase and the timeframe.
2. Identify the target audience
Profile your target audience, including demographics, psychographics, and behavioral insights. This helps tailor your marketing strategy effectively. For instance, if targeting young professionals, highlight their media consumption habits and preferred social platforms.
3. Conduct market and competitive analysis
Research market trends and analyze competitors to inform strategic decisions and positioning. This includes identifying your market opportunities and threats. Use tools like SWOT analysis to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to the campaign.
4. Outline the deliverables and strategy
Develop core messages and unique value propositions that resonate with the target audience and differentiate from competitors. Specify the content types and channels that will be used. For example, if using video content, outline the type, length, and distribution channels.
5. Ensure brand compliance
Adhere to brand guidelines and maintain consistency in messaging and visuals throughout the campaign. Include guidelines for tone, style, and visual elements to ensure all materials align with the brand identity.
6. Set budget and resource allocation
Outline the campaign budget, allocate resources efficiently, and identify key team members and their responsibilities. This ensures that all aspects of the campaign are adequately funded and managed.
7. Provide a project timeline
Build a project timeline that includes key milestones and deadlines. This helps keep the project on track and ensures timely delivery of all campaign elements.
8. Define campaign measurement criteria
Determine your team’s criteria for campaign measurement. Specify the metrics and KPIs that will be used to evaluate success. For example, track metrics like website traffic, lead generation, sales conversion, and engagement rates.
Build and manage feedback on briefs seamlessly with Ziflow
Now you can see how creating an effective marketing brief is essential for the success of any marketing campaign. And if you follow the steps outlined in this guide, you can ensure that your team is aligned and prepared to execute a successful campaign. Using a collaborative proofing platform like Ziflow can streamline the review and approval process, making it easier to manage feedback and revisions.
