A marketing brief should help a supplier understand the business decision in front of you. It does not need to predict the campaign or arrive in an impressive presentation. It needs to explain the problem, the audience, the constraints and how the work will be judged.
Writing those points down before asking for proposals makes the conversation more useful. It also gives you a common basis for comparing recommendations.
Describe the business problem in ordinary language
Start with what is happening now. Perhaps enquiries arrive for services you do not provide, a new offer is difficult to explain or the business relies heavily on one source of customers.
Separate observations from assumptions. “Half of last month’s enquiries were outside our service area” is a measurable observation if your records support it. “We need more social media” is a proposed solution that still needs testing against the problem.
Explain why the issue matters and what would improve if it were resolved. That gives a supplier something more useful to work with than a request for unspecified growth.
Identify the customers you can serve well
Describe the people or organisations most suited to the offer, the decision they are making and the questions they normally ask. Include the practical limits: locations, project sizes, availability or specialist requirements.
Bring examples from real enquiries, removing personal information that is not needed. Explain which requests became useful conversations and which were a poor match.
A short, specific description is more helpful than a long list of demographic assumptions. The aim is to understand the buying situation.
State the offer and the evidence behind it
List the service or product being promoted, its main benefits and the evidence available to support those benefits. Identify approved case studies, testimonials, product information and staff who can check technical claims.
Flag gaps. If a price, delivery time or service area needs confirmation, say so. A brief should help prevent unsupported claims from appearing in the eventual work.
Include existing brand and website materials, explaining which are current and which need review.
Give a realistic budget and timetable
Explain the available budget and what it must cover. Distinguish supplier fees, advertising spend and any separate production or development costs.
List real deadlines and their reasons. A product launch has a different constraint from a preferred reporting date. Mention who approves the work and how long approval normally takes.
Ask suppliers to state assumptions and exclusions. A proposal becomes difficult to compare when one includes landing-page work and another assumes your team will provide it.
Agree what success would look like
Choose outcomes connected to the problem: suitable enquiries, booked consultations or sales of the relevant offer. Include the starting figures where you have reliable records.
State how those outcomes will be recorded and who will review them. If measurement is incomplete, make improving it part of the brief rather than inventing a baseline.
Keep a small set of supporting measures, such as relevant website visits or enquiry completion. They can help explain performance without replacing the business outcome.
Finish with decisions and responsibilities
Identify the main contact, approver and people providing content or technical access. List questions you want the supplier to answer in the proposal.
Ask for a recommended approach with reasons, costs and a review point. Leave room for a supplier to challenge your initial idea when the evidence supports a different one.
If you want help developing the brief before committing to a campaign, our digital marketing training covers planning around your business needs and current knowledge.