Explain What Goes Into a Good Creative Brief

Most creative briefs arrive missing at least two things the team needs and containing at least one thing that does not help. The result is a briefing meeting to redo the brief. This explains the six essential components, the three fields that are almost always written badly, and a single question you can use to check whether a brief is genuinely ready before it goes out.

Explain what makes a creative brief genuinely useful, as opposed to one that arrives and immediately creates confusion.

Cover:
1. The brief's job: what a good brief does for the creative team and why a thin brief costs more time than it saves
2. The essential components: the six fields a brief must contain to give a creative team enough to start without guessing
3. The fields people always get wrong: the three sections most commonly written badly, with a weak example and a stronger version for each
4. Length and format: how long a good brief should be and why longer is not better
5. How to test a brief before sending it: one question to ask yourself that reveals whether it is ready

Assume the reader knows what a creative brief is but has never been taught how to write one well. Use a bold heading for each section.