What to put in a brief before you hire an agency

Some are voice notes. Some are a screenshot of a competitor's Instagram grid with three words underneath: "like this, but better."

That brief is not wrong, exactly. It just leaves the agency to spend three meetings learning what five minutes of writing would have told them. Somebody pays for those meetings. Usually the client.

A brief is not paperwork. It is the cheapest hour of the entire project. Here is what belongs in one.

The seven things

1. The problem, not the deliverable. "We need a new logo" is a deliverable. "Distributors in Lahore think we are a regional brand and won't stock us nationally" is a problem. Agencies solve problems. Deliverables are only the shape the solution takes, and sometimes the answer to that second sentence is not a logo at all.
2. Who you want to reach, in as much detail as you can manage. "Women, 25 to 45" describes a large share of the country. "Working mothers in Karachi who buy skincare on Daraz after the kids are asleep" describes a person. Write about the person.
3. What success looks like, in a sentence you could check later. Orders from a new city. A distributor meeting that ends in a yes. Fewer "is this still available?" DMs and more completed checkouts. If you can't describe a win, nobody can design for one.
4. What you already have. Old logos, past campaigns, the brand guidelines from years ago that nobody follows, the product photos your cousin shot on his phone. Send all of it, especially the parts you are embarrassed by. They show an agency what to keep, what to fix and what has already been tried.
5. What you tried before, and what happened. "We ran Facebook ads and they didn't work" is useful. "We boosted posts for three months, got likes, and couldn't trace a single order" is far more useful. Failure is data. Hand it over.
6. Who decides. Nothing burns a timeline faster than a final approval from someone who never saw round one. Name the person who signs off, and make sure that person reads the brief.
7. Timing, honestly. A deadline tied to a real event, such as an Eid launch, an exhibition or a store opening, beats "ASAP" every time. It tells the agency what can be cut and what cannot.

A brief is not paperwork. It is the cheapest hour of the entire project.

Common brief mistakes

Three mistakes come up again and again. Asking for "something creative" without saying what it should achieve. Listing every possible audience instead of the one that matters most. And leaving out the budget or deadline in the hope of getting a better price, which usually produces proposals that don't fit.

One page is enough

That's the list. Seven things, one page, plain language. No template required, no deck. Bullet points on WhatsApp work fine, as long as the thinking is in them.

The difference shows up in the first meeting. With a vague brief, the agency spends the hour asking questions. With a clear one, it spends the hour giving answers.

Our brief form covers the essentials in about five minutes. Bring the rest to the first call.

What should a creative brief include?

The problem to solve, the audience, what success looks like, existing materials, past attempts and their results, who approves the work, and the real deadline.

How long should a brief be?

One page is usually enough. Plain language and clear thinking matter more than templates or presentation.