# How to write a marketing brief: a practical one-page template

Write a useful marketing brief before hiring an agency or launching a campaign. Copy ten questions, a worked example and an approval checklist.

Canonical page: https://cpcinsider.com/insights/marketing-brief-template/
Author: Vladlens Kecko
Published: 2026-10-08
Updated: 2026-10-08


A marketing brief helps a team make the same decision about the same problem. “We need more leads” leaves too much unanswered: leads for which offer, from which customers, with what budget and who will handle them?

Use this template before asking an agency or internal team for a proposal. It defines one piece of work. Your [90-day marketing plan](https://cpcinsider.com/insights/90-day-marketing-plan/) sets the broader priorities and sequence; the brief turns one priority into an assignment.

## 1. Write the business problem before the deliverables

Describe the current situation, the evidence and the desired outcome. Separate facts from assumptions. “We believe the form is too long” is a hypothesis; observed abandonment and customer feedback are evidence to investigate it.

BDC's [marketing-plan guidance](https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneur-toolkit/templates-business-guides/glossary/marketing-plan) connects objectives with responsibilities, timing and budgets. The original worksheet below applies those planning principles to a specific assignment.

## 2. Answer these ten questions

| Question | What a useful answer includes |
| --- | --- |
| What problem are we solving? | Baseline, evidence and uncertainty |
| Which offer is in scope? | One service or product and its boundaries |
| Who should respond? | Customer need, fit and buying situation |
| Where and in which languages? | Service area and supported customer journeys |
| Why choose us? | Approved proof and a defensible promise |
| What should the person do next? | One primary action and what happens afterwards |
| What resources are available? | Media, production, website work and staff capacity |
| How will success be assessed? | Outcome definition, source and review period |
| What must the team deliver? | Specific outputs, dependencies and exclusions |
| Who decides and when? | Owner, approver, deadlines and review date |

Write “unknown” where necessary and assign someone to resolve it. Invented precision makes a brief look complete while transferring risk to delivery.

## 3. Use a worked example to test clarity

Consider an illustrative Latvian installation business seeking more suitable enquiries. This is a planning example, not a CPCInsider client result.

**Problem:** enquiries arrive, but the team has not consistently recorded project location and requested service. **Assignment:** create one service campaign and landing page with clear service-area wording and a tested enquiry flow. **Audience:** property owners requesting the specified installation service within the agreed delivery area.

**Primary action:** request a callback about the project. **Sales owner:** a named manager who confirms receipt and records fit. **Success evidence:** suitable enquiries, spend and rejection reasons after enough time for follow-up. **Dependencies:** approved images, a tested form and available response capacity.

This is more useful than asking for “better marketing” because the team can identify missing information before spending money. Add your real budget and dates privately; do not copy an arbitrary number from a template.

## 4. Define acceptance criteria before production

A deliverable should have a checkable finish line. For a landing page: the agreed offer is present, mobile layout is usable, the form reaches its owner, measurement is tested and every promised language works through confirmation.

For campaign work: the scope, destination pages, exclusions, reporting definitions and account ownership are documented. A slide deck or live campaign alone does not prove these checks passed.

## 5. Resolve conflicting requests early

If the brief asks for more volume and higher qualification with a smaller budget, state the trade-off and choose the first test. If several stakeholders can change the offer, appoint one final approver. Keep feedback in one place and distinguish required corrections from new scope.

Use the [weekly marketing scorecard](https://cpcinsider.com/insights/weekly-marketing-scorecard/) after launch to review decisions. Do not turn every new idea into an urgent change before the original test can teach you anything.

## 6. Adapt the brief to Google Ads and analytics

For Google Ads, include the intended conversion, landing pages and service boundaries. For GA4, include the decisions the data must support and the event owner. CPCInsider's team includes former Google employee [Arturs Rubins](https://cpcinsider.com/about/#arturs-rubins), combining paid-media experience with strategy and measurement work.

A brief does not need a long technical specification. It needs enough clarity for specialists to propose a sound implementation and explain the remaining choices.

## Turn an unclear request into a workable assignment

[Request a free performance audit](https://cpcinsider.com/#audit) and share your objective and biggest uncertainty. Our [strategy service](https://cpcinsider.com/services/strategy/) can help turn them into a focused brief with accountable delivery and useful measures.