Creative strategy brief template
A useful brief explains the decision behind the reference. This template connects what you observed in the market to a proposition your team can make its own.
Give a writer or designer a focused starting point, a reason for it and enough boundaries to work independently.
Name the problem the creative can address
A creative brief cannot resolve every business problem. Identify the part an ad can help explain: an unfamiliar feature, a confusing routine or a product difference that is difficult to see.
- Describe the audience situation in plain language rather than a demographic list alone.
- Name the question a prospective buyer needs answered.
- Write one proposition and identify the product evidence that supports it.
Use references for specific choices
Tell the team what each reference contributes. One might show a readable demonstration, another a framing choice. The reference is a discussion aid, not permission to copy an advertiser’s work.
- Attach a reference and the exact choice you want to discuss.
- Distinguish verified product facts from proposed messages.
- State what should be different in your version: product, voice, context or demonstration.
Define the deliverable and its test
Creative freedom needs a boundary. Specify the asset, the required product evidence and what your team will examine after it runs. Use your own performance data for the eventual evaluation.
- List deliverables, owner, review date and production constraints.
- Write required facts and claims that still need approval.
- Define one primary hypothesis and the comparison your own test will use.
A filled example
These invented examples explain how to use the fields. They are not advertiser results.
- Audience situation
Gives the concept a concrete context.
A commuter wants a bag that makes a crowded train journey less awkward.
- Proposition
Keeps the concept centered on one idea.
Reach your daily essentials without unpacking the main compartment.
- Product evidence
Connects the proposition to something demonstrable.
Show the actual outer pocket opening and what fits inside.
- Creative hypothesis
States what your own results must eventually assess.
A continuous pocket-access demonstration may explain the feature more clearly than a product-only shot.
Free to copy. Nothing entered or saved on this page.
What this research can tell you
The filled example is invented to explain the worksheet. It is not a Barry customer story or a forecast. Confirm product facts and approve claims before production.
Bring the references together in Barry
Browse Infinity Board for the visual choices your brief needs. Pro lets you save those references to a board and send the research to your team or client in a desktop browser.
Continue your research
Competitor ad research template
A free competitor ad research worksheet with sampling rules, observation fields and a filled example. Copy it without signing up.
Ad campaign teardown template
A free campaign teardown worksheet for separating creative concepts, variations and observations. Includes a filled example and a reusable handoff.