A great brief is where every strong campaign begins. It’s the bridge between what brands need and what agencies can deliver.
In Malaysia’s fast-moving communications landscape, where most contracts run on short cycles and competition is intense, a well-structured brief saves time, builds trust, and produces better ideas.
Here’s how to create one that works — every time.
1. Define the Context and Business Pain Point
Every effective brief starts with clarity on why the project exists.
What business challenge are you solving? Is it declining sales, brand fatigue, or emerging competition?
Set the context clearly. A well-defined pain point helps agencies align strategy with business needs, not just creative execution.
Avoid starting with tactics (“we need a TikTok campaign”). Instead, define the problem (“we need to engage a younger audience who’s moving away from our brand”).
2. Decide: All-Agency or Individual Briefs?
Many organisations send a single “master brief” to multiple agencies. While efficient, it often dilutes focus.
When resources are limited, limit your shortlist. Use a pre-screening stage — for example:
RFQ (Request for Quotation): to check budget alignment.
Credentials review: to assess relevant experience.
Pilot projects: small, paid assignments that test chemistry and capability before a full appointment.
- Creative Exercise: Use a hypothetical scenario to test the agency’s strategic and creative approach.
Fewer agencies mean deeper thinking and higher quality work.
3. Include Market and Audience Intelligence
Agencies build stronger ideas when they understand your audience beyond demographics.
Include existing research, market insights, and consumer intelligence — such as audience archetypes or psychographic data.
Agencies can conduct their own research too, but a foundation of shared knowledge accelerates alignment and avoids duplication.
4. Clarify the Type of Outcome You Want
Be clear whether the goal is brand, marketing (commercial), or reputation-driven.
Each has different success measures:
Brand: shift in awareness, salience, or favourability.
Marketing: ROI, conversions, or affiliate sales growth.
Reputation: sentiment improvement or share of positive voice.
Define measurable KPIs or OKRs upfront so agencies can build strategies that match your success metrics.
5. Share What Has Worked — and What Hasn’t
Highlight previous campaigns, what succeeded, and where gaps remain. This transparency helps agencies avoid repeating past mistakes and build on proven strategies.
Even simple feedback such as “previous social campaigns performed well, but lacked media pick-up” gives agencies valuable direction.
6. Set Clear Timelines and Milestones
Pitches often move quickly, but clarity reduces chaos.
Specify important milestones — submission date, clarification session, presentation, negotiation, and final decision.
Offer opportunities for clarification mid-process. It allows agencies to validate assumptions early, saving time and improving proposal quality.
7. Be Transparent About the Pitch Process
Transparency builds trust.
Indicate how many agencies are pitching, whether there will be one or two bidding rounds, and what evaluation criteria will be used.
This helps agencies allocate resources wisely and approach the process with confidence and professionalism.
8. Clarify Budgets and Submission Details
If you’re unsure, clarify that too. An honest “budget to be finalised” helps agencies recommend scalable options.
For submissions, outline clear expectations:
Maximum number of slides or pages.
Preferred format (e.g., PDF).
Presentation teams should include the actual working team — this ensures a real chemistry check and a fair capability assessment.
Why It Matters
A great brief saves time, reduces cost, and improves collaboration.
It ensures agencies respond with ideas grounded in reality, not guesswork.
When both sides communicate clearly — defining goals, timelines, and processes — the pitch becomes a partnership, not a transaction.
The real magic happens when trust meets transparency. That’s how ideas turn into impact — and briefs turn into long-term success.
RELATED ARTICLES
