How to Write a Marketing Brief for an Agency (With Template)

The quality of work you get from a marketing agency is directly linked to the quality of your brief. A vague brief gets vague results. A clear, detailed brief gets focused work that hits your objectives. Here is how to write one that works.

Why a Good Brief Matters

A solid brief does three things:

• Saves money: agencies spend less time guessing what you want and more time doing it
• Gets better proposals: when agencies understand your needs clearly, they can give accurate quotes and realistic timelines
• Sets expectations: both sides know what success looks like, reducing the chance of disappointment

What to Include in Your Brief

1. About Your Business

Start with context. The agency needs to understand your business before they can market it effectively.

• What does your business do?
• What products or services are you promoting?
• Who are your main competitors?
• What makes you different from them?
• What is your current marketing situation? What have you tried before?

2. Your Target Audience

Be as specific as possible about who you are trying to reach.

• Demographics: age, location, job title, income level
• What problems do they have that your product or service solves?
• Where do they spend time online?
• What objections might they have to buying from you?

3. Objectives

What do you want to achieve? Be specific and measurable where possible.

• Bad: "increase brand awareness"
• Good: "generate 50 qualified leads per month through organic search within 6 months"
• Good: "increase e-commerce revenue by 30% in 12 months"
• Good: "rank on page 1 for 10 target keywords within 6 months"

4. Scope of Work

What services do you need? Be clear about what you want the agency to handle and what you will manage internally.

• Which channels: SEO, PPC, social media, email, PR?
• Do you need strategy only, or execution too?
• Are there specific deliverables you expect (monthly reports, content pieces, campaign setups)?

5. Budget

This is the part most businesses avoid, but sharing your budget (or at least a range) helps agencies propose something realistic rather than either overshooting or underdelivering.

• Monthly retainer budget
• Separate ad spend budget if applicable
• Any one-off project budgets (website, branding)

If you genuinely have no idea what to budget, our agency pricing guide will give you realistic benchmarks.

6. Timeline

When do you want to start? Are there fixed deadlines (product launch, seasonal peak, event)?

7. How You Will Measure Success

Define the KPIs that matter to your business. Common ones include:

• Leads generated
• Revenue or sales attributed to marketing
• Organic traffic growth
• Cost per acquisition
• Return on ad spend (ROAS)

Brief Template

Copy and fill in this structure when approaching agencies:

• Company name:
• Website:
• What we do: (2-3 sentences)
• Target audience:
• Main competitors:
• What we have tried before:
• Services needed:
• Objectives: (specific, measurable)
• Budget range:
• Timeline:
• Success metrics:
• Anything else:

Tips for Getting Better Proposals

• Send the brief to 3-5 agencies: enough to compare without overwhelming yourself. Browse our directory to find relevant agencies quickly.
• Be honest about budget: agencies will respect it and propose accordingly
• Share what has not worked: this saves the agency from repeating mistakes
• Ask for a call: a good agency will want to discuss the brief before proposing
• Compare like for like: make sure you understand what is included in each proposal before comparing prices

Ready to start your search? Browse 200+ UK marketing agencies in our directory and filter by the services you need.