In a world moving faster, are your briefs helping or holding you back?
I spent years agency-side. I’ve read hundreds of briefs—good, bad, and baffling.
And here’s what always struck me:
The quality of the work usually came down to the clarity of the brief.
Not the budget. Not the brand. The brief.
When we had one that nailed the audience, the message, and the journey? We moved faster, challenged harder, and delivered better work.
When we didn’t? We didn’t guess—we’d push back. Because we knew if we weren’t aligned from the start, we’d end up in rounds of rework with no one quite sure where things went wrong.
That’s why I care so much about briefing.
Because I’ve seen first-hand what happens when it’s done well—and when it’s not.
Speed Is Not Strategy
Now, with AI in the mix, everything’s moving faster.
Media buying, content creation, automation—it’s all accelerating.
But speed isn’t strategy.
If your campaign is built on shaky foundations, AI will just help you get to the wrong place quicker.
That’s why the brief matters more than ever.
The Audience Is Still the Anchor
In the rush to create, it’s easy to forget who you’re doing it for.
But if you don’t understand your audience—what they care about, what they need, and where they are in their journey—your campaign simply becomes noise.
41% of marketers admit they don’t do enough audience research
Those who do? They report better results and more job satisfaction
(Source: SparkToro)
That stat doesn’t surprise me (from my agency days and now as a consultant and facilitator). When you know your audience, the work is sharper.
When you don’t, you’re relying on guesswork. And guesswork is expensive.
Brief From a Place of Insight, Not Assumption
Brief From a Place of Insight, Not Assumption
You don’t need a new tech stack to write a better brief. You need a better conversation.
Tools like AlsoAsked.com are useful. They show what people are actually searching for—in their words, not yours. But that’s just one source.
The real insight often sits inside your organisation.
In your CRM. In sales calls. In the questions your customer care team hears every day.
It’s in the feedback. The reviews. The lived experience.
And yes, it’s across different teams.
Which means breaking down those silos (again) and getting people talking.
A facilitated session can work well here—bring the right people together and spend time exploring:
- What do we know about our audience?
- What are they trying to do?
- Where are they getting stuck?
- What language do they use when they talk about their problems?
Combine that with data sources like SparkToro, AlsoAsked, your CRM, web analytics, survey feedback—even reviews (I’ve found loads of gems of insights in reviews for brands)—and you’re in a much stronger place to brief.
The best insights usually aren’t shiny. They’re shared.
They just need a space to come out.
That’s gold for briefing. It gives your agency or team something real to work with—not just a vague sense of “we want more awareness” or “we can sell to anyone”.
Because let’s be honest: those kinds of briefs don’t help anyone.
Don’t Forget the Journey
It’s not just about who the audience is. It’s about where they are and what they need from you at that moment.
A good brief shows you’ve thought about this:
- What’s the mindset at each stage?
- What’s going to move them from awareness to action?
- Where are the moments that matter most?
It doesn’t need to be a 20-slide journey map. But it does need to show that you’ve considered the full picture.
Poor Briefs Are Costly. Really Costly.
Some numbers worth thinking about:
- One third of marketing budgets are wasted due to poor briefs
- 80% of marketers think they write good briefs
- Only 10% of agencies agree
(Source: Mi-3 Australia)
This disconnect isn’t just frustrating. It’s expensive.
And in today’s climate—where every dollar and every hour count—that’s a problem you can’t afford to ignore.
A Moment to Reflect
So, if you’re involved in writing briefs, approving them, or responding to them—ask yourself:
- Are we really clear on who this is for?
- Have we got actual insight to back it up?
- Do we know what we want the audience to think, feel, or do?
- And have we shared that clearly, with everyone involved?
Because if the answer to any of those is “not really”, it’s worth stopping to fix it now—before it gets more costly later.
So, What Can You Do?
If you’ve got a sense that your briefs could be clearer—or your team could benefit from slowing down to think more strategically—here are a few ways to make an immediate difference:
- Start with the audience
Make audience understanding a non-negotiable part of every brief. Tools like AlsoAsked.com and search data are simple ways to get closer to real questions and needs. - Map the journey
Even a basic sketch of the customer journey helps align messaging, timing, and media choices. Don’t overcomplicate it—just think about what they need at each stage (Awareness, Consideration, Purchase and Loyalty). - Upskill your team
Writing a strong brief is a skill, not a checkbox. If it’s been a while since you focused on this, it might be time to refresh how your teams are trained and aligned around it. - Create a shared standard
Whether it’s with your in-house team or your agency partners, agree on what a “great brief” looks like. Clarity upfront saves a lot of pain later.
This stuff doesn’t need to be heavy or time-consuming. But it does need to be intentional.
Because no matter how good your tech is—or how fast your campaign can launch—
a bad brief will always slow you down.
And a strong one?
That’s where the real momentum starts.
Cognitive Union is a progressive, boutique learning and performance consultancy. We work with forward-thinking businesses. Transforming their people. Shaping their culture. Helping them embrace change and take on the world. Find this blog useful? Sign up to our email newsletter (bottom of this page), where you can receive articles like this and other insights (not publicly published), and you can also follow us on LinkedIn.
Sources
https://www.mi-3.com.au/18-10-2021/200bn-black-hole-marketers-wasting-third-budgets-giving-agencies-crap-briefs-and-dont