"Make it pop" is not a brief. Neither is "you know what we do." Those instructions usually lead to a first draft that misses, a second that is closer, and a third that finally says what the owner meant all along.
A short written brief fixes most of that. It takes 15 minutes to fill out, and it gives your designer or writer the facts they cannot guess.
Short answer: Tell the person making your ad who the ad is for, what you are offering and on what terms, what proof you can back up, what you want people to do and where they go next, where the ad will run, what photos you have the right to use, any brand limits, what you need made, the deadline and who approves it.
Why ads come back wrong
Most revision rounds are not about design skill. They come from missing facts:
- The designer did not know the offer ends on the 31st.
- Nobody said the phone number on the ad goes to the office, not the owner's cell.
- The photo they used was from a stock site, and the owner wanted real crew photos.
- The ad says "best in South Jersey," and nobody can prove it.
Each one is an easy fix if it is written down before work starts. Each one costs a round of revisions if it is not.
The 10 things a good brief covers
Our free Ad Creative Brief Builder walks you through the same list. Here is what it asks for, quoted from the tool page:
"your business, goal and customer; your offer, main message and terms; proof you can back up; what you want people to do and where they go; where the ad will run; photos or video you may use; brand notes and limits; what you need made, the deadline and who reviews it."
Broken out, with why each one matters:
| Brief item | Why the person making your ad needs it |
|---|---|
| Business, goal and customer | Tells them who they are talking to and what success looks like |
| Offer and main message | Keeps the ad focused on one thing instead of five |
| Terms | Prevents an ad that promises something the offer does not include |
| Proof you can back up | Stops claims you cannot support from reaching the ad |
| Action and destination | Makes sure the ad and the page it sends people to match |
| Where the ad will run | Sets the sizes, lengths and formats they need |
| Photos or video you may use | Avoids images you do not have the right to use |
| Brand notes and limits | Colors, logo rules, words you never use |
| What you need made and the deadline | Prevents surprises on scope and timing |
| Who reviews it | One decision-maker saves days of back-and-forth |
The tool's own worked example
This is the example on the tool page. It is made up.
| What you enter | Value |
|---|---|
| Business | Example Repairs |
| Goal | Estimate requests |
| Photos from the owner | 3 |
| Draft wording versions wanted | 2 |
| Who reviews | Sam, office manager |
| What you get | Value |
|---|---|
| Brief | A draft you can edit, built from those answers |
| Photo rights, proof and sizes | Left blank for you to fill in. The tool does not make them up. |
That last row is the most important design choice in the tool. Anything you leave out stays visibly open:
"The tool puts your answers into a brief you can edit. Anything you leave out stays marked as open. It does not invent proof, rights or sizes."
A fictional sample brief
Here is what a finished brief might look like for a made-up company, Riverbend Roofing, running a spring inspection offer. Items marked OPEN are things the owner still has to confirm.
| Brief item | Riverbend Roofing (fictional) |
|---|---|
| Goal | Booked roof inspections in April |
| Customer | Homeowners with roofs 15+ years old in our service towns |
| Offer and terms | Free roof inspection with written photo report. Booked by April 30. Inspection only, no repair included |
| Main message | Find small roof problems before they become leaks |
| Proof | Licensed and insured: license number OPEN. Review count: OPEN, pull current number before launch |
| Action and destination | Call or book online. Ad points to the inspection page, not the home page |
| Where it runs | Facebook feed and a postcard. Sizes: OPEN, confirm with each platform and the printer |
| Photos | 4 crew photos the owner took. Rights confirmed: owner's own photos |
| Brand notes | Use the navy logo. Never say "cheapest" |
| Deliverables and deadline | 2 versions of ad wording, 1 postcard front. Drafts by March 20 |
| Reviewer | Owner only |
Notice what the brief does not do. It does not claim "#1 roofer" or "5-star service" without a source. It leaves the review count open until someone checks it. That is on purpose.
Proof is the part to slow down on
Ad claims need backing. The Federal Trade Commission's guide for small businesses says advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive and that "advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims" (FTC).
In practice, that means:
- Write down where each claim comes from, like a license, a review platform count or a warranty document.
- Use numbers you can show today, not numbers from two years ago.
- Leave out superlatives ("best," "#1," "top-rated") unless you can point to a source.
The tool will not fill this in for you:
"Will it make up reviews or results? No. Proof must come from you. Anything you do not know stays blank."
This is general information, not legal advice. Regulated businesses such as law firms and medical practices often have extra advertising rules, so check with the right professional before you run claims.
Match the ad to the page it sends people to
One of the most common gaps in a brief is the destination. If the ad promises a free inspection and the link goes to a home page with no mention of it, people leave. Put the exact page link in the brief.
After the ad is drafted, check the match with our Ad-to-Landing-Page Match Checker. Our post on checking your landing page before you spend more on ads explains why it matters.
How to use the Ad Creative Brief Builder
- Start with the goal and the customer. One goal per brief.
- Write the offer with its terms. Dates, limits and what is not included.
- List only proof you can show. Leave the rest blank.
- Add the action and the exact page link.
- Name where the ad will run. Then confirm sizes with each site or printer.
- List photos you have the right to use.
- Add brand notes, the deadline and one reviewer.
- Edit the draft, fill every open item, then send it.
The tool page is clear about the draft's status:
"Is the draft ready to publish? No. Check facts, rights, terms and size rules first."
What the tool does not do
"The tool does not make ads, post ads or give you rights to your photos."
It also does not check image sizes or video lengths. Ad sites change their specs, so confirm them with each one before work starts. What you type stays in your browser.
Questions owners ask
How long should a brief be?
One page is usually enough. If the brief is longer than the ad, the offer may be doing too much.
Should I tell the designer what the ad should look like?
Share examples you like and why, plus any hard brand rules. Then let them do the design. The brief is for facts and limits, not layout.
Do I need a new brief for every ad?
For a new offer, yes. For a size or wording variation of the same offer, update the existing brief instead.
Build your brief before you hire the work
Fill out the free Ad Creative Brief Builder and send the draft to your designer or writer as a starting point. Then use the Advertising Launch Checklist before anything goes live.
If you would rather hand off the whole process, talk with ThinkDMG. We write and design ads for local service businesses and can work from your brief or help you build one. Learn more about our content marketing services.
