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Templates

Campaign creative brief

The campaign creative brief - how to write the parent doc that defines a whole campaign and spawns asset-level child briefs, with three worked examples across launch, seasonal, and rebrand.

Updated

The template

The structure to copy and adapt

  • Campaign codename + datesRequired
    Internal codename + start and end dates. 'GL-Q3-2026-AURORA-LAUNCH, Aug 15 - Oct 31'. Codenames make briefs findable across years; dates make them auditable.
  • Campaign objective (one outcome)Required
    One outcome, measurable, with the success threshold named. 'Drive 5,000 jacket sales in the 8-week launch window at blended CAC under $80.' Campaigns that hedge produce assets that hedge.
  • Audience(s)Required
    Primary and secondary audiences, behavioral. Campaign-level briefs can carry 2-3 audiences; asset-level briefs collapse to one. Document which child briefs serve which audience.
  • Big idea (campaign-level proposition)Required
    The single idea the campaign expresses. Lives one level above an ad's proposition. 'Engineered for the cold, not for the city' is a campaign idea; specific ad propositions cascade from it.
  • Channel mix + asset mapRequired
    Which channels carry the campaign and what assets live in each. Hero film, paid social cutdowns, OOH placements, email, landing page, retail. The map shows how the campaign expresses across surfaces.
  • Phasing & sequencingRequired
    Week-by-week or phase-by-phase rollout. Teaser → launch → sustain → close. Names which assets ship in which phase and which channels lead vs follow.
  • Do-nots (campaign-level)Required
    5-7 campaign-level exclusions inherited by every child brief. 'No discount mentions in any asset for the first 4 weeks.' Campaign do-nots cascade; asset do-nots don't.
  • Child brief inventoryRequired
    List of asset-level child briefs the campaign will spawn. 'Meta paid social brief, TikTok creator brief, OOH brief, hero film brief, retail brief.' Each child brief inherits from this parent doc.
  • Measurement plan
    Channel-by-channel attribution model, primary and secondary metrics per phase, weekly review cadence. Campaign measurement is multi-channel; asset measurement is single-channel.

Filled-in examples

See the template in use

Product launch campaign (DTC outdoor) · DTC outdoor

  • Campaign codename + datesNS-Q4-2026-AURORA-LAUNCH. Sep 15 - Dec 15 (12-week flight, 8-week peak).
  • Campaign objectiveLaunch the Aurora flagship jacket. 5,000 units sold in the 8-week peak window at blended CAC under $80. +12pt aided awareness in target cohort. Branded search volume +40%.
  • AudiencesPrimary: backcountry skiers and outdoor enthusiasts 28-45 spending $400+/yr on technical apparel. Secondary: 'aspirational outdoor' consumers 28-45 spending $200-400/yr (the broader audience the launch is meant to convert).
  • Big ideaEngineered for the cold, not for the city - the jacket built for actual conditions, 40% lighter than industry standard.
  • Channel mix + asset mapHero: 90s film for YouTube + .com hero. Paid social: 12 cutdowns + 8 creator ambassador pieces. OOH: 12 placements in NYC, LA, Chicago. Email: 4-part launch sequence to list. Landing page: dedicated Aurora PDP + launch microsite. Retail: 8 specialty shop window kits.
  • PhasingWeeks 1-2 (Teaser): organic only, ambassador previews. Weeks 3-6 (Launch): full channel activation, hero film + OOH + paid. Weeks 7-10 (Sustain): paid social emphasis, retargeting. Weeks 11-12 (Close): email + retargeting push toward holiday.
  • Do-notsNo discount mentions in any asset for the first 6 weeks. No urban styling shots in any channel. No #ad-style hashtags on ambassador content. No celebrity faces. No comparative claims vs named competitors.
  • Child brief inventory(1) Hero film brief, (2) Meta paid social brief, (3) TikTok creator brief, (4) OOH brief, (5) Email sequence brief, (6) Landing page brief, (7) Retail kit brief.

Shuttergen

Cascade one campaign brief into 10 asset briefs automatically.

Shuttergen takes your campaign brief and generates the asset-level child briefs that inherit the big idea, audience, and do-nots. You write the campaign strategy; Shuttergen handles the tactical brief layer.

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Why campaign briefs and asset briefs are different docs

Campaign briefs live one level above asset briefs. The campaign brief defines the big idea, the audience, the phasing, and the do-nots that cascade to every asset. The asset brief inherits those constraints and adds the asset-specific decisions (hook archetype, opener constraint, aspect ratios). Mixing them produces docs that are too high-level to drive production and too low-level to align the campaign.

The big idea is the load-bearing field. Every asset in the campaign has to express the big idea or it doesn't belong. The big idea is the test that gets applied at every gate: does this ad express the big idea? Does this OOH placement? Does this landing page? Assets that don't pass get cut, regardless of how well-crafted they are individually.

Phasing is the second-most-skipped field. Campaigns that don't have an explicit phasing plan ship everything at week 1 and have nothing to say at week 6. Teaser → launch → sustain → close is the standard frame; specific phases per campaign cadence.

Cascade one campaign brief into 10 asset briefs automatically. Shuttergen takes your campaign brief and generates the asset-level child briefs that inherit the big idea, audience, and do-nots. You write the campaign strategy; Shuttergen handles the tactical brief layer.

Generate campaign briefs free

How campaign briefs cascade into child briefs

Cascade order: campaign brief → child brief inventory → per-asset briefs. The campaign brief defines what child briefs exist; each child brief inherits the big idea, audience, do-nots, and phasing. The child brief adds the asset-specific fields - hook archetype, first-frame constraint, deliverables specs.

Don't re-derive the big idea in child briefs. If you find yourself re-stating the big idea in three different ways across three child briefs, the campaign brief isn't doing its job. The child brief should reference the campaign brief's big idea, not paraphrase it.

Update the campaign brief mid-flight if signal demands. Campaign briefs are not contracts; they're working docs. If week-2 data shows the big idea isn't landing, update the campaign brief and re-cascade to child briefs. The cost of updating is far lower than the cost of running a campaign on a wrong idea for 8 weeks.

Common failure modes

Failure mode 1: campaign brief written after asset briefs. Teams that write asset briefs first and then back-fill the campaign brief produce campaigns where the assets don't express a coherent idea. Write the campaign brief first; let the asset briefs cascade.

Failure mode 2: multi-idea campaigns. Campaigns that try to express 2-3 ideas at once dilute each idea. One campaign, one big idea. If you have multiple ideas, you have multiple campaigns - run them sequentially or in parallel as separate briefs.

Failure mode 3: no phasing. Campaigns that ship everything at week 1 have nothing to say at week 6. Phasing forces the team to plan a story arc across the campaign window - which keeps the campaign feeling alive across its full duration.

Internal: advertising creative brief, branding creative brief, creative brief template.

FAQ

Frequently asked

What is a campaign creative brief?
A 2-3 page parent doc that defines a whole campaign - big idea, audience, channel mix, phasing, do-nots - and spawns asset-level child briefs. Lives one level above an advertising creative brief or a social media creative brief.
How is a campaign brief different from an asset brief?
Campaign brief defines the big idea, audience, phasing, and cascading do-nots. Asset brief inherits those and adds asset-specific fields (hook archetype, first-frame constraint, deliverables). One campaign brief typically spawns 5-10 asset briefs.
Who writes the campaign creative brief?
Marketing lead or campaign lead in partnership with the creative director. For larger campaigns, brand strategist and media planner are also involved. The campaign brief is a strategic doc; the asset briefs are tactical docs.
What's the most important field in a campaign brief?
The big idea. Every asset in the campaign has to express it or it doesn't belong. The big idea is the test applied at every production gate; assets that don't pass get cut. Weak big idea = incoherent campaign regardless of asset craft.
How long should a campaign brief be?
2-3 pages. Longer than an asset brief because of phasing, child brief inventory, and measurement plan. Shorter than a full marketing plan. Anything over 4 pages signals you're writing the marketing plan, not the brief.
Should I update the campaign brief mid-campaign?
Yes, if signal demands. Campaign briefs are working docs, not contracts. If week-2 data shows the big idea isn't landing, update the brief and re-cascade to child briefs. The cost of updating is far lower than running 6 more weeks on a wrong idea.
Can I write one campaign brief for multiple objectives?
No - one campaign, one objective. Campaigns that try to express multiple objectives dilute each one. If you have two objectives, write two campaign briefs and decide whether to run them sequentially or in parallel.

Related

Keep reading

Resource

Advertising creative brief

Asset-level ad brief variant.

Resource

Branding creative brief

Brand-equity-focused brief.

Resource

Creative brief template

The general template.

Resource

Creative brief examples

More filled-in examples across formats.

Research

Creative Brief Builder

The Shuttergen brief workflow.

Cascade one campaign brief into 10 asset briefs automatically.

Shuttergen takes your campaign brief and generates the asset-level child briefs that inherit the big idea, audience, and do-nots. You write the campaign strategy; Shuttergen handles the tactical brief layer.

Generate campaign briefs freeTry the live builder →