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Sample creative brief

A complete sample creative brief - fully filled-in for a real-world DTC campaign, annotated section by section to show why each choice matters. Plus two more samples and a copy-ready template.

Updated

The template

The structure to copy and adapt

  • Brand & productRequired
    What you're selling, in 1-2 sentences. Tight enough that a stranger gets it on first read. Naming the company, the product line, and the differentiator in a single breath.
  • GoalRequired
    One measurable outcome. Acquisition, retention, launch, reactivation - pick one. Include the metric you'll judge the campaign on, even if it's directional.
  • AudienceRequired
    Behavioral and specific. 'People who currently use X and are frustrated by Y' beats demographics. Name the substitute they're paying for today.
  • AngleRequired
    The single sharp lens on your product. Not a feature list. One sentence the work has to express.
  • Hook archetypeRequired
    Named. Problem→solution, day-in-the-life, founder-to-camera, comparison, etc. Specify what the first three seconds should do.
  • Do-notsRequired
    3-5 explicit exclusions. The negative space that generates distinctive work.
  • Deliverables
    What ships from this brief. Concrete formats and counts: '8 variants in 4:5 and 9:16, 15s and 30s cuts.'
  • Timeline
    Brief to first review, first review to finals, finals to launch. Real timelines, not aspirational.

Filled-in examples

See the template in use

Greenline Supplements - cold acquisition (the annotated sample) · DTC supplements

  • Brand & productGreenline Supplements - premium electrolyte powder with 1.2g sodium per serving (3x the mainstream category), third-party tested for label accuracy, no artificial dyes. Three flavors, single-serve sticks and 30-serve tubs.
  • GoalCold acquisition on Meta. 1,500 starter-bundle purchases ($45 AOV) over the next 90 days at CAC below $30. Secondary: 22%+ subscription-attach rate on first order.
  • AudienceEndurance athletes 28-45 training 5+ hours per week. Currently using Liquid IV, LMNT, or DripDrop. Active in cycling, running, or triathlon Strava clubs. Have at least one bottle of electrolytes within reach during workouts.
  • AngleHigher sodium ratio than mainstream alternatives - built for actual endurance, not casual hydration. The mainstream category is hydration-marketing; we're built for the second half of a long ride.
  • Hook archetypeProblem→solution. Open on a specific moment of audience pain (mile 18 of a long ride, mid-marathon bonk, cramping during a brick workout). Cut to product reveal by 0:04. Single creator on camera; lifestyle context, no studio.
  • Do-notsNo price-led hook. No bottle-shot static. No founder-to-camera in this brief. No 'hydration is important' generic copy. No discount as the lede. No claims that violate DSHEA supplement guidelines.
  • Deliverables10 video variants total. 5 hook variants × 2 ratios (4:5 and 9:16) × 2 cuts (15s and 30s). Plus 4 static fallbacks in 1:1 for prospecting carousels.
  • TimelineBrief to first review: 5 working days (creator booking + first cuts). First review to finals: 4 working days (one round of revisions). Finals to launch: 2 working days (uploads, QA, audience setup). Total: ~11 working days from brief lock.

Shuttergen

Stop adapting samples. Generate your own..

Shuttergen reads your brand and category, then generates a sample-quality brief specific to your campaign - structure-correct and content-specific from the first draft. Faster than copying and rewriting.

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Why a sample brief beats a template

A template gives you headers; a sample shows you the resolution each section is meant to hit. The single biggest reason teams produce vague creative is that they don't know what 'tight enough' looks like for each field. The sample above answers that question per section.

Look at the audience line in the Greenline sample. It names training volume ('5+ hours per week'), the substitute they're paying for today ('Liquid IV, LMNT, or DripDrop'), and a behavioral signal ('active in cycling, running, or triathlon Strava clubs'). That's the resolution to aim for - three concrete cuts, not three demographic buckets.

Look at the angle line: one sentence, one comparison, one positioning. The temptation is to write three sentences listing benefits. A real sample brief refuses that temptation; if you can't compress the angle to a single sentence, you don't have the angle yet.

Look at the do-nots. Six bullets, each one specific enough that a creator could read them and know exactly what to avoid. 'No bottle-shot static' beats 'avoid generic imagery.' Specificity in the do-nots is what generates distinctive work downstream.

Stop adapting samples. Generate your own.. Shuttergen reads your brand and category, then generates a sample-quality brief specific to your campaign - structure-correct and content-specific from the first draft. Faster than copying and rewriting.

Generate a brief free

How to read a sample brief without copying it

The temptation with any sample is to copy-paste and swap nouns. Don't. The sample's value is structural calibration, not boilerplate. The brand and product line are bespoke; the audience cut depends on your category; the angle has to be re-derived from your competitive set.

Use the sample as a quality checkpoint. After you fill in your own brief, lay it next to the Greenline sample and run the comparison field by field. Is your audience line as behavioral as the sample's? Is your angle compressed to one sentence? Are your do-nots as specific as 'no bottle-shot static' (rather than 'avoid generic imagery')? If yes, ship the brief. If no, iterate.

Internal: for the blank template, see creative brief template. For more filled-in examples across industries, see creative brief examples.

What separates a great sample from a generic one

Three properties distinguish a sample brief that's worth studying from one that's wallpaper: behavioral audience cuts (not demographic), named hook archetypes (not vague descriptors), and explicit do-nots (specific exclusions, not 'maintain brand guidelines').

Most templates floating around the internet fail all three tests. The audience says 'males 25-45 interested in fitness.' The hook says 'engaging and on-brand.' The do-nots say 'follow style guide.' That's not a brief - it's a defensive document. The sample above is the offensive version.

If you're auditing your own briefs for the first time, test them against these three. The teams whose creative consistently compounds in performance are the teams whose briefs read like the sample above, not like the average template.

FAQ

Frequently asked

What is a sample creative brief?
A complete, filled-in version of a creative brief showing what each section should look like at production quality. Different from a template (which is the empty structure). The sample above shows the resolution each field should hit.
Are the sample creative briefs above real campaigns?
Structurally yes, anonymized brands. The audience cuts, angles, hook archetypes, and do-nots reflect real briefs that produced strong creative. Adapt the structure; replace the specifics with your own.
How long should a sample creative brief be?
Each sample above runs roughly one page when rendered as a full document. Real production briefs run one to two pages including references and timeline. Longer than two pages usually signals indecision rather than thoroughness.
Can I download the sample creative brief?
Yes - hit the download button on the template card above to grab the markdown file. Pastes cleanly into Notion, Google Docs, or Word. For the downloadable template version, see sample creative brief template.
What's the difference between a sample creative brief and an example?
In practice, the terms are used interchangeably. Both refer to a filled-in brief. We tend to use 'sample' for a single fully-annotated brief and 'example' for a set of shorter filled-in briefs across industries. See creative brief examples for the multi-industry set.
Should I copy a sample creative brief verbatim?
No. The sample's value is structural calibration - showing what tight resolution looks like in each field - not boilerplate. Copy the discipline (behavioral audience, single-sentence angle, specific do-nots), replace the substance with your own.
How do I know if my brief is at the same quality as the sample above?
Three tests. Is your audience line as behavioral as 'endurance athletes training 5+ hours per week using Liquid IV'? Is your angle compressed to a single sentence? Are your do-nots as specific as 'no bottle-shot static'? Pass all three and your brief is at sample quality.

Related

Keep reading

Resource

Sample creative brief template

Downloadable version of the sample.

Resource

Creative brief template

Blank template structure.

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Creative brief examples

Multiple filled-in briefs across industries.

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What makes a good creative brief

The quality properties to check your brief against.

Research

B2b Saas Creative

Shuttergen's B2B SaaS creative analysis.

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Creative Brief Builder

Shuttergen brief workflow.

Stop adapting samples. Generate your own..

Shuttergen reads your brand and category, then generates a sample-quality brief specific to your campaign - structure-correct and content-specific from the first draft. Faster than copying and rewriting.

Generate a brief freeUse the live brief builder →