The template
The structure to copy and adapt
- Project name & dateRequired[Campaign name] - [drafted date] - [owner]. One line at the top so the brief is findable in a folder of 30 other briefs six months from now.
- GoalRequiredOne sentence. The single outcome this work has to drive. Phrased as a verb plus a number where possible. 'Drive 600 first purchases this month at CAC below $35.' Pick one outcome only - briefs that hedge produce ads that hedge.
- AudienceRequiredOne to two sentences. Behavioral, specific, not demographic. 'Sub-3 marathoners 28-42 currently training for a fall race who use Strava daily.' If your audience line could describe half the country, rewrite it tighter.
- AngleRequiredOne sentence. The single sharp lens on the product. Not a feature list - the one thing that, if a creator made one ad about it, would resonate with the audience above.
- Hook archetypeRequiredOne named archetype. Problem→solution, day-in-the-life, transformation, founder-to-camera, testimonial, comparison, demo, unboxing. Naming it explicitly is the work.
- Do-notsRequired3-5 explicit exclusions. The negative space generates distinctive work. 'No price-led hook. No bottle-shot static. No founder-to-camera. No discount as the lede.' Skip this section and your creative drifts to category-average.
Filled-in examples
See the template in use
DTC coffee subscription - cold acquisition · DTC ecommerce - food & beverage
- Project name & dateQ3 cold acquisition - drafted 2026-05-18 - Owner: J. Park
- GoalCold acquisition on Meta. 900 first-bag subscription starts this quarter at CAC below $28.
- AudienceSpecialty coffee drinkers 30-50 who currently subscribe to Trade, Atlas, or buy weekly from a local third-wave roaster. Active in r/coffee. Have a Chemex or pour-over setup at home.
- AngleRoasted on Tuesday, on your doorstep by Thursday. Most subscription coffee is 3-6 weeks past roast date by the time it arrives.
- Hook archetypeComparison demo. Side-by-side: roast date on a typical subscription bag (4 weeks ago) versus our bag (2 days ago). Single 9:16 cut, no music.
- Do-notsNo 'rich, smooth, balanced' generic taste copy. No barista cosplay. No discount in the first 3 seconds. No latte art - we sell beans, not espresso shots.
Shuttergen
Skip the blank template. Generate the brief..
Shuttergen reads your brand and category, then generates the 6-field simple brief in 30 seconds - audience, angle, archetype, do-nots all pre-filled and specific to your niche. Faster than the 10-minute rule.
How to use this template
Copy the six fields above into a blank document - Notion, Google Docs, Word, plain text, anywhere. Fill in the project name first, then work top to bottom. The whole exercise should take 10 minutes. If it takes longer, you don't have a brief problem - you have a strategy problem, and the brief is just exposing it.
The audience field is load-bearing. If your audience line is demographic ('males 25-45 interested in fitness'), every section after it inherits the vagueness. Rewrite until it's behavioral and specific. A good audience line names what the person already does, what they already buy, and where they already hang out online.
The do-nots field is the single biggest predictor of distinctive work. Most briefs skip it because do-nots feel negative. The teams whose creative consistently outperforms the category include 3-5 explicit exclusions in every brief. The negative space generates distinctive work; the absence of constraints produces category-average output.
Skip the blank template. Generate the brief.. Shuttergen reads your brand and category, then generates the 6-field simple brief in 30 seconds - audience, angle, archetype, do-nots all pre-filled and specific to your niche. Faster than the 10-minute rule.
Download in your format of choice
Hit the download button on the template card above to grab the markdown file. Markdown is portable - paste it into any of the following:
Notion: paste directly into a new page. Notion renders markdown headings as actual headings. Save as a template and duplicate per campaign.
Google Docs: paste into a new doc - Google Docs auto-renders markdown formatting. For PDF export, use 'File → Download → PDF Document.' For a Word-compatible version, use 'File → Download → Microsoft Word'. See also our format-specific guides: creative brief template word, creative brief template google docs, creative brief template pdf.
Word: paste the markdown into a new document, then use Format → Style to convert the # headings to Heading 1 and ## to Heading 2. Takes 30 seconds.
Plain text / email: the template fits in an email body. For internal-only briefs, this is often the right format - the friction of opening a doc kills brief adoption faster than any other factor.
When this template stops being enough
The 6-field simple template covers about 80% of campaign briefs. Four scenarios force an upgrade to the longer 9-field format. Multi-creator launches need explicit creator voice constraints and usage rights. Regulated categories (health, finance, beauty claims) need a compliance section. Multi-surface campaigns with non-trivial production scoping need deliverables, formats, and timeline locked. External agency or freelancer engagements treat the brief as part of the contract, justifying the longer document.
For everything else - in-house team, single channel, single format, single creator - the simple template above is the right level of resolution. Adding sections past that point usually adds defensive hedging, not useful constraints.
Internal: see creative brief template for the full 9-section format, and best creative brief template for a curated list of templates by use case.
FAQ
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Shuttergen brief workflow.
Skip the blank template. Generate the brief..
Shuttergen reads your brand and category, then generates the 6-field simple brief in 30 seconds - audience, angle, archetype, do-nots all pre-filled and specific to your niche. Faster than the 10-minute rule.