A creative brief template gives the people making your ads and campaign assets everything they need on one or two pages: why the work matters now, the objective and the number, who the audience is, the one message, the proof, the offer, the channels and specs, the deliverables, what must be in or out, what you will test, and who approves it by when. The template below copies in one click, and the Word version adds tables for specs, deliverables and the timeline. No signup.
Download the Word template (.docx)
The creative brief templates that rank on Google are written for agencies and consumer brands: a restaurant campaign, a recipe video, ads aimed at "working parents on Instagram". A B2B ad has a different job. It speaks to several people on a buying committee, at different stages, and is judged on qualified pipeline, not likes. This template is built for that. For the definition and why briefs save time, see our entry on the creative brief.
What should a B2B creative brief include?
Background
What is happening in the business that makes this work necessary now.
Objective and the number
One objective, one metric, one date. "Awareness" is not an objective.
Audience
Company profile, the roles on the buying committee, their stage, and what they believe now.
Single-minded message
The one thing the audience should remember, in their words.
Reasons to believe
The proof the creative can show: a customer result, a sourced number, the product.
Offer and call to action
One offer per ad, matched to the stage, and the landing page it goes to.
Channels and specs
Every placement with its sizes and copy limits, copied from the platform's own help page.
Deliverables
Each asset with a count, an owner and a due date.
Tone and mandatories
Three tone words, the brand guidelines link, what must be in and what must stay out.
Testing plan
A hypothesis, one variable, the variants and the rule for picking a winner.
Timeline and approvals
Dates for each step and one named approver.
Copy the creative brief template
Paste it into a Google Doc, Notion page or Word file, or download the .docx, which adds a header table for owners and dates, tables for specs, deliverables and timeline, guidance notes in every section, and a review checklist for the approver.
CREATIVE BRIEF: [Project name]
Requested by: [ ] | Approver (one person): [ ] | Creative team: [ ]
Brief date: [ ] | First draft: [ ] | Launch: [ ] | Budget: [ ]
1. BACKGROUND
[What is happening in the business that makes this work necessary now?]
2. OBJECTIVE AND THE NUMBER
[One objective, one metric, one date, e.g. 40 demo requests from US logistics companies with 200 to 2,000 employees by 31 March]
3. AUDIENCE
Company profile: [industry, size, region, trigger]
Roles: [primary buyer] + [others on the buying committee]
Stage: [unaware / problem aware / comparing vendors / ready to buy]
They think now: [ ] | We want them to think: [ ]
4. SINGLE-MINDED MESSAGE
[The one thing they should remember, in their words]
5. REASONS TO BELIEVE
- [Customer result, approved]
- [Data point, with source]
- [Product proof: screenshot, demo clip, integration]
6. OFFER AND CALL TO ACTION
Offer: [demo / free tool / template / report / webinar] | CTA text: [ ] | Landing page: [URL]
7. CHANNELS, FORMATS AND SPECS
[Channel / placement] | [format] | [size or length] | [copy limits] | [variants]
8. DELIVERABLES
[Deliverable] | [count] | [owner] | [due]
9. TONE AND MANDATORIES
Tone: [three words] | Brand guidelines: [link]
Must include: [ ] | Must avoid: [ ]
10. TESTING PLAN
Hypothesis: [We believe X will beat Y on metric Z because ...]
Variable: [message / image / offer / format] | Variants: [ ] | Decision rule: [ ]
11. TIMELINE AND APPROVALS
Brief approved [ ] | Concepts [ ] | One feedback round [ ] | Final files [ ] | Launch [ ] | Results review [ ]Why does a B2B creative brief need the buying committee?
Because the ad has to reach more than one person, and it has to reach them early. In 6sense's 2025 Buyer Experience Report, based on more than 4,000 B2B buyers, 94% of buying groups had ranked their preferred vendors before first contact with a seller, and the preferred vendor won 80% of the time. Before that first call, what they know about you comes from what they find on their own, and your ads are part of it.
So the audience section names the company profile (your ideal customer profile), the main buyer and the other roles who influence the decision, and the stage they are in. A finance leader comparing vendors needs a different message and offer from an operations manager who has not yet noticed the problem. If the brief cannot say which one this ad is for, write two briefs.
What are the current ad specs to put in the brief?
Platforms change their limits, so copy the specs from each platform's help page into section 7 every time. As re-checked on 30 October 2026:
| Placement | Spec | Source |
|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn single image ad: image | 1200 x 628 px (1.91:1), 1200 x 1200 px (1:1) or 720 x 900 px (4:5); 5 MB max | LinkedIn Help: single image ad specs |
| LinkedIn single image ad: introductory text | Up to 150 characters to avoid truncation; 3,000 max | |
| LinkedIn single image ad: headline | Up to 70 characters to avoid truncation; 200 max | |
| Google responsive search ad: headlines | Up to 15 headlines, 30 characters each; at least 3 required; up to 3 shown at once | Google Ads Help: responsive search ads |
| Google responsive search ad: descriptions | Up to 4 descriptions, 90 characters each; at least 2 required |
The limit that matters most for the writer is the truncation point, not the maximum. On LinkedIn, the first 150 characters of the introductory text have to carry the message on their own.
What does a filled creative brief look like?
Illustrative, not a real campaign. Haulmetric is a fictional freight audit software company, and its numbers are made up to show the structure.
| Section | Haulmetric's brief |
|---|---|
| Background | Freight rates moved sharply this quarter, and shippers are finding billing errors in carrier invoices. Haulmetric's own customers found errors on [X]% of invoices last year. |
| Objective | 40 demo requests from US shippers with 200 to 2,000 employees by 31 March, at or under $[Y] per qualified demo. |
| Audience | Logistics and transportation managers (primary) and controllers (influence). Problem aware: they suspect overbilling but have no time to check every invoice. |
| Single-minded message | You are probably paying for freight errors you never see. |
| Reasons to believe | An approved customer result in dollars recovered; a screenshot of a flagged invoice; the number of carriers checked. |
| Offer | A free audit of 90 days of invoices. CTA: "Get your free freight audit". |
| Testing plan | Variable: message. Variant A leads with the dollar amount recovered, variant B with the time saved. Keep the one with the lower cost per qualified demo after an agreed number of clicks each. |
The objective has a number and a date, the message fits in one line, and the test changes one thing. A designer can start from this without a kickoff meeting.
What is the difference between a creative brief and a campaign brief?
| Campaign brief | Creative brief | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | The whole campaign: budget, audiences, channels, timing, measurement | The work the creative team makes: message, proof, offer, formats, specs |
| Written by | Campaign or demand generation lead | Whoever owns the result, often the same person |
| Read by | Marketing leadership, channel owners, sales | Designers, writers, video team, agency |
| Answers | Where do we spend, on whom, and how do we know it worked? | What do we make, and what must it say? |
In a small B2B team one person often writes both, so this template carries the campaign essentials (objective, budget, testing plan) inside the creative brief. In a larger team, use the campaign brief to set sections 2, 3 and 10, and copy them in.
How to use the creative brief
- Write sections 2 to 6 before anything else. If you cannot fill in the objective, audience and message, the work is not ready to brief.
- Link the brand rules, do not repeat them. Section 9 should point to your brand guide; our brand guidelines template has the sections for one.
- Pull the message from your positioning. The value proposition canvas gives you each role's pains and gains to choose from.
- Get it approved before concepts start, by the one named approver.
- Judge the work against the brief. Does it hit the objective, speak to the audience and carry the message? If yes, approve it.
- Review results against section 2, and write the next brief from what the test taught you.
For budgets, our LinkedIn ads cost guide and CPC calculator turn the objective in section 2 into a spend. For what good ad creative looks like once the brief is done, see our B2B paid media playbook. Our paid ads service makes your Google, LinkedIn and Meta ads in-house, runs new versions against the winners every week and judges each one on pipeline in your CRM.
Frequently asked
What should a creative brief include?
For B2B ad and campaign creative: background, one objective with a number, the audience (company profile, the roles on the buying committee and their stage), a single-minded message, reasons to believe, the offer and call to action, channels and specs, deliverables, tone and mandatories, a testing plan, and a timeline with one named approver.
How long should a creative brief be?
One to two pages once filled in. Dropbox's guide gives the same range. If it runs longer, the team has not agreed on the objective or the message yet, and the brief is doing the work of a strategy meeting.
What is the difference between a creative brief and a campaign brief?
A campaign brief covers the whole campaign: budget, audiences, channels, timing and how results are measured. A creative brief covers the work the designers and writers make for it: the message, the proof, the offer, formats and specs. Small teams often combine them, which is why this template includes the objective, budget and testing plan.
Who should write the creative brief?
The person who asked for the work and owns the result, usually the campaign or product marketing lead. The creative team should review it and push back before they start, and one named approver signs it off. Reviews later are judged against the brief, not personal taste.
Is there a creative brief template for Word?
Yes. The .docx on this page opens in Word, Google Docs and Pages. It has a header table for owners and dates, the eleven sections with guidance notes, tables for channel specs, deliverables and timeline, and a review checklist for the approver.
