How to brief a branding agency.

A brief should probably be brief. Apparently, this is controversial.

We’ve seen RFPs with so many requirements that the creative work starts to look like the easy part. And somewhere in all those pages, the actual problem gets a little lost.

If you’re reaching out to a branding agency, start with enough context for a useful conversation: who you are, what’s getting in the way, and what you hope will change. Give us something to think about. We can work out how many things to make together.

A list of deliverables tells us what you’d like made. We’re also interested in why. Are the wrong people enquiring? Has the business outgrown how it looks? Do customers understand what makes you worth paying more for?

You might come to us for a website and leave with a recommendation to work on the identity first. That conversation is part of what you’re hiring us for. Ideally, the proposal connects the work to the problem you came with.

BetterBriefs makes a useful distinction here: get specific about the problem, audience, and intended outcome, while leaving the creative answer open. That gives the agency something substantial to work with.

“We need a logo and a website” could describe half the emails in an agency’s inbox. Add who you’re trying to reach, what they currently think of you, and what you want them to do differently.

Pick the outcome that matters most. Better-fit enquiries, a stronger launch, or helping customers understand a higher price. Share a baseline and a target if you have them. If you don’t, say what you’re noticing. Please don’t invent a percentage to make the document look official.

Then separate your ideas from your constraints. “We think the website needs work” leaves room for advice. “Our existing booking system has to stay” gives us a real boundary.

An initial brief helps both sides decide whether a conversation makes sense. A formal RFP asks agencies to respond to a more structured selection process. The agreed scope comes later, with deliverables, responsibilities, fees, and approvals spelled out.

Some organizations need that formal process. Fair enough. Keep the work you ask for proportionate to the project. A lengthy unpaid audition can rule out an excellent agency simply because they don’t have time for it.

Give us a budget range, a realistic date and why it matters, who will make the decision, and any genuine must-haves. Link the supporting material. The entire company history can sit this one out.

Look at the work before you write. Mention a project you genuinely liked and what caught your attention. If you could send the exact same email to fifty agencies, it probably needs one more sentence.

You don’t need to flatter anyone. Be friendly, explain the opportunity, and make the next step easy: “Does this sound like a fit, and do you have room to talk?”

Here’s a small industry secret: how a project feels can affect the quote. An exciting challenge with a clear decision-maker may be more appealing than a maze of approvals. Complicated processes take time, and time goes into the price. Enthusiasm won’t guarantee a discount, but a good working relationship starts well before the first Zoom.

Work through five short steps. We’ll put your answers into an editable outreach email, with room for the agency to recommend a direction.

Use it with an agency whose work you love. Ours is conveniently on this website, but we’ll survive if you send it elsewhere.