Campaign brief questions.

72 campaign brief questions from the bank, ready to practice out loud.

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Campaign brief anatomy: audience, insight, message, measurement STAR and CARL: structuring your story Budget allocation and the media mix Message hierarchy: choosing what leads

All 72 questions

B2B project-management tool signup campaignDrive 10K paid signups for a new B2B project-management tool in Q2. Audience: ops leads at series-A startups. Walk me through your brief.Audience targetingMid–senior

Brand relaunch channel mixYou have a $2M budget to relaunch a consumer brand in 90 days. What's your channel mix and why?Channel mixSenior–leadership

Message hierarchy for multi-feature productWalk me through how you'd build a message hierarchy for a campaign whose product does five different things.Message hierarchyMid–senior

Differentiated category campaign briefDesign a brief for a campaign that has to feel different from everything else in the category. Walk me through how you'd push the agency.Creative directionSenior–leadership

Setting metrics for brand campaignWalk me through how you'd set success metrics for a brand campaign that won't show direct purchase intent.Success metricsSenior–leadership

Prioritizing after 40% budget cutYour CMO cut your campaign budget by 40% the day before launch. Walk me through the prioritization.Budget allocationSenior–leadership

Meditation app for skeptical menDesign a campaign for a meditation app trying to reach men over 50 who don't think the product is for them.Audience targetingMid–senior

SaaS launch against dominant competitorYou're launching a B2B SaaS product into a category dominated by a single competitor. Walk me through your initial-quarter channel strategy.Channel mixSenior–leadership

Pushing back on generic positioningYour client wants the brief to say 'fast, secure, and easy to use'. Walk me through how you'd push back.Message hierarchySenior–leadership

Brand consistency through aesthetic pivotBrief a campaign that pivots from existing campaign aesthetics. How do you keep brand consistency while shifting the work?Creative directionSenior–leadership

Measuring integrated campaign successWalk me through how you'd measure the success of an integrated campaign across paid, owned, and earned media.Success metricsSenior–leadership

Financial product for Gen ZDesign a campaign brief for a financial product targeting Gen Z who don't yet trust traditional banks.Audience targetingSenior–leadership

CPG product grocery chain launchWalk me through a campaign brief for launching a CPG product in 10 grocery chains. Budget is $500K.Channel mixMid–senior

Responding to competitor campaign launchYour competitor just launched a campaign almost identical to your planned brief. Walk me through how you'd respond.Message hierarchySenior–leadership

Humor without overreaching in creativeBrief a campaign that requires humor without being clever. How would you direct the agency to avoid trying too hard?Creative directionSenior–leadership

Measuring influencer campaign ROIWalk me through what you'd measure to know whether an influencer-led campaign was worth the spend.Success metricsMid–senior

Balancing always-on and tentpole spendingHow would you split a $1M annual budget across always-on demand-gen and one tentpole brand moment?Budget allocationSenior–leadership

Enterprise product campaign for skepticsDesign a campaign for an enterprise product whose users hate marketing. What's the brief look like?Audience targetingSenior–leadership

Multi-country campaign with different mediaYou're launching a campaign in three countries with very different media landscapes. Walk me through how you'd vary the mix.Channel mixSenior–leadership

Single creative for dual audiencesWalk me through how you'd structure messaging for a campaign aimed at two distinct audiences who'd see the same creative.Message hierarchySenior–leadership

Balancing creative freedom and controlHow do you write a brief that gives the agency creative freedom without losing control of the outcome?Creative directionSenior–leadership

Pre-launch optimization planningWalk me through how you'd set up an in-flight optimization plan for a campaign before launch.Success metricsSenior–leadership

B2B buyers and influencers campaignWalk me through a brief that targets buyers and influencers in B2B who have different motivations.Audience targetingSenior–leadership

Paid social versus content productionWalk me through how you'd choose between investing more in paid social or in content production for a content-led brand.Channel mixSenior–leadership

Messaging for unknown problem solutionsWalk me through how you'd construct a campaign message when your product solves a problem most people don't know they have.Message hierarchySenior–leadership

Campaign brief with legal restrictionsWalk me through how you'd brief a campaign where the legal team has restricted half the obvious creative angles.Creative directionSenior–leadership

Defending last year's major campaignYour CMO asks you to defend last year's biggest campaign. Walk me through how you'd structure that read.Success metricsSenior–leadership

Budget allocation across integrated channelsWalk me through how you'd allocate budget across an integrated campaign with brand, paid social, and influencer components.Budget allocationSenior–leadership

Luxury campaign for skeptical audienceBrief a campaign for a luxury product targeting an audience that's increasingly skeptical of luxury signaling.Audience targetingSenior–leadership

Campaign orbit around hero filmWalk me through how you'd brief a campaign whose hero piece is a 60-second film. What does the rest of the orbit look like?Channel mixSenior–leadership

Energy drink targeting college studentsYou're launching a campaign for a new energy drink aimed at college students during finals season. Walk me through how you'd define the target audience in the brief.Audience targetingEntry–mid

Budget allocation across marketing channelsWalk me through how you'd allocate a $50K budget across three channels for a local fitness studio's summer membership drive.Budget allocationEntry–mid

Podcast app feature prioritizationYou're briefing a campaign for a new podcast app. The product has discovery, offline listening, and social sharing features. How do you decide which benefit leads the message?Message hierarchyEntry–mid

Sustainable sneaker brand without preachingBrief a social media campaign for a sustainable sneaker brand that wants to avoid looking preachy. What creative guardrails would you set?Creative directionEntry–mid

TikTok snack brand campaign metricsWalk me through what metrics you'd track for a TikTok-first campaign promoting a new snack brand to Gen Z.Success metricsEntry–mid

Tutoring service channel allocationYou have $75K to launch a campaign for a tutoring service. Would you focus on paid search, Instagram ads, or local events? Walk me through your reasoning.Channel mixEntry–mid

Career coaching for layoff victimsWalk me through how you'd brief a campaign for a career-coaching service targeting recent layoff victims. How do you approach the audience sensitively in the brief?Audience targetingEntry–mid

Meal-kit service cross-channel messagingYour campaign for a meal-kit service needs to work on both Instagram and podcast ads. Walk me through how you'd structure the message for each channel.Channel mixEntry–mid

Mid-range furniture price and qualityYou're briefing creative for a campaign that needs to communicate both price and quality for a mid-range furniture brand. How do you balance these two messages?Message hierarchyEntry–mid

Measuring YouTube app download successWalk me through how you'd measure success for a YouTube campaign aimed at driving app downloads for a language-learning tool.Success metricsEntry–mid

Community-focused holiday retail campaignBrief a campaign for a bookstore's holiday sale. The owner wants it to feel warm and community-focused, not transactional. What creative direction would you give?Creative directionEntry–mid

Back-to-school budget allocationYou have $25K for a back-to-school campaign for a backpack brand. Walk me through whether you'd invest more in content creation or media spend, and why.Budget allocationEntry–mid

Differentiating against market leader TeslaYou're launching a premium electric vehicle in a market where Tesla owns 70% share of voice. Walk me through your campaign brief and how you'd differentiate.Creative directionSenior–leadership

Targeting uninsured hourly workersDesign a brief for a healthcare app targeting uninsured hourly workers. Walk me through audience segmentation and your primary message.Audience targetingMid–senior

Reaching non-technical C-suite executivesYou have $500K to drive awareness for a cybersecurity product among non-technical C-suite executives. What's your channel strategy?Channel mixMid–senior

Engineering recruitment diversity KPIsWalk me through how you'd structure KPIs for a recruitment campaign aimed at diversifying your engineering team over 12 months.Success metricsMid–staff+

Law firm client acquisition strategyYour legal-tech startup needs to acquire 500 law-firm clients in six months. Design your targeting strategy and explain your segmentation logic.Audience targetingMid–senior

Repositioning legacy software as AI-poweredBrief a campaign to reposition a legacy accounting software as AI-powered. How do you message innovation without alienating your existing base?Message hierarchySenior–leadership

Performance versus brand budget allocationYou're allocated $3M across performance and brand for a DTC furniture launch. Walk me through your budget split and the rationale.Budget allocationSenior–leadership

Conveying sustainability without the wordDesign a campaign brief for a sustainable fashion brand that refuses to use the word 'sustainable.' How do you convey the value?Creative directionMid–senior

Reaching freelancers without paid socialYou're launching a neobank for freelancers. Build a channel plan that reaches them without relying on paid social. What do you prioritize?Channel mixMid–senior

Messaging after competitor data breachBrief a campaign for enterprise cloud storage targeting IT buyers who've been burned by a competitor's data breach. How do you structure the message?Message hierarchyMid–senior

30-day subscription app trial briefYou have 30 days and $150K to drive trial for a B2C subscription app before your Series A closes. Walk me through your brief.Budget allocationMid–senior

FDA-compliant emotionally resonant messagingDesign a brief for a pharma brand campaign that must comply with FDA regulations but still feel emotionally resonant. Walk me through your approach.Creative directionSenior–leadership

Researching CFO audience insightsYou're targeting CFOs at mid-market companies for a spend-management platform. Explain your audience research plan and key insights you'd need before briefing.Audience targetingMid–senior

Nonprofit awareness campaign metricsWalk me through how you'd set success metrics for a nonprofit awareness campaign with no conversion event and a $200K budget.Success metricsMid–senior

Breaking through in saturated gamingYour gaming company is launching a title in a saturated genre. Design a go-to-market brief that explains how you'll break through.Creative directionMid–senior

Owning time savings in B2BBuild a message architecture for a B2B product whose core benefit is 'saving time' — but so do all your competitors. How do you own it?Message hierarchyMid–senior

Market entry with zero awarenessYou have $1M to enter a new geographic market where your brand has zero awareness. Walk me through channel prioritization for months 1-6.Channel mixSenior–leadership

Mental health campaign for parentsDesign a campaign targeting parents of teens for a mental-health platform. Walk me through how you'd navigate the sensitivity in your brief.Audience targetingMid–senior

Linking brand spend to pipelineYour board wants proof that brand spend drives pipeline. Walk me through how you'd design measurement into a campaign brief from day one.Success metricsSenior–leadership

Rebranding under public scrutinyYou're briefing an agency on a rebrand while the company is under public scrutiny. How do you direct creative without making the campaign feel reactive?Creative directionSenior–leadership

Sales and category creation budgetWalk me through your budget allocation for a product launch that needs both immediate sales and long-term category creation.Budget allocationSenior–leadership

Marketing to developer-hostile audienceBrief a campaign for an API product targeting developers who hate being marketed to. What channels and creative approach do you take?Channel mixMid–senior

Premium positioning against low-costYou're launching a premium grocery delivery service in a market dominated by low-cost players. Walk me through your positioning and primary message.Message hierarchyMid–senior

Segmenting recent college graduatesDesign a brief for a campaign targeting recent college grads for a personal finance app. How do you segment this audience and what's your lead message for each segment?Audience targetingEntry–mid

Rebuilding earned media measurementYour CMO says PR reporting on impressions is meaningless and asks you to rebuild the measurement framework for the annual earned-media program. Walk me through what you'd propose.Success metricsMid–senior

B2B launch without news hookYou have $150K to launch a B2B product that has no obvious news hook. Walk me through how you'd split effort between earned and paid, and why.Channel mixSenior–leadership

Shifting from legacy to innovatorYour company wants to be seen as an innovator, but coverage still frames it as a legacy player. Brief the media relations campaign to shift that — which outlets and voices, in what order?Audience targetingMid–senior

Building thought leadership programYour CEO wants a thought-leadership program and has five topics they're passionate about. Walk me through how you'd build the platform and what you'd tell them about the other four.Message hierarchyMid–senior

Commissioned research as newsBrief a data-driven PR campaign built on commissioned research. What guardrails would you set so journalists treat the study as news rather than marketing?Creative directionMid–senior

Allocating first PR program budgetA scaling startup is funding its first real PR program. Walk me through how you'd allocate the annual budget between an always-on press office and big campaign moments.Budget allocationMid–senior