An event brief has to cover two audiences: the people who show up, and the much bigger group who only hear about it. It also has more hard limits than most briefs, like the venue, the permits and how many people fit in the room.
Below is a full example for a made-up company, written in the eleven sections of a one-page creative brief. The shaded notes are the places an event brief needs something a standard brief doesn't. If it's close to what you're working on, you can start from this example and change it.
Tallow repair tour, six city pop-ups
Tallow makes jackets and packs that come with a lifetime repair promise. Most customers have never used it, and the mail-in process takes about four weeks. This spring Tallow is taking two repair techs and a van to six cities for a weekend each.
People think of repairs as a hassle, so they replace gear instead of fixing it.
The repair promise stays a line on the website. Tallow looks like every other outdoor brand that talks about sustainability, and customers keep buying new jackets from whoever is on sale.
People who hike and camp most weekends and own gear with a broken zipper or a torn sleeve in a closet somewhere. They follow local trail groups and outdoor shops online and go to free events with friends.
“I'll deal with that zipper eventually. It's probably easier to get a new one.”
“I brought my jacket in on Saturday and watched them fix it while I had a coffee.”
Bring us your broken gear and watch it get fixed.
Repairs are free for any Tallow product, and most are done in under 30 minutes. Other brands' gear can be fixed for a small fee. The techs are the same people who do the mail-in repairs.
Each stop runs Saturday and Sunday, 10 to 4, at a partner outdoor shop. The van footprint is 20 by 10 feet. Sign-up for a repair slot is optional, so walk-ups still work. No music louder than the shop's own.
A tour name and look that works on the van wrap, signage and social. Invitations for local trail groups and shop email lists. A sign-up page with repair slots by city. Social posts before each stop. A short video from each weekend, cut for the next city.
Kickoff 3 February, concepts 17 February, client review 20 February, van wrap to print 6 March, sign-ups open 16 March, first stop 4 April, last stop 17 May.
The One-Page Brief is free and there's no sign-up. It checks your brief for the usual problems, and you send it as a link so people can comment on the section they mean and approve it with their name.
Need it as a file?
The One-Page Strategy Kit has the creative brief, the messaging framework and the measurement plan as fillable PDFs and Word files, for when a client wants a document. It's $19.
Get the filesFrom the same desk
A weekly note on account planning for agency strategists. One thing that changed, the tension in it, and what I'd do Monday. The first part of every issue is free.
Written by Cody Simmonds. I also write The Rationale, a weekly note for agency strategists.