Branding Briefing Template and Example: How to Write an Agency Brief That Works

A bad briefing costs more than an expensive agency. It costs revision loops, frustration, and results designed right past your business. The good news: writing a good briefing is not rocket science. You need one hour, this template, and the willingness to think honestly about your business.

We already covered the fundamentals in our guide to design briefings: why briefings fail, what separates a good briefing from a bad one, and how to avoid the classic mistakes. This article goes one step further. Here you get a concrete template with ten points that you can fill in and send straight to your agency. Point by point, with examples and guidance.

Think of it as a tool. Not a chore.

The 10 Points Every Branding Briefing Needs

These ten points cover everything a branding agency needs to know in order to deliver a result that works. Not all points are the same length. Some you answer in two sentences, others need a paragraph. That is fine. What matters is that you do not skip any.

1. About Your Company

The agency needs to understand who they are dealing with. Not the full company history, but the essentials.

Write in 2-3 sentences: What does your company do? How long have you been around? How big are you (employees, revenue ballpark)?

Example: “MusterTech GmbH has been developing software for dental practices in German-speaking Switzerland since 2019. We are a team of five, serving around 120 practices. Founded as an ETH spin-off.”

That is enough. No novels. The agency needs context, not a Wikipedia entry.

2. Your Target Audience

Who do you want to reach with your brand? And no, “everyone” is not a target audience. The more specific you are here, the better the agency can design.

Write in 3-5 sentences: Who are your ideal clients? What problems do they have? What motivates them to look for a solution? Where do they encounter you?

Example: “Our target audience is dental practice owners, aged 35-55, in German-speaking Switzerland. They are frustrated by outdated practice software that is clunky and unattractive. They usually find us through recommendations from colleagues or through Google.”

If you get stuck here, our article on defining your target audience will help. That is not a detour — it is groundwork that pays off directly in the briefing.

3. Your Competition

Your agency needs to know who you stand next to. Not to copy the competition, but to deliberately stand apart.

Name 3 direct competitors and write for each: What do they do well? What do they do poorly? How do you differ?

Example: “Dentaplus: Strong brand, modern design, but expensive and inflexible. PraxisCloud: Cheap, but the website looks like 2012. ZahnDigital: Good customer service, but no recognisable branding. We are the only ones combining usability with a fair price.”

Be honest. If a competitor looks better than you, say so. The agency can only help if they know the playing field.

4. Your Current Positioning

What do you stand for today? Not what you would like to stand for (that comes next). This is about the current state.

Write in 2-3 sentences: What do your clients think of you? What would they say if someone asked, “What does that company do?” What impression does your current presence leave?

Example: “Our clients say: ‘The software is great, but the website doesn’t look like it.’ We are perceived as technically competent but not as a professional brand. Our presence feels like a startup — even though we are past that stage.”

If you realise here that you do not really know what you stand for, that is an important insight. Read our article on positioning for founders — and then come back.

5. Your Desired Positioning

Now the future. Where should things go?

Write in 2-3 sentences: How do you want to be perceived? What should your brand convey? What place do you want to occupy in the market?

Example: “We want to be perceived as the leading Swiss practice software — modern, reliable, human. Not the cheapest, but the one you trust. Our appearance should show competence without feeling cold.”

The difference between point 4 and point 5 is the brief for the agency. From here to there. The clearer the gap, the better the solution.

6. Budget and Timeline

The point most people leave out. And the point that causes the most problems when it is missing.

Be specific: What budget is available (a range is fine)? Is there a hard deadline? Or is the timeline flexible?

Example: “Budget: CHF 8,000-12,000 for logo, brand system, and website redesign. We need the result by September because we are exhibiting at Dental Bern in October.”

Not stating a budget is like a restaurant without prices: everyone is nervous, nobody orders the right thing. A good agency works with your budget, not against it. But they need to know it. More on realistic costs in what branding really costs.

7. Inspirations

Show what appeals to you. Not so the agency copies it, but so they understand the direction you are thinking in.

Collect 3-5 examples (websites, brands, logos, posters — anything goes) and write for each: what specifically appeals to you?

Example: “Apple — the restraint and confidence. But too cold for us. Freitag (Zurich) — the groundedness and Swiss character. Stripe — the combination of tech and elegance, especially the colour gradients on the website.”

“I like it” is not enough. “I like it because…” is gold. The difference between a useful and a useless moodboard lies in the “because.”

8. No-Gos

Just as important as inspirations: what do you absolutely not want?

Write 3-5 points: Which styles, colours, or approaches definitely do not fit you? What would land poorly with your target audience?

Example: “No clip-art style, no stock photos with staged smiles. No blue — every software company is blue, and we want to be different. Nothing too playful — our clients are medical professionals, they would not take us seriously.”

No-gos eliminate large areas. That saves the agency drafts that go straight in the bin, and you the frustration of having to reject them.

9. Existing Materials

What already exists? The agency needs to know whether they are building on something or starting from zero.

List: Is there an existing logo? A website? Brand guidelines? Business cards, brochures, exhibition stand? Social media profiles? And: should any of it be kept?

Example: “Existing logo (2019, self-designed in Canva — can be completely redone). Website on WordPress (being replaced). No brand guidelines. 3 brochures for municipalities that we want to keep but visually update. LinkedIn profile with 800 followers.”

Be honest, even if it is embarrassing. An agency has seen it all. What they do not want to see is a surprise mid-project — like a style guide nobody mentioned.

10. Decision-Making Process

Who decides? And how? This sounds like admin, but it is one of the most common reasons branding projects fail.

Answer three questions:

• Who is the day-to-day contact for the agency?
• Who gives feedback on drafts?
• Who makes the final decision?

Example: “Contact: Sarah (Marketing). Feedback: Sarah and Thomas (CEO) together. Final decision: Thomas. No other people involved. We need a maximum of one week for feedback rounds.”

The more people weigh in, the longer everything takes and the more diluted the result becomes. In Switzerland, where consensus is culturally embedded, the temptation to involve everyone is strong. Resist it. A clear decision-maker is the best thing you can give your project.

Agency Briefing: What Your Agency Actually Needs

Whether you call it a “briefing,” “agency brief,” or “brand brief,” the core is the same: a document that puts your agency in a position to do good work. The ten points above work for any kind of agency briefing — whether you are planning a rebrand, commissioning a new website, or developing a complete brand system.

The difference between a branding briefing and a general agency briefing lies in the focus. A marketing briefing describes a campaign. A branding briefing describes a company. It goes deeper because the decisions that follow last longer. You do not change your logo every quarter. Your positioning stays with you for years. That is why the hour you invest in this document is worth it.

Filled-In Example: What a Finished Briefing Looks Like

Theory is good. An example is better. Here is a sample briefing as it might land on our desk (fictional, but realistic).

1. About us: BergBau Engineering AG, engineering firm for sustainable construction in central Switzerland. Founded 2017, 14 employees, revenue in the single-digit millions. We plan timber buildings and energy-efficient renovations for property owners and municipalities.

2. Target audience: Architecture firms in German-speaking Switzerland looking for specialist planners in timber construction. Secondary: municipalities wanting to renovate public buildings. Decision-makers are technically minded, aged 40-55, and value references and reliability. They find us through recommendations and Google.

3. Competition: Makiol Wiederkehr (strong brand, large team, but expensive and slow). Pirmin Jung (well known, good branding, but increasingly focused on large projects — we serve the mid-market better). Holzbau Schweiz (trade association, not direct competition, but they visually define what “timber construction” looks like).

4. Current positioning: Technically competent but invisible. Our website is from 2018 and looks it. Clients say: “Your work is top-notch, but online you are hard to find.” We appear smaller than we are.

5. Desired positioning: The reliable specialist partner for sustainable timber construction in central Switzerland. Modern, competent, grounded — not trendy, but not dusty either. We want enquiries through the website, not just through referrals.

6. Budget and timeline: CHF 10,000-15,000 for logo, brand system, and website. Deadline: September, because we are exhibiting at Swissbau in October.

7. Inspirations: Bauart Architekten (Bern) — restrained, professional, good photography. Implenia — the clarity of structure, but more human. Beer Holzbau — honest and grounded, but too traditional for us.

8. No-gos: No green — every “sustainable” business is green. No stock photos. Nothing too playful — we work with engineers who would not take us seriously otherwise.

9. Existing materials: Logo exists (2017, can be completely redone). Website on WordPress (being replaced). No brand guidelines. LinkedIn profile with 400 followers. Various brochures for municipalities (keep, update visually).

10. Decision-making process: Contact: Laura (Marketing, newly hired). Feedback: Laura and Marco (CEO). Final decision: Marco. Max. 5 working days for feedback.

This briefing has everything: context, target audience, honest self-assessment, a concrete budget, and a clear decision-maker. It is barely a page long, and yet the agency knows exactly what they are dealing with after reading it.

Bonus: 5 Questions a Good Agency Will Ask You

You have written your briefing. You send it off. And then something interesting happens: a good agency does not simply accept your briefing. They ask follow-up questions. That is not a sign of incompetence. It is a sign of professionalism.

Expect these questions:

1. “What happens if we change nothing?” The agency wants to understand how urgent the project is. Is the house on fire, or is it a “nice to have”? The answer influences priorities and pace.

2. “What triggered this project?” Something prompted you to contact an agency now. A lost contract? An embarrassing trade fair? A competitor who suddenly looks better? The trigger says more about the real problem than any strategic analysis.

3. “How will we measure success?” Not “Does the boss like it,” but: what needs to be different after the project? More enquiries? Higher prices? Better applicants? Without success criteria, every result is simultaneously good and bad.

4. “What have you already tried, and why did it not work?” Almost nobody comes to an agency without having tried something first. A Canva logo, a freelancer attempt, an internal workshop. The agency wants to understand what did not work so they can avoid the same mistake.

5. “Is there internal resistance to this project?” Honestly: is everyone on the team convinced a rebrand is necessary? Or is there a co-founder who “actually quite likes the old logo”? Internal politics can bring a branding project to a standstill. A good agency wants to know that upfront. Not find out halfway through.

If an agency does not ask any of these questions and jumps straight to drafts, that is a warning sign. More on what to look for when choosing an agency.

Use the Template, Save Time

You now have a template that is better than 90% of the briefings that land on agency desks. Take one hour, work through the ten points, and write down what you know. Where you are unsure, write that down too. “I am not sure about this” is an honest answer that any good agency will appreciate.

Cafe Lang, a Zurich cafe, contacted us with a briefing that fit on two pages and contained everything: who they are, who they are speaking to, what their space radiates, and what it had not been radiating so far. The result was a website that, according to the owner, “feels like the cafe itself.” That is not luck. That is a good briefing translated into good design.

Three paths forward:

If you want to go deeper into the principles, read our guide to design briefings. It covers the thinking behind a good briefing and the most common mistakes.

If you are currently looking for an agency and want to know what matters, our article on choosing a branding agency in Switzerland will help.

And if you want to talk through your briefing with someone who will honestly tell you whether you are on the right track, take a Brand Check. No pitch, no standard programme. A direct conversation about where you stand and what the next step is.

A good briefing is the start of a good collaboration. And a good collaboration begins with knowing what you want. Or at least what you are looking for.