Good briefing is an obvious, but often neglected, tool of enormous mutual benefit to both client and agency. By supplying comprehesive and insightful briefing documents to your agencies, whether it be a pitch for new business or a response to an existing campaign/platform, a well thought out brief will give the agency the chance to flourish within the parameters set by the client and it will also provide a solid foundation in which to assess, measure or compare results against.

The process of writing the brief will help you to identify why you need an agency, the types of activities you require and the kind of relationship you are seeking to establish. It also helps to ensure a level playing field between the different agencies, should you be inviting several agencies to pitch for your business.

The following headings may prove a useful guide to the ideal content of a good brief:

• Company
  background, brief history
• Products and Services
  an overview of what your company sells and the channels it uses
• Customers
  it is very important to explain to the agency who your customers are and to whom you sell within those customers
• Competitors
  naming your competitors helps an agency to identify your market space more clearly
• Marketing
  an explanation of the marketing environment in which the PR activity takes place and with which it needs to be integrated
• The Challenge
  your understanding of the key communication challenges facing the company
• Objectives
  the key objectives for the PR campaign including its breadth and timeline
• Key Activities
  you may wish to specify the types of activities you know you need and possibly even the volume of activity anticipated
• Accountability
  be clear on the line of management accountability between agency and client
• Performance expectations
  identifying how you would like to measure the performance of the agency and what you expect the agency to deliver is a helpful steer for any agency considering your brief
• Contractual issues
  be sure to clarify whether you are looking for a project-based or retainer-based relationship and for how long the initial appointment will be made