How to Brief a Creative Agency as a Queensland Government Communicator

A good brief doesn't just describe what you want made. It explains why it needs to exist and what it needs to change.

The difference between a brief that produces strong creative work and one that produces months of revision cycles is usually visible on page one. Not in the length of the document, and not in the detail of the deliverables. In whether the brief has been written from the audience's perspective or the agency's.

Here's how to write one that actually works.

Start with the behaviour, not the message

The single most useful thing you can include in a government creative brief is a clear description of what you need the audience to do differently after seeing the campaign. Not what you want them to know. What you want them to do.

“We want Queenslanders to understand the importance of flood preparedness” is a message brief. “We want Queenslanders in flood-prone areas to complete a household emergency plan before storm season” is a behaviour brief. The second one is harder to write because it forces a more specific answer, but it makes every subsequent creative decision easier. The agency knows what success looks like. The approval process has a clearer benchmark. And the evaluation at the end is measuring something real.

Be honest about what's already been tried

If your agency has run campaigns on this topic before, say so. Include what worked, what didn't, and - if you know it - why. This isn't an admission of failure. It's genuinely useful intelligence that stops a creative team from recommending something your audience has already been exposed to and ignored.

The best brief documents include the context that precedes them. What does the audience currently believe? What have they already seen? What makes this behaviour feel hard, irrelevant, or someone else's problem?

Define your audience specifically

“Queensland adults” is not an audience. Neither is “regional Queensland communities” or “young people.” These are population descriptors.

A useful audience definition includes what that audience currently does, believes, and encounters in relation to the behaviour you're trying to change. Age, location, and demographics are a starting point. Attitudes, habits, and barriers are where the brief actually gets useful.

If your agency has commissioned research on the audience, attach it. If audience research doesn't exist, flag it - a good creative partner may recommend it as a first step before campaign development begins.

Be clear about what the work needs to achieve commercially as well as creatively

Government campaigns have to pass through approval layers that commercial campaigns don't. That's not a problem to work around. It's the environment. But the brief should be honest about it.

If there's ministerial interest in the project, say so. If there are sensitivities around language, imagery, or community representation, name them early. If there are whole-of-government brand requirements that apply, include them. Surfacing these things at the brief stage is vastly less expensive than encountering them at the final approval.

Deliverables are the last thing to define

Most government briefs lead with the deliverables. “We need a 30-second TVC, three social cuts, a print banner, and a digital display series.” Sometimes that's right. Often it isn't.

The deliverables should follow from the audience, the behaviour, the channel landscape, and the budget - not precede them. A creative partner working with a well-written behaviour brief will often come back with a channel and format recommendation that looks different from what was specified. That's a feature, not a problem.

If your agency has genuine format constraints - broadcast commitments, a media buy already booked, an existing digital placement - include them. But where flexibility exists, leave room for it.

Welcome to the Fold

We work with Queensland Government communications teams across all stages of campaign development, from brief writing and audience strategy through to production and delivery. We're appointed to the Queensland All-of-Government Creative Services Panel (GGS0120-25) and six other government panels.