Since organisations don’t rebrand all that often (with good reason!) you could be forgiven for not knowing quite where to begin when you need to create a branding brief.

A good brief will give prospective branding agencies the understanding and background they need to create a really well thought-out proposal in response. It will also make shortlisting and selection easier for you, the client.

When the University of Cambridge decided to rebrand their careers service, we received one of the most detailed briefs we’ve ever had from a client, based on this very template. It’s therefore no surprise that we were therefore able to hit the ground running, and write a very accurate proposal based on our foreknowledge of the project.

IE Brand often offers prospective clients a hand in creating their brief before embarking on a branding project. Because we’ve been creating engaging charity, health and education brands for over 25 years, we’ve distilled all our experience into a comprehensive brand brief template for you to adapt.

Read on for our summarised tips on creating a beautiful branding brief. Note that you’re unlikely to have all of this information available and up to date, but your chosen branding agency should be able to help you fill in any gaps as part of the project.

If you find this useful you might also like our brand whitepaper book: "Not-for-profits: Why, when and how to rebrand" and our website brief template. 

Request the template

Complete your details below to request a copy of our full branding brief template as a Word document. It'll be sent to you by email. so please check your inbox, and if it doesn't arrive, also check your junk/spam folder.

The key points to include in your branding agency brief

Where are you now?

• Your current situation – A SWOT and/or PESTEL analysis is useful
• What you stand for – your organisational mission, strategy, values, objectives, goals
• Who are your audiences and competitors?
• What in your view makes your organisation distinctive? 

What do you already know?

• Hard data – Research information and analysis
• Softer data – includes your hunches, anecdotal evidence etc.

Where are you heading?

• You plan to rebrand, but why, and why now? 
• What challenges are you hoping to address?

What do you need?

• Outputs and deliverables for the process
• Who are the stakeholders you need to include in the process?
• Is visual identity in scope at this stage? A new website or review of your online presence?
• How will you tell the world about the change? Do you need to plan a launch campaign?
• When do you need the work completed by? Are your dates flexible, or set in stone? 

How will you select your branding agency partner?

• Timescales for appointing an agency
• Decision-making process and criteria
• The stakeholders involved
• Your budget – being open about your budget as well as your timetable will naturally define the scale and scope of the exercise. Also be clear if your budget includes or excludes VAT.
• Allow opportunity to meet candidates face-to-face, to ensure chemistry between your two organisations.

Request a free Brand Brief template

IE Brand’s free branding brief template contains a full list of questions to ask yourself before you reach out to brand agencies. This will help you to identify any gaps in your understanding and pinpoint the areas your agency will need to focus on. Complete the form above to request your copy. 

Should you need more advice, IE’s brand consultants will be more than happy to help you with brief creation, and help you get your branding project off the ground.