How to Brief a Communications Agency in Ghana
A useful agency brief explains the outcome you need, the people whose decisions matter, what you already know and what you can commit. Here is what to include before you ask for a proposal.
A communications brief should explain what your organisation needs to achieve, whose understanding or behaviour matters, what you already know and what resources you can commit. It gives an agency enough context to propose a response to your situation, rather than a generic list of activities.
For businesses, cultural organisations and public figures in Ghana, the brief is often the first real test of whether a project is ready. We recommend working through the sections below before you invite proposals.
Start with the outcome
Describe the change you want to see. An organisation may need applicants for a programme, customers who understand a new product, partners who trust a change in direction or audiences who attend a recurring event.
Say how you would recognise progress. If the aim is registrations, say so, and give any target you have set. Our Women of Valour case study reports 3,550 registrations for the 2023 event against a target of 1,200. A stated target makes that kind of comparison possible.
Describe the people who matter
List the groups whose decisions affect the outcome. A programme for young creatives may need to reach the participants, their parents, institutional partners and the media at the same time. Each group needs different information.
Share what you know about where those groups get information and whom they trust. If you do not know, say so. Audience research can be part of the work you commission.
Explain the background honestly
Tell the agency what has already happened. Include previous campaigns, what worked, what did not and any constraints that will shape the next stage. Mention sensitive issues early. An agency can plan around a difficult fact; it cannot plan around one it discovers after materials are approved.
Provide the facts you want the communication to rest on: dates, eligibility, prices, credentials and confirmed partners. Note anything that is still undecided.
Set out what you can commit
Give a budget range, even an approximate one. Without it, proposals can differ so widely that they are hard to compare. Separate the agency fee from third-party costs such as production, media placements, printing or venue charges.
Identify who will approve materials, who can speak on the organisation's behalf and how quickly decisions can be made. Delays in approvals affect timelines as much as delays in production.
Share the timeline and fixed dates
List the dates that cannot move: a launch, an event, a board meeting, a release or a regulatory deadline. Indicate when you need the agency to start and when key decisions will be made. Allow time for the agency to ask questions before it submits a proposal.
Ask for the right response
Tell the agency what you want back. A useful response might include its reading of the problem, a proposed approach, the team who will do the work, a scope of deliverables, a fee and the measures it would use. Ask how it would report progress.
Avoid asking for finished creative work as part of a free pitch. The most useful early sign is whether the agency asks good questions about your objective and audience.
A simple brief structure
- The outcome you need, and how you will measure it
- The audiences whose decisions matter
- Background, previous activity and known constraints
- Confirmed facts and open questions
- Budget range, separating fees from third-party costs
- Decision-makers, approvals and spokespeople
- Fixed dates and the overall timeline
- What you want the agency to send back
When to involve an agency
Bring an agency in while important decisions can still change. There is more room to sharpen positioning, strengthen evidence and coordinate partners before announcements and production dates are fixed.
PR369's Strategic Communications and PR service covers planning, messaging, media relations and stakeholder communication. If you are preparing a brief, email info@pr369.com with your objective, timeline and current challenge. We will begin with a strategy conversation.
