How to Change a Campaign Brief Without Confusing Your Agency
Change a campaign brief by recording what has changed, why it matters and which approved assumptions are affected. Ask the agency to assess the consequences for work, timing and cost. Obtain the necessary approval, then issue a new version that every affected team can identify.
Download the editable worksheet (Markdown). Replace the bracketed prompts with your own details.
A change can be sensible. Customer evidence, product availability and business priorities can all move after work begins. The process should make the consequences visible so the client can choose knowingly.
Identify whether you are correcting work or changing the assignment.
A correction brings the work into line with an existing requirement. A revision develops the agreed approach within the permitted review process. A change in audience, offer, objective or required output may alter the assignment itself.
Use the contract and scope to determine the commercial treatment. These distinctions are useful for discussion, but they do not override the terms the parties agreed.
Ask the agency to explain its interpretation with references to the approved brief and scope. If the client and agency disagree, resolve the specific issue before additional work accumulates.
Explain the business reason.
Describe the new information or decision. Identify which original assumption no longer holds and whether the change is mandatory.
For example, a hypothetical retailer may discover that the featured product will not arrive before a campaign launches. Replacing the offer could affect photography, copy, landing pages and media plans. The same change may also require customer-service preparation.
A preference from a late reviewer has a different basis. The client can still choose it, but the cost of that choice should be visible.
Ask for options and their consequences.
Request the least disruptive viable response alongside a fuller revision where appropriate. Ask what can be reused, what must be discarded and which commitments cannot be recovered.
Have the agency identify effects on other teams. A copy change might require legal review. A new destination page might require development and measurement work. A production change may affect booked talent or licensing.
The IPA and BetterBriefs guide treats the written brief and the briefing conversation as connected practices. When the direction changes materially, hold another focused conversation rather than relying only on edits in a document.
Approve the commercial and scheduling changes.
Identify the person authorized to approve additional fees and revised commitments. Confirm the effect on work already in progress.
If the budget cannot increase, ask what should be removed or postponed. If the deadline cannot move, ask which version of the revised scope is feasible. The agency should be clear when the available constraints do not support an acceptable result.
Document the authorization in the form required by the agreement. A casual message from someone without spending authority can create confusion even when everyone intends to be helpful.
Issue one current version.
Give the revised brief a version identifier and date. Preserve the earlier version and summarize the material changes.
Tell each affected agency which version now governs. Confirm that dependent documents, asset specifications and approval requests have been updated.
Decide what happens to paused work. The agency should know whether to continue, hold or archive it. An unresolved change request should not silently become permission to proceed.
Use this change request.
Complete the request before asking the agency to implement the change.
- We need to change [requirement] in brief [version] because [new information or decision].
- The requirements that remain unchanged are [requirements].
- This affects [audience, offer, outputs or other assumptions].
- Please assess the effect on completed work, remaining work, third-party commitments and other teams.
- Please propose [options] with their costs, timing and material risks.
- [Authorized approver] will decide whether to proceed by [date].
- Until approval, the agency should [continue specified work or hold specified work].
- Once approved, [owner] will issue the new brief and notify [affected parties].
After a major change, reset the evaluation criteria as well as the deliverables. The internal-feedback guide helps prevent reviewers from judging the new work against an obsolete direction.