How to Brief an AI Advertising Agency: A Checklist
The brief that gets you a scope you can sign, in one page.
Practitioner guide Written by the studio from its own production practice. It states the studio's method and opinion, cites no third-party research, and attributes no performance figures to the studio.
A brief for generative production carries more weight than a brief for a shoot, because there is no day on set to discover what was missing. This checklist is what Unreal Media Group asks for before writing a scope; a marketer who arrives with it will leave the 15-minute discovery call with a scope, a delivery date and a price rather than a list of questions.
The product and the references
What the product is, what it does, and approved references for how it looks: packaging, labels, colourways, materials, the details that must read correctly. Brand guidelines, fonts and the tone of voice. Anything that must never appear. These are what generated frames are checked against, so the more precise they are, the fewer review rounds the batch needs.
The audience and the offer
Who the ad is for, what they already believe, and what the ad should change. The offer, if there is one, and the words the brand is allowed to use for it. The claims the brand can substantiate and the ones it cannot; a studio that reviews claims before delivery needs to know which is which.
The placements and the formats
Where the creative will run: Meta feed and Reels, TikTok, YouTube in-stream or Shorts, connected TV, display, product pages. Each placement implies ratios, lengths and caption requirements, and the scope lists deliverables per placement. Which of the four formats the brief needs: cinematic film, creator-style UGC, product film, image ads.
The test structure, if there is one
Whether the batch is one hero piece or a structured test. If a test, the question it should answer and the variable to isolate: hook, opening frame, angle, offer, format or length. What the account has already learned, if the brand is willing to share it. Read-only reporting access, if it is on offer.
Rights, performers and disclosure
Whether synthetic performers are acceptable, and any platform labelling requirement the brand knows applies. Whether any real person's likeness is involved, which is a separate rights engagement. The territories and duration of use. Music and voice preferences, and whether the brand has licensed assets to supply.
The deadline and the approvals
When the files are needed and where they should land. Who approves the script and the look, and who approves the finished cut. How many people that is; approval chains decide timelines as much as production does.
What comes back
A written scope naming the formats, the variations, the ratios, the delivery date and a fixed price, before anything is produced. If a format is wrong for the product, the studio should say so in the scope rather than after the invoice.
Key takeaways
- •Approved product references decide how many review rounds a batch needs
- •Name the placements; the scope lists deliverables per placement
- •State which claims can be substantiated before production, not after
- •Say whether synthetic performers are acceptable and who must approve
FAQ
Do I need a finished script to brief an AI advertising agency?+
No. The studio writes the script from the brief and the brand approves it before production. What the brief needs is the product, the audience, the offer, the placements and the claims the brand can support.
How long is the discovery call?+
Fifteen minutes. A brief that covers this checklist is enough for the studio to come back with a written scope, a delivery date and a fixed price.
This is how the studio does it in practice: AI advertising agency.
Put this to work on your own product.
Book a 15-minute discovery call and leave with a written scope, delivery date and price. No pitch deck required.