Maybe this episode will compel Mark Pollard to find room in his crazy travel schedule and join us on The Brief Bros. Henry Gomez and I can only hope. But first, kudos to Mark for this fun, inspiring and must-have PDF called Creative Briefs 101. Available here from Mark's Instagram page. Today, Henry and I share our thoughts on only three of Mark's unique observations to help brief writers become better. Yeah, it's a tease. But it's a worthy tease, incentive to get you off your butts to get your own copy. And maybe we can flatter Mark with this shameless plug that he'll come on the show.

Eight years after the publication of its white paper, Better Creative Briefs, the Association of National Advertisers released new research in June 2025. And that's our topic today on The Brief Bros. Henry Gomez and I do an overview of their findings. And let me be upfront: I was interviewed and credited in the 51-page PDF. A handful of sampe briefs populate the research, including an example of how to fix a weak brief. Plus survey results and essays by industry leaders on the importance of clear, "brief" briefs. Henry and I agree, except when we disagree. And that means there's lots to unpack here so join us. Bottom line: A big kudos to ANA for updating its conversation about briefs.

Originally aired September 21, 2022 This week, Henry Gomez and I are joined on The Brief Bros. by a luminary in the field of marketing: Professor Mark Ritson. Our guest has earned a well-deserved reputation for pulling no punches in his commentary on and assessment of marketers and their brand management. Plus Henry is an alum of the two wildly popular and well-attended mini-MBA programs Ritson teaches online. And Ritson has the distinction of being both an insightful academic (or ex-academic as he prefers it) who has real-world experience as a marketing consultant for global brands. In this episode, Ritson's keen eye and acerbic wit energize our discussion. He tackles the state of marketing training in the US, when brand purpose makes sense and when it doesn’t and the status of brands in general.

True or false: when you write a brief for a B2B client, you can't use a B2C brief template. It's an oldie but goodie, one I've heard for years. Henry Gomez, too. And perfectly timed after our episode last week about Go Daddy at Cannes. Today on The Brief Bros. we dispel the myths around B2B creative briefs. And we do it in ten minutes. Are they alike? Or are they different? Show us the money and explain! Don't miss this one! There's no Grassy Knoll here, folks.

Special thanks to our friend and loyal viewer Brian Sherwin at Della Famina in New York. Because of Brian, The Brief Bros. discusses a popular win at Cannes. Brian shared a break-down of a Cannes Grand Prix winner in B2B for Go Daddy. The information he shared with me comes from Joe Burns, a noted strategist with an impressive resume. And Henry Gomez and I have a fun conversation. We talk about Joe's analysis of the spot and, oddly enough, how the client originally claimed it didn't need strategy.

A shout-out to our friend and past guest on The Brief Bros., Lance Saunders. He shared with us a fascinating article about The Open Brief. It gave Henry Gomez and me a brilliant topic for today's discussion. And it triggered memories of past lives where we both had experience with a version. Is the open brief a valuable concept, a path to creative innovation? Or an invitation to disaster? Henry and I have fun in our exploration. Where do you stand? Open Brief or Closed Brief?

Our old friend, Chaz Wigley, returns to The Brief Bros. He reminds us why his 100 Things Planners Should Know is a font of wisdom. His insights, collected after decades as a strategist, are the building blocks for a stellar career. Chaz shares his favorites among the 100 Things. But this conversation is mostly about the bigger picture. About where strategy is today, the role of brands, the influence of AI and more. And all from the perspective of an industry insider who is former chairman at BBH Asia.

Returning to our Lightning Round debates, The Brief Bros. today ask: Which is more important on the creative brief—brand truth or human truth? Howard sides with Brand Truth. Henry lines up with Human Truth. In this short episode, we offer insights to help brief writers tackle their next brief. What's in your brief?

Four-plus years in, The Brief Bros. finally get around to asking an important question: When did the creative brief make its first appearance? Henry Gomez did quite a bit of research on this. Because it's what good strategists do. So we decided to do a brief history of the document. Who was the first to use the term, creative brief? Stephen King? Stanley Pollitt? Tune in and find out what we found out. History buffs, this one's for you!

Part Two of The Brief Bros.'s Lightning Round, inspired by my buddy Giles Edwards, who puts his podcast guests through a series of five or six quick-answer questions. So we ask, Which is more important on a brief, the insight or the SMP? Henry Gomez tackles Insight, and I give you my best thinking on the Single-Minded Proposition. Now don't be fooled into thinking one part of the brief is actually more important than the other. Both play their roles. Thanks to Giles's inspiration, Henry and I use the Lightning Round scenario to make our case for each question. Why? To help brief writers think clearer and clearly when they write their next brief. It's a fun concept and we'll be back with more Lightning Rounds. So enjoy this one.

Today on The Brief Bros., we borrow from our buddy Giles Edwards who puts his podcast guests through what he calls a Lightning Round. Each guest is hit with a series of fast-delivered questions and expected to deliver fast answers. So Henry Gomez and I took this concept and adapted it to our show. This is the first in an on-going series. Each of us takes one question on a brief and makes the case that it's the most important. We're not truly arguing against the other question, but instead helping brief writers bring clear thinking to their task. Stay tuned for more Lightning Rounds!  

Our friend Marc Lewis joins Henry Gomez and me today for a major announcement: The School of Communication Arts in London now offers a six-month fully online course for portfolio development. And he's got a special offer for viewers of The Brief Bros.: a coupon code worth $500 off tuition—BROS500. The April cohort is underway, and the US is well represented, with almost half the attendees. Plus, SCA online is supported by instructors from some of London's finest creative shops. Watch as Marc lays out the courework and his vision. Are you ready to sign up?

Creative work presented to the client gets killed with alarming frequency. The average number of rounds today is...five...before the client signs off. Scary, yes. But today Henry Gomez and I talk about the immediate problem: how to recover, regroup and come back with your best thinking. The task requires leadership from both the brief writer/stragetist and the creative director. Howard and Henry break down the challenge from both perspectives.

In another "Nuts 'n bolts" discussion, Henry Gomez and I talk about the rare but not unusual occasion when your client says, "Start over." This is different from those presentations when the client rejects the work, but not the brief. Something more serious happens and you're instructed to begin again. Henry and I will tackle the former challenge in an upcoming episode. Today we dissect the process brief writers sometimes face when the brief may need adjusting.  And then the creative team needs to be read in a second time. How should strategists handle this scenario? Henry offers a few valuable guideposts.

Our friends at BetterBriefs, Pieter-Paul von Weiler and Matt Davies have delivered more scathing survey results. This time on the subject of evaluating creative ideas presented by agencies to clients. Why are ideas so difficult to judge? Why have rounds of creative presentation grown from an average of three to five before clients sign off? Henry Gomez and I share one juicy survey result from the lot and break it down for you. it's a sad situation, and it's both not surprising and shocking. We discuss.

Kit Altin is chief strategy officer at The Gate London. And she made a splash last year at Austin's SXSW with queues round the block waiting for her workshop. She was so popular, she was invited back last month. And she's now a fixture at the annual festival that celebrates tech, film and music. Kit joins Henry Gomez and me to talk about her journey from journalist to copywriter to strategist and renowned creative educator.

You're given only eight hours to write a creative brief. What now? According to our guest, Dan Carlton, it's not a common event, but it's not rare either. Dan is the CEO and founding partner of The Paragraph Project, a company that develops "human-centered strategies" for marketers and agencies alike. And he's created an online training for strategists in a pinch for a quick-turn brief. It's an hour-by-hour structured training to move from blank page to a finished brief. He's even offering Brief Bros. viewers a 50% coupon to try his "8 Hour Creative Brief." Use this link and the code BRIEFBROS: planneru.gumroad.com/l/eighthourcreativebrief

Meet Kevin Le, content creator and podcast producer. A chance encounter on a business flight led to a three-hour non-stop conversation. And in invitation to join me on The Brief Bros. Kevin's enthusiasm for podcasting is infectious. And his deep experience opened my eyes. And since so many of Henry Gomez's and my colleagues are dabbling in podcasting, this was an ideal time to delve into the topic. As you'll discover, Kevin will open your eyes too. Which online tools work best for podcasters? How do you record, edit, and reformat your podcasts? Kevin answers these questions and offers so much more.

Henry Gomez and I return to discuss an important "nuts 'n bolts" topic: why is there tension between strategtists and creatives? Alex Morris joined us a few months ago to share results from his own informal survey on this topic. But Henry and I decided it merited further exploration. When the relationship works, the results are magic. When it doesn't, the work suffers. Henry and I share our thoughts on how to foster this important partnership. Creatives and strategists, pull up a chair.

Henry Gomez and I welcome Fab Nolan and Adam Green from 99Ravens.ai this week. 99Ravens is a new company in Toronto. And it makes a big promise: to improve the quality of client briefs to their ad agency clients. How? By using its AI-trained tool. Fab and Adam explain how it works and why they deliver on their promise. And they provided us with a demonstration video. It's a fascinating and provocative topic certain to generate discussion. And today, we get it started.