Give the agency a usable brief before it makes an ad
A useful ad brief is not a list of slogans. It gives the person making the ad enough verified detail to speak to one buyer, describe one real offer, use visuals you have permission to use, and send interested people to a next step your team can actually handle.
The owner supplies the facts and sets the boundaries. The agency can help shape the message, but it should not guess the service area, invent customer language, imply an unverified result, or decide what the business can afford to spend. Use the worksheet below to record what is known, what needs checking and who approves each decision.
Keep the first brief to one audience and one customer problem. If you have two different buyer problems or offers, write two briefs rather than blending them into a vague ad.
Fill in these decisions
Answer the questions in plain language. If an answer is unknown, mark it unknown and assign someone to confirm it before production or launch.
| Brief field | What to provide | What the agency must not assume |
|---|---|---|
| Service and service area | The exact service, locations served and any travel limits | That every location or job type is covered |
| One buyer and problem | The person who decides and the specific situation they want help with | A broad demographic or pain point unsupported by your enquiry history |
| Customer wording | Exact words, where and when they were recorded, who captured them, and permission to use them | A testimonial, quotation or customer opinion that nobody supplied or approved |
| Offer and eligibility | What is included, who can request it, conditions, exclusions and what happens next | A discount, warranty, financing option, availability or result not approved by the business |
| Visuals and rights | Real photos or footage, who owns them, permission for paid advertising, and any limits on people, property or logos | That a generated image depicts a real customer, installation, team or completed job |
| Proof and claims | Each proposed claim, its evidence, date, owner and permission status | Savings, speed, performance, customer results or comparative claims without evidence |
| Next step and response owner | The actual form, call, message or assessment offered; named role that responds; expected coverage and handoff | That a calendar is available or an enquiry will receive an immediate human response |
| Budget and approval | Currency, approved spend limit and period, who controls changes, who reviews creative, and who gives final launch approval | A benchmark budget, automatic approval, or authority to publish or spend |
| Success definition | How the business labels a suitable enquiry, confirmed booking, attended call and paying customer; who records each | That low cost per lead alone means the campaign is working |
Separate a new concept from a cosmetic change
A new concept gives the buyer a different reason to pay attention: it may focus on a different problem, decision or useful next step. A cosmetic variant keeps the same buyer idea and changes only surface details such as a crop, color, subtitle or opening wording. Ask the agency to name the idea each asset is meant to test, so a folder of near-identical files is not mistaken for several different messages.
For example, one concept might help a shop owner prepare for a site assessment; another might explain why an assessment comes before a proposal. Changing the background on either image would not, by itself, create a new concept. This is a planning distinction, not a promise about how an ad platform will distribute or rank assets.
- Concept A — assessment preparation: “Planning a solar site assessment for your shop in Kisumu? Note the location and the power needs you want to discuss.”
- Concept B — assessment before proposal: “Need a solar proposal for your Kisumu shop? Start by arranging a site assessment.”
- Cosmetic variant of A: “Before a solar site assessment for your Kisumu shop, write down the power needs you want to discuss.” This changes wording, not the underlying preparation idea.
Use a Kenyan solar example without inventing proof
Suppose, for illustration, a Kenyan installer confirms that it offers solar site assessments for small shops in Kisumu before preparing a proposal. That is the only assumed service information in this example. It does not establish system size, price, savings, suitability, installation timing or customer results.
The owner should replace the example with the actual service area and eligibility rules. If a real customer’s words are useful, record the exact wording and its context, then obtain permission before using it as a quote or review. If there is no approved wording, leave that field blank rather than writing a testimonial for the customer.
Use real project images only when the business has the right to use them in paid ads and any people or property shown have been cleared for that use. An AI-generated solar installation can be labeled as an illustration, but must not be presented as the installer’s actual work or a customer project. Do not use an image to imply a result the business has not documented.
- Known in this invented example: service is a site assessment; audience is a small-shop owner in Kisumu; a proposal follows the assessment.
- Not supplied: customer quotation, price, equipment specification, savings, completed project photo, installation outcome or testimonial permission.
- Before launch: replace assumed details with the installer’s approved service-area and offer facts; attach only cleared visuals and evidence.
| Field | Illustrative entry |
|---|---|
| Service / buyer | Solar site assessment for a small-shop owner in Kisumu |
| Offer / sequence | Arrange an assessment before preparing a proposal; price and eligibility not supplied |
| Useful information to request | Shop location and the power needs the owner wants to discuss |
| Usable proof / photos | None supplied; no customer result or installation image approved |
| Response and spending owners | Not assigned in this example: name them and approve the actual next step before launch |
| Review measure | Record suitable enquiries and completed assessments; agree definitions and a review date |
Approve the journey and the measure before spend
Write what happens after a person responds: which form or channel they use, who owns the reply, how a suitable enquiry is recognized, when a person takes over and what the real next step is. If nobody owns the response during a stated period, do not imply that the business can handle leads then.
Set the spending boundary in the currency and period the business uses. Name who may set or change the amount, who checks the creative, and who gives final approval before launch. If a material claim, image permission, eligibility rule or handoff is unresolved, mark it as a stop item rather than treating silence as approval.
Agree what success means beyond a cheap lead. Depending on the offer, track suitable enquiries, confirmed bookings, attended calls and paid customers using the same definitions and a named record owner. Keep cost per lead as an early activity measure; do not call it profit or a customer result. These measures help the business review its own process; they do not guarantee an outcome.
- Who can approve the final wording and visuals?
- Who controls the approved spend limit and any change to it?
- What makes an enquiry suitable for the service?
- Who responds, and what happens when that person is unavailable?
- Which later outcome will be recorded, and who will keep the record?
Copy the brief and complete it with your agency
Download or copy the plain-text worksheet and mark every field as confirmed, needs checking or not applicable. Ask the agency to return proposed concepts with the source of each claim, the visual rights status, the actual call to action and the measure each concept is intended to inform. Review the final ads against the brief before authorizing any launch.
If you also need help connecting the ads to enquiries, qualification, follow-up and attended calls, review Rainlight’s implementation services. Book a free pipeline review to discuss the gaps in your current process.