Experiential marketing brief template. How to set up agencies for success.

Quick answer: A strong experiential brief is clear, short, and specific. It explains the business goal, the audience, the product story, the role of retail, the timing, and the budget range. It leaves room for creative thinking but removes confusion about what success should look like. The aim is not a perfect novel, it is a working map that an agency can use on day one.

Why experiential briefs often miss the mark

Most experiential and field marketers have a story about a confusing brief. A deck full of mood images but no dates. A long brand book but no store list. A big launch statement but no sense of what the buyer actually wants to see. When that happens, agencies guess. Sometimes they guess well, sometimes they burn weeks on ideas that never had a chance.

The good news is that you do not need a complex template to avoid this. You only need to give the right information in simple language. The rest can stay flexible. If you have ever read What is engagement marketing. Clear examples and formats that work, you already know the basic shapes of live programs. Now the brief needs to point your agency at the one that fits your brand and your business.

What an experiential brief must always include

You can change headings and styles as much as you like, yet a few items should always be there. Think of them as the core questions you answer for any partner.

• What is the business goal.
• Who is the audience.
• Where does retail sit in the picture.
• What are the timing limits.
• What budget range are we talking about.
• What history and proof can we share.
• How will we measure success.

Once these are covered, it becomes much easier to talk about fun parts such as themes, props, or routes. Those are important, yet they should not come first.

A simple experiential brief template

You can copy this structure into a document and reuse it for demos, roadshows, mobile tours, and pop ups. It works for work with Makai or any other partner.

1. Background and business goal

In two or three short paragraphs, explain why you are doing this at all. Include:

• Brand, product, and key markets.
• Recent launches or changes.
• The one line goal for this work.

Examples:

• Lift unit sales for a new sparkling line in key California chains before the next reset.
• Prove trial and repeat potential for a frozen product in club so you can expand distribution.
• Support a national awareness push with real world experiences in ten anchor cities.

If you want more help with the goal line, the post CPG sampling strategy. How to choose between retail demos, roadshows, and tours shows how goals line up with formats.

2. Audience and shopper insight

This section explains who you want to meet in real life. Keep it human, not only a chart.

• Basic demographics such as age ranges, family shape, and income band if it matters.
• Shops where they already go. Club, natural, mass, convenience, or a mix.
• Habits that matter. For example, weekday lunch, game day, school snacks, or late night treats.
• One or two simple sentences that describe their mindset.

You do not need giant personas. A short note such as “busy parents near large club stores who want fast meals that still feel like cooking” gives plenty of direction.

3. Product story and key proof points

Here you tell the agency what the product stands for and what must be said on site. Focus on:

• What makes the product different from others at shelf.
• Any strong claims that legal has already cleared.
• Any claims that should not appear in live scripts.
• Simple talk tracks a brand ambassador can say in under ten seconds.

Many teams like to include one page that shows packaging, flavors, and nutrition callouts. That page is more useful than a full brand book for day to day planning.

4. Retail and sales context

This is where field and experiential work come together. Your partner needs to see both your current retail picture and your ambition.

• Which chains and regions are in play for this program.
• Which retailers are most strategic this quarter.
• How strong current distribution and display support are.
• Any key buyer meetings or reset dates tied to this work.

If live work needs to support specific stores, list them or attach a simple file. Programs like retail demonstrations and Costco roadshows live and die on these details, so sharing them early saves time later.

5. Timing and geography

Next comes the calendar and the map. Agencies do not need every date locked on day one, yet they do need the window and the rough shape of the footprint.

• Desired program start and end.
• Seasonal ties such as summer, back to school, or holiday.
• Must hit cities or regions and any places that do not make sense.
• Any blackout dates from supply, brand, or retailers.

If you already know you want either a local focus or broader coverage, say that. For example, “focus first on Southern California and Pacific Northwest” or “national footprint with emphasis on club heavy states.” This links directly to coverage views such as the Where we work page.

6. Budget shape

Many teams skip budget in early briefs. That almost always leads to concepts that do not match reality. You do not have to share an exact number, but you should share a range and a sense of scale.

• Is this a test, a strong push, or a hero program.
• Is the budget more like a local demo plan or closer to a full mobile tour.
• Are there separate buckets for build, media, and operations.

Simple language works well here. “We are thinking in the range of a twenty to thirty store demo plan” or “We have the room for a multi city tour, not a national yearlong program.” Posts such as Beverage sampling strategy. Turn first taste into repeat buys can help you picture cost lines before you brief.

7. History, learning, and proof

Every new program should stand on the shoulders of older ones. Agencies can work faster when they see what you have tried before.

• Short notes on past demos, roadshows, or tours.
• What worked well in those efforts.
• What you never want to repeat.
• Any numbers on trial rates, lift, or reach.

You do not need a full recap deck for each program. A simple list that points to a few case studies or internal reports is enough. If you have already worked with Makai on programs such as Popchips, Pulmuone, or Little Debbie Share a Smile Tour, mention which parts of those programs you liked most.

8. Measurement and reporting

This part tells your partner how results will be judged. Without it, everyone fills in their own idea of success. A short list works better than a long wish.

• Primary metric such as trial, lift, reach, leads, or content assets.
• Secondary metrics that still matter yet do not drive the whole program.
• Any specific buyers or leaders who need a clean story.
• How you want to receive reports and how often.

Many brands are moving toward simple dashboards rather than long slide decks. If that is your plan, say so. For a deeper view of this topic, see Experiential marketing reporting. How to measure ROI with clean data.

9. Creative guardrails and assets

Here is the section where you finally talk about look and feel. Keep it focused on guardrails that protect the brand rather than long lecture notes.

• Approved logos, color ranges, and fonts.
• Do and do not examples such as no dark humor or no glass outdoors.
• Any fixed copy that must appear on signs or vehicles.
• Links to brand guidelines and photo libraries.

You can add a light mood section if you like. Instead of a big collage, two or three images with clear captions usually help more. For example, “We like the relaxed feeling of this beach shot” or “We want the clean lines in this retail display.”

10. Practical limits and must haves

This final section handles all the small yet important facts that can make or break a concept.

• Any strict safety rules from legal or quality.
• Product handling rules such as keep frozen or keep chilled.
• Any hard limits on hours, noise, or footprint in certain venues.
• Internal review steps and timing.

If you already know you want formats such as mobile sampling tours, retail demonstrations, or engagement marketing, you can state that in this section so the agency does not spend time on options that will never pass.

How long should an experiential brief be

A useful brief is long enough to answer core questions and short enough that people actually read it. As a rough guide:

• One page for background, goal, and audience.
• One page for retail context, timing, and budget shape.
• One page for history, measurement, and guardrails.

You can attach more detailed store lists, route ideas, or decks as needed, yet the main brief should fit in a small packet. If your brief feels heavy, check whether you are repeating content from other documents that the agency can read later.

Common mistakes in experiential briefs

After seeing many briefs from CPG, beverage, and health brands, a few patterns show up again and again.

• Big brand language with no clear business ask.
• Complex decks that hide the budget and timing.
• Conflicting goals such as “impress buyers” and “do this very cheap.”
• No mention of retail or store lists when in store lift is the real goal.
• Vague lines about measurement with no actual plan for reports.

Most of these problems come from teams rushing to get the brief out or copying old templates without updating them. Building your own simple version and reusing it will already put you ahead of many peers.

Turning the brief into a working relationship

A good brief is the start of a conversation, not the final word. Once you send it, make space for the agency to ask questions and suggest options you did not think about.

• Hold a short call to walk through the brief together.
• Invite clarifying questions about goal and budget, not only creative.
• Ask the agency to restate the goal in their own words before they pitch.
• Align on what success looks like in a single slide before full concepts arrive.

This extra step can save weeks. It also gives you a chance to sense whether a partner really understands your business or is just excited about props and photos.

Next steps for your next brief

If your team is planning demos, club roadshows, mobile tours, or pop ups for the next year, this is a good moment to refresh how you brief partners. Start by copying the template in this article into your own document. Then fill it once for your next program using real numbers and plain language.

When you are ready to turn that brief into a real plan with routes, staffing, and reporting, you can learn more on the service pages for engagement marketing, retail demonstrations, and mobile sampling tours. To see where Makai already works, visit Where we work. When you want to talk dates and cities, request a proposal or contact us. A clear brief is the first step to a calm, effective experiential program.