A complete event brief has the answers to the questions your agency needs to put together a fitting proposal. These are the essential parts:

1. The goal of the event: what does the event have to deliver? Connect, inform, celebrate, motivate, position? The goal decides everything: the format, the tone, the programme and the venue. Phrase it as concretely as possible.

2. The audience: who is coming? How many people? Which seniority levels? What is the average age? Do they know each other well, or is it a mixed group?

3. The core message: what should guests take away? What feeling do you want to leave behind? This helps your agency develop a concept that tells your story.

4. Budget: be honest about the budget. An agency can only advise well when it knows what the financial limits are.

5. Date and venue: is the date set? Is the venue already known, or should the agency help think it through?

6. Constraints and no-gos: are there things that absolutely cannot happen? Dietary requirements, physical limitations, sensitivities?

We regularly see briefs come through that are well intentioned but do not help the agency. These are the five most common mistakes:

Mistake 1: Not formulating a goal: 'We want a fun party' is not a goal. It is a wish. A goal is: 'We want to thank our staff for a tough year and strengthen the team bond.'

Mistake 2: Not sharing the budget: many clients hold the budget back. The opposite works: share the budget, because a good agency works with it honestly.

Mistake 3: Prescribing too much: 'We want a DJ, a walking dinner, confetti and a band.' That is not a brief, that is a shopping list. Describe the desired result, not the route to get there.

Mistake 4: Staying too vague: 'We want something original.' What is original for you? Give examples of what appeals to you.

Mistake 5: Not describing the audience: an event for the leadership team is fundamentally different from an event for the whole company. Describe who is coming, what they expect and what drives them.

An event agency is only as good as the brief it gets. An agency works with the information it receives. The more complete and sharper that information, the better the result.

With a good brief your agency can present a fitting concept faster, budget realistically, suggest the right venue, choose entertainment that fits, and work efficiently internally: fewer alignment rounds, fewer misunderstandings and a quicker route to delivery.

At Live Impact we feel the difference straight away. Clients who come in with a sharp brief get a proposal that hits the mark. Clients who come in with a vague request need more rounds. Both paths lead to a good event, but the first route is shorter, cheaper and more fun for everyone.

That is why we have developed an online briefing document that walks you through the right questions step by step. → Fill in the online briefing document

A brief is more than a document. It is the start of a collaboration. And the best briefs are followed by a good conversation.

Step 1: Align internally: before you bring in an agency, align internally. Who are the stakeholders? What are the management's expectations? Is there consensus on the goal and the budget?

Step 2: Write the brief: use a structured format. Keep it concise but complete: two sides of A4 is often enough.

Step 3: The briefing conversation: schedule a conversation with your agency after they have read the brief. This is the moment when the agency probes deeper, gets context and picks up the nuances that are not on the page.

Step 4: Give feedback on the proposal: after the proposal the next phase starts: sharpening. Give targeted feedback: do not write 'we do not quite think this is what we are looking for', but something like 'the tone is too formal, we are looking for more energy and surprise'.

At Live Impact every project starts with a strategic briefing conversation. That upfront investment pays off many times over.

A good brief is the best gift you can give your event agency. It saves time, prevents misunderstandings and leads to an event that is exactly what you had in mind, or better.

→ Fill in the online briefing document

→ Or book an intro chat directly