Promotional and sampling teams in supermarkets, shopping centres, stations, airports, cinemas, bars, offices, campuses, festivals, stadiums, shows and auctions.
How to brief a brand activation team: what to include
The people on the stand only know what the brief tells them. Here is what to put in a brand activation brief, in the order your team will use it, plus how to run the briefing so it sticks.
7 min read7 steps8 checks before you send it
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If the people on the stand can't say in a few words what the day is for, the brief isn't finished.The one thing to remember
Start
Start here
Seven steps to a brief that works.
From what the day is for to how the team looks at close. Follow the line; tap any point to read it.
01Step 1 of 7
The staff brief is not the creative brief
Most activations start with a creative brief: the idea, the look of the space, the audience and the budget.
Two or three pages
A site plan
Answers to common questions
That document is written for the agency and the production team. The people who meet the public need something different: a short, practical brief that tells them what the day is for, what to say, where to stand and what to record.
Without one, staff fill the gaps themselves. Some will hand out as much as possible, some will chat for ten minutes to a single person, and some will avoid the one question nobody briefed them on.
A good staff brief makes everyone do the same work in the same way, at every site and on every day.
Keep it short enough to read on a phone the night before. Two or three pages, plus a site plan and the answers to common questions, is enough.
02Step 2 of 7
The objective and how it is measured
Open with one sentence on what the day is for: trial, sign-ups, test drives, footfall into a store, app downloads, or getting a new name known.
500samples: short chats, the queue moving
50sign-ups: slower, more questions
Then give the measure. A team asked for five hundred samples will keep conversations short and the queue moving; a team asked for fifty qualified sign-ups will slow down and ask questions.
If there are two aims, say which comes first. "Sign-ups first, samples to support them" settles a lot of decisions on the day without anyone needing to ask.
Key pointIf the people on the stand can't say in a few words what the day is for, the brief isn't finished.
03Step 3 of 7
Product facts, claims and the things not to say
Staff don't need the brand book. They need the facts people ask about.
Unsupported claims
Price promises
Competitor comparisons
Stock promises
What the product is, how it differs from what they use now, what it costs in store, where to buy it and the one line you want everyone to remember. Write these as short answers to the questions the public actually ask.
Then list what staff must not say. Common examples are health or performance claims the brand can't support, price promises, comparisons with named competitors and anything about stock or availability that may not be true in every store.
For alcohol, include the responsible promotion rules the team must follow.
Use plain words. If the team has to translate marketing language into normal speech in front of the public, give them the normal speech in the brief.
04Step 4 of 7
Who to approach, and how
Describe the people you want: parents with young children, commuters, students, drivers, small business owners.
Each needs a different opening line and a different pace of conversation.
Add who not to approach where it matters, such as under-18s for alcohol, or people already queueing for something else.
Set the tone in a sentence, whether lively and playful or calm and expert, and give two or three example opening lines. Staff will adapt them, but a starting point removes the hesitation that stops people approaching anyone.
Walk through a typical conversation from hello to the result you want, including how to close it politely and how to deal with a "no thanks".
05Step 5 of 7
The site, the timings and who decides
A simple plan of the space shows where the stand sits, where people queue, where stock is kept and where breaks are taken.
Report times
Shift times
Breaks
Busy periods
Add photos of the site if you have them, and the address, entrance and parking or unloading details for arrival.
Set out report times, shift times, breaks and the busy periods you expect.
Include the venue's rules in writing: where staff can stand, music and noise limits, whether leaflets are allowed, and any conditions attached to the site's permission.
Name one contact for the day with a phone number, and say who on site can make decisions: moving the stand, extending a shift, stopping the activity in bad weather. Problems are solved faster when nobody has to guess who to call.
06Step 6 of 7
What to record, and how it comes back
Agree the report before the day, not after it.
Counts by hour
Feedback themes
Set-up photos
Questions asked
How the day went
Say exactly what you want: counts by hour, feedback themes, photos of the set-up at set times, questions people asked and a short note on how the day went.
If the activation collects personal details, the brief should explain the form, the reason people are signing up and the consent wording, which must meet UK data protection rules. Staff should never fill in details on someone's behalf or promise how the data will be used beyond what the form says.
Ask for counts as the day goes, not a guess at the end. An hourly tally also tells you which hours to staff more heavily next time.
07Step 7 of 7
The briefing itself, and a template
The written brief is half the work.
5minute refresh each morning on longer activations
A short briefing before the first shift, in person or on a call, lets the team hear the product described by someone who knows it, try the opening lines out loud and ask the questions the paper didn't answer.
On multi-day activations, a five-minute refresh each morning covers what changed and what worked yesterday.
Finish with the look: what the team wears, who supplies it and when it arrives, plus how the stand should look at opening and at close.
Checklist
Before you send the brief.
0/8
Ready to send.
The template
What goes in the brief.
Every section of the staff brief, with what to include. Tap a row to read its step.
Short enough to read on a phone in ten minutes: two or three pages, plus a site plan and a list of common questions with answers. Put the brand background in an appendix for anyone who wants it.
When should staff receive the brief?
A few days before the first shift, so they can read it properly, followed by a short briefing call or a briefing on site before the doors open.
Who writes the staff brief?
The brand or its agency writes the content, and the staffing provider turns it into the version each person receives, adding report times, contacts and logistics.
Do staff need product training as well as a brief?
For simple products, a good brief and a briefing call are enough. Products that need demonstrating or explaining in detail benefit from a short training session before the activation.
What if the plan changes on the day?
Name one person who can approve changes, and tell the team who that is in the brief. Small changes, such as moving the stand or adjusting breaks, are then quick to agree.
Can one brief cover several sites?
Yes. Keep the core brief the same everywhere and add a short sheet for each site with its address, plan, timings, contact and any local rules.
EXECUTIONAL supplies and manages the people behind brand activation campaigns across the UK. We take your brief, turn it into a briefing for each person, and run a briefing call before the first shift.
