# Ad Creative Brief > Ad Creative Brief - Skill: `matteotitta/ad-creative-brief` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add matteotitta/ad-creative-brief` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/matteotitta/ad-creative-brief/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: matteotitta (https://skillmd.com/u/matteotitta) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/matteotitta/ad-creative-brief --- # Ad Creative Brief Generate creative briefs for ad designers and video teams. Extracts messaging angles from copy skill outputs, adds visual direction, format specs per platform, and A/B test variants. Outputs a structured brief ready for design production. --- ## Doctrine inherited (Step 7 — 0626 rollout, locked 2026-06-04) Output complies with: - [`output-tenets.md`](../../../../../rules/output-tenets.md), [`output-simplicity.md`](../../../../../rules/output-simplicity.md), [`design-production.md`](../../../../../rules/design-production.md) - Step 6 calibration: see [[feedback_execution_doctrine_refinements_step6]] **Refinements applied to this skill:** | Code | Refinement | How it lands in ad-creative-brief | |---|---|---| | **R1** | Source placement | Brief is **client-team review surface** (designer hand-off). Cleaned `[VERIFIED:...]` tags in a collapsed appendix. No tags on the per-platform spec sheets. | | **R2** | Single-doc-with-toggles | Multi-platform brief ships as one doc with toggle per platform (LinkedIn 1.91:1, LinkedIn 1:1, Meta 1:1, Meta 4:5, Meta 9:16) — not 5 sub-docs. | | **R3** | Product-update tone | Ad copy directions frame as "[Product] does X" not "thrilled to introduce." | | **R5** | Blog as voice anchor | When the campaign has an anchor blog, the brief specifies the blog's opening line as the hero headline across all formats. | | **R6** | CTA hierarchy | Market-facing ads → sign-up primary, blog as fallback. Retargeting / warm-base → product-action. | | **R9** | Action-oriented section names | "Strategy / Hero overlay / Visual direction" — action/noun-led. | --- ## Triggers Run this skill when: - Ad copy is written (via `/google-ads-copy` or `/linkedin-ads-copy`) and creative production needs to start - A designer or video producer is being briefed for new campaign creative - Existing creative is fatigued and needs refresh angles before re-shoot - A new platform/format is being added to an existing campaign Do NOT run when: - Copy isn't written — run `/google-ads-copy` or `/linkedin-ads-copy` first - The ask is a single image (not a brief) — use a designer directly - DESIGN.md doesn't exist — pause and run `/brand-kit` --- ## The Iron Law — voice-locked **VISUAL DIRECTION IS NOT A MOCKUP.** The creative brief bridges copy and design. It tells the designer *what the ad should communicate* and *what it should feel like* — not pixel-perfect layouts. Overly prescriptive briefs kill creative quality. Under-specified briefs waste revision cycles. **No exceptions:** - "Make it blue with the logo top-left" → That's art direction, not a brief. Describe the *feeling* and *message*, let the designer compose. - "Just use the copy as-is on a background" → Every format needs a visual concept. Text-on-gradient is not a concept. - "We need 20 variants" → Test fewer, learn faster. 2-3 variants per test variable. Start with concept/angle, not color swaps. - "Skip the specs, the designer knows" → Platform specs change constantly. Always include dimensions + file size limits. Google will reject non-compliant assets. --- ## DESIGN.md token contract — voice-locked Every brief consumes the client's DESIGN.md at `projects/consulting/{client}/brand/{MMYY}-brand-kit.md` and cites tokens explicitly. Same brand contract as the rest of the marketing surface. | Required in every brief | Forbidden | |-------------------------|-----------| | DESIGN.md path referenced at top | Color descriptions without token references | | Token-cited colors (`colors.primary` etc.) | Type styles outside `typography.*` tokens | | Token-cited type (`typography.headline-lg` etc.) | Off-brand corner radii, custom font sizes | | Component specs cited (`components.button-primary`) | Ad treatments that compete visually with brand surfaces | | Do's/Don'ts as guardrails (one primary per screen, two weights max) | Inventing colors or fonts when DESIGN.md doesn't have them | **Authority:** Full integration contract in `.claude/rules/design-production.md` (auto-loaded). When in doubt, that file wins. **If no DESIGN.md exists:** pause and recommend running `/brand-kit` first. Do not invent tokens. --- ## A/B test hierarchy — voice-locked Test in order. Each level has diminishing returns compared to the one above: | Priority | Variable | What to test | |----------|----------|-------------| | 1 (mandatory first) | Concept/angle | Pain point vs outcome vs social proof | | 2 | Layout/composition | Image left vs right, text overlay vs clean | | 3 | CTA | Direct vs soft vs proof-led | | 4 (lowest) | Color/style | Photo vs illustration | Never test color before concept. Concept gets the largest delta in performance; color almost never moves the needle when the angle is wrong. **Which concept to test first is the angle matrix's job** ([the premium reference](the premium reference)) — it scores the candidate angles by evidence so the mandatory first test starts from the highest-opportunity cell, not a guess. --- ## Inputs | Input | Description | Required | |-------|-------------|----------| | **google-ads-copy or linkedin-ads-copy** | Source copy with headlines, descriptions, formats | Required (at least one) | | **product-messaging** | Value props, differentiators | Required | | **paid-campaign-strategy** | Campaign architecture | Required | | **DESIGN.md (brand-kit)** | Tokens for color, type, components | Required | | **tov-guidelines** | Voice patterns for hero text overlays | Recommended | | **linkedin-ad-teardown** | Competitor gaps → the matrix's competition-density axis | Recommended | --- ## Process **Six-phase flow:** Platform/format identification → **the angle matrix** (score angle × persona × awareness on evidence, brief the top band) → Visual direction per angle → Format specs per platform → A/B test plan → Structured brief output. Full flowchart, image specs per platform (Google Display + LinkedIn), test rules, and brief quality standards in the premium reference; the scored-matrix method in [the premium reference](the premium reference). --- ## Anti-Hallucination Guardrails 1. **Never invent customer stats.** "2,000 advisers trust us" needs a verified source. Otherwise mark `[NOT AVAILABLE]` and remove. 2. **Never invent token values.** If DESIGN.md doesn't define a needed color, pause — don't guess. 3. **Never approximate platform specs.** Use the table in `process.md` or pull current values from platform docs. 4. **Never collapse angles.** If you can only generate 2 distinct angles, say so — don't pad with paraphrases. 5. **Never strip the caption requirement from video briefs.** 85% of LinkedIn video is watched muted; captions are mandatory. --- ## Quality Self-evaluation checklist (token coverage, distinct angles, spec accuracy, test ordering), worked example (suitability-report time-savings), anti-examples (orphan hex, pixel art direction, paraphrase angles), failure-mode triage in the premium reference. --- ## Integration with Other Skills ### Upstream (consumes) | Skill | What it provides | Required? | |-------|-----------------|-----------| | `google-ads-copy` or `linkedin-ads-copy` | Source copy | Required (at least one) | | `product-messaging` | Value props, proof points | Required | | `paid-campaign-strategy` | Campaign architecture | Required | | `brand-kit` | DESIGN.md tokens | Required | | `tov-guidelines` | Voice patterns for overlays | Recommended | ### Downstream Terminal deliverable — output goes directly to a designer or video producer. No Genesys-internal downstream skill consumes this output. --- ## Final ship gate Run `/premortem --output` before ship. See [`/premortem` skill](../../../../meta/orchestration/premortem/SKILL.md) for the 5 execution domains (will-it-resonate / will-it-convert / will-it-stay-on-brand / will-stakeholder-push-back / will-it-degrade-over-time) and output template. Trivial-case escape: `## Premortem\nNo failure modes — trivial change` satisfies the contract for genuinely trivial outputs. --- ## Persuasion & stickiness pass Output complies with [persuasion-and-stickiness.md](../../../../../rules/persuasion-and-stickiness.md) — Cialdini's 7 persuasion levers + Heath's SUCCESs. Deploy the 1-2 Cialdini levers that fit the reader's barrier (never all seven; every lever must be TRUE), run the SUCCESs diagnostic (Simple / Unexpected / Concrete / Credible / Emotional / Stories) over the near-final draft, then the rule's pre-ship gate. ---