The Debrief: a look inside our Brief Writing course

What’s it like to do the course?

It’s one of the most common questions we get.
So let’s answer it!
In this series, we’ll give you a look inside a recent Academy course, a debrief of what happened, what marketers took away, and what got us all talking. 

Who joined the Brief Writing May '26 course?

This round, we welcomed brief-writers, approvers and contributors from many different categories, including automotive, FMCG,  banking and higher education industries, each representing a range of countries and marketing disciplines. A few had written briefs for many years without ever receiving any formal training. Some were leading global teams. Others were only just a couple of years into their careers. Despite their differences, many faced the same challenges, as we learned throughout the course.

What learning goals did marketers set in this course?

In this cohort, three big themes emerged:

#1. Write clearer briefs
This round, we met many marketers who wanted to communicate more clearly, kill ambiguity, and provide just the right kind (and volume) of information to their agencies. 

#2. Better alignment with agencies
This group of marketers wanted to do more than just ‘write a great brief document’. They wanted to reduce confusion, minimise rework and improve collaboration with agencies and other stakeholders. All to achieve better outcomes. 

#3. Know what makes a great brief
Marketers also craved a better understanding and confidence around what to include, what to leave out, and practical frameworks to help them make better strategic choices in briefs.

Live Q&As revealed another craving…

The conversations in our live sessions often become one of the highlights of the training. And with such a broad mix of marketers on board, it’s a unique opportunity to learn from peers. This cohort, Matt and Pieter-Paul kicked off the session by unpacking the case study behind Tourism Tasmania’s ‘Come Down for Air’ campaign, a 2023 multiple Effie winner (gold & silver) for a reason. Analysing the brief driving the work through the lens of the BetterBriefs Brief Puzzle, marketers worked together to apply the course frameworks in real-time. 

Then it was time for questions, and the most common questions weren’t actually about how to write clearer objectives or crisply define a target audience (the usual top contenders). They were around managing stakeholders: 

- "How can I stop people who don’t understand what a good brief is from overloading the brief or changing it once it’s signed off?"
- “How can I encourage our team to step back and focus on being marketers, not designers?”
- “How can you help steer stakeholders away from trying to target everyone in their briefs?”

Some quite tricky questions here. But from the feedback we receive from leaders after the training, it often serves as a starting point for a long-overdue conversation. 

By the end...

With quizzes, discussion board exercises, and a live Q&A down, this group was more than ready to nail the final exam. 
After just five hours spent in the course….
- Everyone had a set of practical tools they could use immediately.
- Teams walked away with a shared language around brief writing to embed more broadly in their organisation.
- And perhaps most importantly, everyone had developed an even more strategic way of thinking. 

We’re excited to see this group of marketers (now officially ‘Better Briefers’) unleash their skills in the world and champion more effective ideas.

Frequently asked questions  about the Brief Writing course


Q: What does the learning experience look like?

A: The Brief Writing course is a three-week, self-paced online brief writing course for marketers. Participants complete expert-led lessons, practical exercises, real campaign case studies, downloadable tools and a live Q&A with the BetterBriefs founders. Throughout the programme, marketers learn how to write clearer, more strategic marketing briefs and apply proven briefing principles to real projects in their own organisation.

Q: How long does the course take to complete?

A: The Brief Writing course takes around 5–6 hours to complete over a three-week period. The online course is self-paced, allowing marketers to fit the training around their day-to-day work while putting new briefing techniques into practice between modules. Participants can complete the learning from anywhere at any time, making it suitable for both individuals and teams.

 Q: Who is the course designed for?

A: We designed the Brief Writing course for all marketers who are responsible for writing, reviewing, or approving marketing briefs. This includes brand directors, brand managers, marketing directors, marketing managers, campaign managers and anyone responsible for briefing agencies or internal creative teams. The course is suitable for both experienced marketers looking to refine their briefing skills and those receiving formal brief writing training for the first time.

About us:

Pieter-Paul von Weiler is the co-founder of BetterBriefs, an advisory and training business that helps marketers write better briefs and deliver more impactful ideas.  A highly awarded former agency strategist, having worked at Publicis Amsterdam, Publicis London, Saatchi & Saatchi and AJF Partnership. Pieter-Paul has served as an Effie judge across Australia and APAC for over a decade.

Together with co-founder Matt Davies, he wrote the BetterBriefs Project and The Best Way for a Client to Brief an Agency, a practical guide for marketers to improve the quality of briefs, co-authored by Mark Ritson and published in partnership with the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). Matt (together with Pieter-Paul) also led the BetterIdeas Project, a global study exposing the poor state of the creative evaluation process. The study aims to improve the creative decision-making and evaluation practices and was launched in partnership with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and the IPA.