Use when an agency or freelancer takes on a NEW client and needs everything up front — an 11-section intake covering business overview, audience, current marketing, goals, budget, timeline, brand assets, approval process, and success criteria, written for the client to fill in and return. Trigger on 'client intake', 'agency brief', 'onboard a new client', 'discovery call template', 'what should I ask a new client', 'kickoff questionnaire'. Also use when the user just signed someone and does not know where to begin. Not for — the internal context file the skills read, see `product-marketing-context-global`; the plan built from the answers, see `00-marketing-plan-global`; briefing an outside vendor, see `67-agency-vendor-brief-global`.
Use when an agency or freelancer takes on a NEW client and needs everything up front — an 11-section intake covering business overview, audience, current marketing, goals, budget, timeline, brand assets, approval process, and success criteria, written for the client to fill in and return. Trigger on 'client intake', 'agency brief', 'onboard a new client', 'discovery call template', 'what should I ask a new client', 'kickoff questionnaire'. Also use when the user just signed someone and does not know where to begin. Not for — the internal context file the skills read, see `product-marketing-context-global`; the plan built from the answers, see `00-marketing-plan-global`; briefing an outside vendor, see `67-agency-vendor-brief-global`.
A .md file containing 11-section client intake brief that the client fills in and returns to the agency. The completed brief is the input gate for downstream skills (00, 02, 08, 09, 10).
Role of this skill: This is the input gate for every marketing engagement.
Other "brief" skills are produced by the agency for internal teams or vendors:
02-campaign-brief-global — agency drafts for execution team
06-ugc-egc-brief-global — agency drafts for creators
12-landing-page-brief-global — agency drafts for designers/devs
This skill is different — it is the document the client fills in for the agency so the agency has structured input to plan from.
Note on industry variants: v2.5 ships a single generic English template. Industry-specific variants (SaaS, DTC, healthcare, real estate, etc.) may be added in v2.6+ based on demand. The generic template is designed to work across categories — agencies should add 1–2 industry-specific questions in Section B and Section I as needed.
For Newbies
A bad intake produces a bad plan. Most agency-client relationships fail in the first 30 days because the agency built a strategy on assumptions instead of facts.
This brief is your insurance policy. It forces the client to write down what they often only carry in their head — their actual customer, their real budget, what success means to them, what they've already tried, what's off-limits.
Two failure modes to avoid:
Brief is too short — agency starts work with 5 lines of context, makes wrong assumptions, three rounds of revisions follow.
Brief is too long — client abandons it halfway, fills the rest with "TBD," agency starts work blind anyway.
The 11-section template below is the minimum viable intake — designed to be completable in 30–45 minutes by a non-marketer founder.
When to Use This Skill
Situation
Use this skill?
New client inquiry — collect info before quoting
YES
Starting a new marketing project — need structured input
YES
Re-brief when client expands scope or pivots goals
YES
Onboarding a long-term retainer client
YES
Already have full context from extensive discovery calls — go straight to 00-marketing-plan-global
NO
Step 0 — Read Context
Read .agents/product-marketing-context-global.md if it exists. The agency may already have brand-voice or template preferences captured.
Step 1 — Information Gathering
Ask the agency lead up to 4 questions:
What is the client's industry? (SaaS, DTC ecommerce, healthcare, education, real estate, professional services, etc.) — used to tailor Section B and I
Wrap-up (2 min) — confirm next steps and proposal timeline
Total: ~80 minutes. Schedule 90 to leave buffer.
How the Skill Runs
Step 1 — Detect industry
From the agency lead's input, identify the client's industry. The generic v2.5 template adapts via the agency adding 1–2 industry-specific questions to Sections B and I.
Render all 11 sections (A–K) as a fillable document. Use checkboxes where the question is multi-choice, text fields where it's open. Add example answers below questions where the client may not know how to respond.
Step 4 — Add agency cover note
Cover note at the top:
Agency name and contact for questions
Estimated time to complete (30–45 minutes)
Submission deadline (default: 5–7 business days)
What happens after they submit (review meeting + plan v1 timeline)
Confidentiality statement
Step 5 — Auto-trigger downstream skills
Once the client returns the completed brief, automatically suggest:
20-client-intake-brief-global (input received)
|
|-- [Next 1] 09-customer-insight-global → Deep persona work from Section C
|-- [Next 2] 08-competitor-research-global → Detailed audit of Section D
|-- [Next 3] 10-reverse-kpi-calc-global → Reverse-engineer Section E targets
|-- [Next 4] 00-marketing-plan-global → Synthesize into full plan
|-- [Next 5] 02-campaign-brief-global → Specific campaign brief(s)
Universal Brief Design Principles
1. Friendly to non-marketers
Avoid jargon (TOFU, ROAS, CPA, MQL, SQL) without explanation
Provide example answers below each question
Add a "Don't know — please advise" option to questions that require expertise
2. Structured > open-ended
Prefer checkboxes and radio buttons for structured data
Use 2–3 column tables for comparable items (competitors, products, team)
Reserve long-form text only for persona, story, and constraints
3. Easy → hard ordering
Start with simple business basics (Section A)
Build up to strategic and budget decisions (Sections E–F)
End with reflective questions (Section K)
Client builds momentum, doesn't quit on question 3
4. Time-respectful
30–45 minutes total to complete
Add a progress indicator ("Section A of 11")
Optional sections marked clearly so client can return later
5. Closing commitment
Client signs off that information is accurate
Agency commits to confidentiality and use limitation
Clear timeline (24-hour confirmation, 5–7 business day plan v1)
Red Flags Checklist (review the returned brief)
When the client sends the brief back, scan for these warning signs before quoting:
"TBD" in too many fields — they haven't done the homework. Schedule a working session.
Budget mismatched to goals — "$5K to launch internationally" requires re-scoping or re-targeting.
No measurable KPIs — Section E filled with adjectives ("more leads"). Force numbers before quoting.
Timeline impossible — wants results "in 2 weeks" with no audience, no list, no creative. Re-set expectations.
Decision-maker not engaged — brief filled by junior staff, principal hasn't seen it. Pause until you have leadership alignment.
Conflicting stakeholders — Section I "do's" contradict each other (e.g., "premium luxury feel" + "aggressive discount campaigns").
No data, no tracking — Section H mostly blank. Plan needs to budget for measurement setup before optimization work.
Recently fired previous agency — Section G mentions a prior agency relationship that ended. Get the why before signing.
Compliance landmines — Section I mentions a regulated category (health, finance, alcohol, gambling) without legal contact. Add legal review to scope.
Quality Checklist (before sending to client)
Content
All 11 sections (A–K) present
Each question has an example answer or industry-relevant prompt
All terminology accessible to a non-marketer
"Don't know — advise" option present on expertise-heavy questions
Tone matches agency brand (formal / casual / boutique)
Structure
Header includes agency contact, send date, return-by date
All tables have clear column headers
Checkboxes use consistent Markdown format
Next Steps section at the bottom
Confidentiality statement included
Industry adaptation (if applied)
Section B has 1–2 industry-specific product/service questions
Section I includes industry-specific compliance constraints
Persona examples in Section C reflect the client's category
Competitive examples in Section D are realistic for the industry
Linked Skills
00-marketing-plan-global — once the brief returns, build the full marketing plan
02-campaign-brief-global — turn the plan into specific campaign briefs
08-competitor-research-global — expand Section D into detailed competitive intelligence
09-customer-insight-global — expand Section C into deep persona research
10-reverse-kpi-calc-global — turn Section E targets into reverse-engineered funnel math
Notes for v2.6+
Industry variants planned (if demand justifies):
SaaS / B2B software
DTC ecommerce (apparel, beauty, F&B)
Healthcare & wellness
Real estate
Online education & coaching
Professional services (legal, accounting, consulting)
Restaurants & hospitality
Each variant would override Sections B and I with industry-tuned questions while preserving the 11-section A–K structure.
