| name | creative-brief-protocol |
| description | Canonical CreativeBrief markdown + JSON schema, aligned 1:1 with Hydra CreativeBrief envelope. Sections cover vision, references, aesthetic, technical approach, key shots/messages, production, guardrails, approvals. |
| user-invocable | true |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Glob","Grep","Write"] |
Creative Brief Protocol Skill
Defines the canonical CreativeBrief markdown template used by campaign-strategist, brand-narrative, and contextual-copywriter. The markdown serializes into the typed CreativeBrief envelope defined in <AIAPP_BASE>/Hydra/hydra_core/schemas.py and is the artifact handed to Hydra's creative squad for asset production.
Invariant: every section below maps 1:1 to a field in the envelope. Adding sections requires an evolution proposal on the schema (eights.evolution.propose).
1. Canonical Markdown Template
# CreativeBrief — <campaign_id>
## Overview
- **campaign_id**: <kebab-case unique id>
- **client**: <brand name>
- **brief_type**: production | media | hybrid
- **industry_profile**: b2b-saas | dtc-ecommerce | professional-services | regulated | creative-production | ad-commercial
- **date**: YYYY-MM-DD
- **location**: <city, country | virtual | n/a>
- **owner_agent**: campaign-strategist
- **upstream_envelope**: <handle to CSuiteDecisionPacket or MarketBrief>
## Creative Vision
- **Mood (3-5 adjectives)**: <e.g. refined, considered, present, quiet, intentional>
- **Concept (one sentence)**: <single-sentence creative concept>
- **Narrative (3-5 sentences)**:
<free-text narrative that captures the story arc; must reference the target persona's JTBD and the brand archetype>
## Visual References
- **Reference 1**: <URL or memref to image> — what we borrow: <what>
- **Reference 2**: <URL or memref to image> — what we borrow: <what>
- **Reference 3-5**: ...
## Aesthetic Archetype
- **primary**: one of 5 (ethereal-glass | editorial-luxury | soft-structuralism | minimalist-editorial | industrial-brutalist)
- **accent** (optional): one of 5
- **surfaces**:
- bg: "#RRGGBB"
- fg: "#RRGGBB"
- accent: "#RRGGBB"
- **typography**:
- heading: "<font + weight>"
- body: "<font + weight>"
- mono: "<font + weight>"
- **motion**: { easing, duration_ms }
- **texture**: { type, opacity }
- **prompt_seed**: "<<=80 words, used by ComfyUI / gemini-image>"
## Technical Approach
For brief_type=production:
- **camera**: <body + recommended bodies>
- **lens**: <primary + alts>
- **lighting**: <natural / continuous / strobe; key+fill+rim>
- **color**: <LUT or grade direction; gamut>
- **post**: <retouch standard, grain, motion treatment>
- **deliverables_format**: <ratios, dpi, codecs>
For brief_type=media:
- **channels**: [channel + ad-unit pairs]
- **formats**: [aspect ratios, durations]
- **runtime_versions**: [count and purpose]
- **dynamic_creative**: <DCO yes/no + components>
- **tracking**: <UTM scheme, pixel/SDK requirements>
## Key Shots / Key Messages
For production briefs, numbered key shots (1-10 typical):
1. <shot description, role in narrative, must-have / nice-to-have>
2. ...
For media briefs, numbered key messages (3-7 typical):
1. <message, target persona, funnel stage>
2. ...
## Production Plan
- **timeline**: <pre-prod start -> shoot dates -> post -> delivery>
- **budget_usd**: <number, plus contingency %>
- **equipment**: <high-level list>
- **talent**: <number of subjects, roles, release status>
- **locations**: <named or scouted-by-date>
- **crew**: <roles + count>
## Must-Haves vs Nice-to-Haves
**Must-Haves**:
- <non-negotiable>
- <non-negotiable>
**Nice-to-Haves**:
- <stretch>
- <stretch>
## KPIs & Measurement Plan
- **primary KPI**: <metric + target>
- **secondary KPIs**: [<metric + target>, ...]
- **guardrail KPIs**: [<metric + threshold not to breach>]
- **measurement method**: <see marketing-attribution>
- **measurement window**: <start -> end>
- **review cadence**: <weekly / bi-weekly / monthly>
## Guardrails
- **brand-safety**: <see brand-safety skill; specific rules from prohibited-content registry>
- **ip-clearance**: <talent release status, music license, stock-asset license>
- **regulated-claims**: <MLR / legal review required? approver names?>
- **accessibility**: <WCAG AA targets, alt text, captioning>
- **prohibited content**: <profile-specific items>
## Approvals
| Role | Name | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| campaign-strategist | <name> | pending/approved | |
| brand-narrative | <name> | pending/approved | |
| brand-safety-compliance | <name> | pending/approved | |
| CMO (ExecutiveSuite) | <name> | pending/approved | |
| Client signoff | <name> | pending/approved | |
| MLR (regulated only) | <name> | pending/approved | |
2. JSON Envelope Shape
The markdown above serializes to a CreativeBrief envelope (Pydantic-style sketch):
class CreativeBrief(BaseModel):
workflow_id: str
campaign_id: str
client: str
brief_type: Literal["production", "media", "hybrid"]
industry_profile: IndustryProfile
date: date
location: Optional[str]
owner_agent: str
upstream_envelope_ref: Optional[MemoryRef]
creative_vision: CreativeVision
visual_references: list[VisualReference]
aesthetic_archetype: AestheticArchetype
technical_approach: ProductionTech | MediaTech
key_items: list[KeyShot] | list[KeyMessage]
production_plan: ProductionPlan
must_haves: list[str]
nice_to_haves: list[str]
kpis: KPISpec
guardrails: Guardrails
approvals: list[Approval]
constraints: Constraints
context_refs: list[MemoryRef]
The full Pydantic class lives in <AIAPP_BASE>/Hydra/hydra_core/schemas.py. Changes to either the markdown or the schema MUST update both in lockstep.
3. Brief-Type Decision Rule
| Situation | brief_type |
|---|
MarketBliss asks Hydra creative for image/video assets | production |
| MarketBliss runs paid + lifecycle media against existing assets | media |
| Single campaign needs both (most common) | hybrid — produces two child envelopes |
4. Authoring Checklist
Before emitting a brief:
5. Asset Handoff to Hydra creative
When the brief is sealed and approved, MarketBliss derives child envelopes:
- ShotList (for production briefs): explicit shot-by-shot specification, one entry per
KeyShot
- AssetJob (for media briefs): one job per ad unit / format / variant, with
dynamic_creative component list
These envelopes carry the locked aesthetic_archetype and guardrails from the brief.
6. Sealed-Brief Rule
Per AGENTS.md sec 10: once brand-safety-compliance and CMO have approved a brief, the file in output/campaigns/<id>/brief.md is sealed. Subsequent changes require:
- New
DecisionRecord documenting the change rationale
- Re-run of
brand-consistency and regulated-claims-review gates
- New brief version (
brief.v2.md) — never overwrite v1
7. Anti-patterns
- Vague creative vision ("modern and bold") — must be specific enough that two creatives produce convergent work
- Missing aesthetic_archetype — downstream production becomes a guessing game
- KPIs without measurement method — attribution claims become un-falsifiable
- Guardrails copy-pasted between briefs without profile-specific tailoring
- Approvals table without dates / names — audit trail breaks
References
aesthetic-archetypes (aesthetic spec)brand-safety (Guardrails)marketing-attribution (KPI measurement method)marketing-governance (Approval gate definitions)- Hydra envelope:
<AIAPP_BASE>/Hydra/hydra_core/schemas.py
