get-to-by-brief-generation

name	get-to-by-brief-generation
description	When a user needs a creative brief for a campaign, content program, or creative direction, structure it as GET (real person with a specific tension) → TO (the precise shift in thinking/feeling/doing) → BY (the creative mechanism, not a channel list). Refuses vague goals like "build awareness" and catches the strategy-in-BY pitfall.
composition_level	atom
extraction-lens	capability
source_attribution	Matt Bond + Julian Cole (Strategy Finishing School, via Hivemind Library)
license	pending-consent
status	candidate

Get / To / By Brief Generation

When to use

• User asks for a creative brief, content direction, or campaign strategy
• User describes a project but the audience / shift / mechanism aren't all explicit
• User's brief has "build awareness" or "drive engagement" as goals (vague TO)
• User's brief lists channels ("by running LinkedIn ads") as BY (pitfall)

When NOT to use

• User wants a project plan or technical spec (not a creative brief)
• Brand-strategy-level work (use positioning-strategic-choice first)
• Already-aligned execution work where the brief is settled

Core procedure

Extract or request each slot explicitly. If any slot is missing or vague, ask for it before generating.

GET — the audience with a specific tension

• Real person, not a segment label
• Current belief, feeling, or behavior
• The tension they're living with

Bad: "SaaS founders" Good: "Founders who secretly fear they're behind."

TO — the precise shift

• What they think, feel, or do differently after
• Must be a change from the defined GET starting state
• Behavioral, not abstract

Bad: "Build awareness" Good: "Feel confident choosing a simple path."

BY — the creative mechanism

• The actual idea or approach, not the channel
• Pitfall check: if BY reads as a channel list ("by running LinkedIn ads"), reject and ask for the mechanism

Bad: "By posting on LinkedIn" Good: "Show the 'behind-the-scenes' reality and a clear, teachable next step."

Output format

GET: [audience with tension]
TO: [specific shift in thinking/feeling/doing]
BY: [creative mechanism, not channels]

Use guidance

• Strategy lives in GET and TO. BY should describe the creative mechanism that delivers the shift, not where it runs.
• Channel selection is downstream. Pick channels after the BY is clear, not before.
• Test: if your BY could be lifted into another brief, it's not specific enough. Each BY should be inseparable from its GET and TO.

Failure modes

• Vague TO ("build awareness", "drive engagement") — these aren't shifts, they're activity descriptions.
• BY = channel list. Most common pitfall. Channels are how the BY reaches the GET, not the BY itself.
• GET = segment label. "Millennials" or "B2B buyers" doesn't have a tension. Force a real person with a real felt friction.
• Multiple TOs. A brief that says "we want them to learn AND feel AND act" hasn't picked a shift. Force one.

Related skills

• 4cs-research-structure — runs before this brief to ensure the GET is grounded
• problem-insight-solution-formula — strategic formulation upstream of brief
• benefit-ladder — runs after to develop messaging within the brief