| name | brand-alignment |
| description | Aligns creative strategy with the brand's real business objectives, growth stage, and team constraints. Use before starting any sprint or client engagement. Trigger on: 'what should we focus on', 'real objectives', 'business context'. Requires conversation with founder or decision-maker. |
| metadata | {"version":"1.0.0","status":"beta","tags":["audit","strategy","objectives","constraints"],"inputs":["conversation with founder or media buyer"],"outputs":["alignment report — real objectives","growth stage","production capacity"],"depends-on":["brand-guidelines"]} |
Brand Alignment
Before Starting
Confirm before starting:
If the decision-maker is not available: this skill loses its value — do not replace with hypotheses.
This skill surfaces the real objectives and constraints before creative work begins.
Input: Conversation with founder, media buyer, or marketing lead
Output: Alignment report — real objectives, growth stage, media buyer optimization target, production capacity
Questions to Ask
Business Stage
- What stage is the business in? (validating / scaling / optimizing)
- What's the primary growth lever right now?
- What does "success" look like in 90 days?
Real Objectives
- What is the media buyer optimizing for? (leads / purchases / ROAS / CAC)
- Is there a specific CPA or CPL target?
- What's the budget trajectory?
Constraints
- What has been tried and killed? Why?
- Are there creative constraints not documented elsewhere?
- What's the realistic production capacity per week?
Strategic Alignment
- Are marketing objectives aligned with sales/product objectives?
- Any launch, event, or promotion in the next 30–60 days?
- Who approves creative? What slows that process?
Output Format
## Alignment Report — [Brand] — [Date]
### Growth Stage
[Validating / Scaling / Optimizing + rationale]
### Real Objective (next 90 days)
[1 sentence — the actual goal]
### Media Buyer Optimization Target
[What the algorithm optimizes for + cost target]
### Production Capacity
Creatives per week: [realistic number]
Approval bottleneck: [who + avg time]
### What's Been Tried & Killed
| Creative / Angle / Format | Why Killed |
### Constraints
[List — budget, compliance, team, platform]
For alignment signals reference: See references/brand-alignment.md
Related Skills
01-audit/brand-health — run alongside for full audit03-strategy/creative-brief — alignment context feeds the brief
