SKILL TO LEARN
At some point in your strategy career, someone will send you a project brief and ask for a deliverable you’ve never made. Or worse, they’ll hand you a problem and expect you to figure out what to make.
This is scary. Most strategists are never sat down and told what tools are in the toolkit. Instead, you learn by watching senior people or Googling what you don’t understand in a panic.
This post is a shortcut to all of that.
Below are 10 of the most common strategic deliverables — what they are, when to reach for them, and the kinds of projects that require them.
⭐ Paid subscribers get a deck with templates for all of these strategic deliverables at the end of this post ⭐
Creative Brief:
What It Is: A one-paged document (and accompanying multi-slide deck) that aligns the creative team around a single problem to solve and gives them direction for how to solve it. It has the problem, ask, audience, insight, and strategic way-in. You can read more about writing a creative brief in this post.
When To Make One: If you don’t have a big creative idea yet orif the creative idea needs to flex for a new execution (e.g. you are making a Q3 campaign for a long-running platform), then you should have a creative brief.
Examples of Projects That Need It: Campaign creation, stunts, quarterly campaigns, experiential concepts, merch drops, rebrands.
Assignment Brief
What It Is: A one-page document that captures the parameters of a project. The ask, the audience, the objective, the timeline, the budget, and any relevant context. Less about strategic direction, more about operational clarity.
When To Make One: When a project is turnkey, the ask is clear, and you don’t need a breakthrough insight, make an assignment brief.
Examples of Projects That Need It: One-off social posts, website copy updates that align to an already approved campaign/platform, localizing approved content.
Competitive Audit
What It Is: A deep dive into your brand’s biggest competitors — examining how they show up across positioning, messaging, tone, visuals, campaigns, and channels. Check out this post to learn more about how to conduct a competitive audit.
When To Make One: Conduct one when you don’t know what the competition in a category looks like, or before creating something visual where knowing category norms and outliers will help your team.
Examples of Projects That Need It: New business, quarterly reports, website refreshes, asset development like in-store displays, iconography, etc.
4Cs
What It Is: The 4Cs stand for: Category, Consumer, Company, Culture. They allow you to quickly ground yourself in the world surrounding a brand. This post has a full breakdown on writing the 4Cs.
When To Make One: Anytime you have a new client, make one. There will also be times when you only need to tap some of the 4Cs (e.g. you have worked on a client for a long time but need to update your knowledge on the consumer, culture, and competition).
Examples of Projects That Need It: New business pitches, repositioning, entering a new market, writing a brand positioning statement.
Persona:
What It Is: A persona is a one-page document that brings your target audience to life. It contains things like demographics, audience size, barriers & drivers/motivations, attitudes & values, and media behaviors.
When To Make One: If the work depends on knowing how that person thinks, feels, or behaves (and there isn’t a pre-existing persona), then create one.
Examples of Projects That Need It: New business, journey mapping, website or app UX design, loyalty programs, new audience expansion, product innovation.
Brand Positioning Statement
What It Is: An internal line that articulates the value your brand brings to your target market. It creates focus — guiding what your brand says, makes, and how it shows up over time. You can read this post to learn more about how to write one.
When To Make One: When a brand needs clarity on what it stands for and how it’s distinct from competitors.
Examples of Projects That Need It: Brand launches, rebrands.
Comms Plan
What It Is: A one-page framework for how a brand reaches and speaks to people at each stage of the funnel. It outlines what to say, to whom, when, where, and why—all in service of a specific business or marketing goal.
When To Make One: Make one when you already have the strategy and big idea, but need a clear plan for how to communicate it across different stages of the funnel.
Examples of Projects That Need It: Campaign rollouts, product launches, seasonal pushes, multi-channel campaigns, brand refresh launches.
Messaging Hierarchy
What It Is: A one-paged framework that lists a brand’s key messages in order of importance. It shows the main message at the top, the supporting points underneath it, and the proof that backs each one up. It helps everyone say the same thing, in the same order.
When To Make One: When a brand has multiple things it needs to say at the same time and messaging order will heavily influence and impact creative.
Examples of Projects That Need It: Tradeshow booth design, stakeholder decks, hype videos.
Customer/Consumer Journey
What It Is: Framework that shows the steps someone takes from first hearing about a brand to becoming a loyal buyer. It shows what they are doing, thinking, and feeling at each stage, and where the brand shows up along the way.
When To Make One: When you need to understand the full path someone takes with your brand so you can spot gaps, friction, or missed opportunities in the experience.
Examples of Projects That Need It: Campaign development, loyalty programs, retail experience updates, CRM strategy.
Discussion Guide:
What It Is: A list of questions used to lead a research conversation (e.g. focus groups, IDIs, etc.). It ensures you cover what matters in the time that you have with research participants.
When To Make One: Anytime you are conducting primary research.
Examples of Projects That Need It: One-on-one interviews, focus groups, concept testing sessions, stakeholder interviews, customer feedback conversations.
1 ACTION TO TAKE
Below are five mock asks.
For each one, decide:
What single deliverable would you create first?
Why is that the right tool for the job?
Mock asks (with my answers at the end):
A legacy cereal brand has seen declining sales for three years. Leadership wants a new campaign that makes the brand feel relevant to younger audiences.
Your client is launching a new skincare product and needs your help figuring out what the in-store display will look like.
The brand platform and campaign idea are approved. Now the team needs a clear plan for what to say at awareness, consideration, and conversion across channels.
You’re about to conduct 10 one-on-one interviews with consumers to understand why repeat purchase has dropped.
You are working on a new business pitch for a brand you’ve never worked on before and need to quickly understand the landscape.
Answers to the above (only scroll after you’ve done the exercise):
Creative Brief: Because leadership wants a new campaign, you need to define the exact problem, the younger audience, and the strategic direction before ideas are made.
Competitive Audit: Because you’re designing an in-store display, you need to see how competitors show up visually so you don’t blend in.
Comms Plan: Because the campaign is approved and now needs to roll out across awareness, consideration, and conversion, you need a clear plan for what to say at each stage.
Discussion Guide: Because you’re conducting 10 interviews, you need structured questions to uncover why repeat purchase is dropping.
4Cs: Because it’s a new business pitch for a brand you don’t know, you need to quickly understand the category, consumer, company, and culture before proposing a strategy.
1 QUOTE TO INSPIRE
“Begin with the end in mind.” — Stephen R. Covey
