Marketing templates · 15-minute exercise

Campaign brief template for corporate catering

Use this campaign brief worksheet to align audience, offer, creative and measurement before launching a campaign. It is written for corporate catering and starts with an illustrative offer: a staffed reception catering package. Replace the assumptions with evidence from your own business before using the result.

LONED EditorialPublished Example + editable working sheet
What you will work towards

Leave with a complete campaign brief with operational responsibilities.

Start with a real buying situation

For the worked example, the audience is an event manager arranging a company reception. Their problem is that guest numbers, service times and dietary information arrive late. The desired practical outcome is a clear service plan matched to confirmed headcount and venue access.

The example is deliberately bounded: kitchen access and the final headcount deadline are fixed. That condition should influence the promise, scope and next step rather than disappear from the marketing copy.

Illustrative offera staffed reception catering package
Buyer questionHow will guest numbers and dietary requirements be confirmed?
Possible evidencea sample menu, service schedule and documented dietary-information process
Useful assetan event catering brief and headcount tracker

How to complete your campaign brief

  1. Define the audience and buying situation.
  2. Choose one offer and the action it invites.
  3. Specify the claim and the evidence supporting it.
  4. Agree the channel, landing experience and follow-up owner.
  5. Set an approved budget, review date and decision criteria.

Worked example

These entries are illustrative planning material, not research findings or customer results. Keep the structure and replace the content with verified details.

Audience and buying triggeran event manager arranging a company reception; investigate a recent example of the problem: guest numbers, service times and dietary information arrive late.
Offer and call to actiona staffed reception catering package. Intended practical result: a clear service plan matched to confirmed headcount and venue access. Next action: review the service schedule and confirm a sample menu with the organiser.
Claim and evidenceUse the practical claim a clear service plan matched to confirmed headcount and venue access only as an intended outcome. Evidence: a sample menu, service schedule and documented dietary-information process.
Channel, destination and follow-upa venue partner introduction; send readers to a page that explains the offer and lets them request the relevant next step. Assign follow-up ownership.
Budget owner and review decisionRecord an approved cap, currency, period and owner. Review the fit of enquiries and delivery against agreed service times and confirmed requirements; do not assume ad-platform attribution proves causality.

Review before using it

A useful operational measure in this example is delivery against agreed service times and confirmed requirements. That does not automatically make it a marketing attribution metric. Define the source, period and owner before drawing conclusions.

  • Can the campaign owner trace the path from first contact to a qualified next step?
  • Check the delivery assumptions: Confirm staffing, equipment, dietary handling, service times and cancellation terms.
  • Use evidence rather than promises. Never promise an allergen-free environment without verified operational capability.
  • Discuss the draft with someone who understands the buying situation. Start with: “How will guest numbers and dietary requirements be confirmed?”
  • If the next step is a trial, define its purpose. One possible starting point is to review the service schedule and confirm a sample menu with the organiser.

Common mistakes and a better review

Do not fill a missing fact with an impressive-sounding number. Mark it as an assumption, explain how you will check it and give that check an owner. A short, honest document is easier to use than an elaborate plan built on unknowns.

Watch forCreative approval alone does not confirm that tracking, destination and follow-up work.
A real buyer concernWe want more menu options without increasing the spend.
Useful response directionWe can compare portioning, service format and menu complexity, then agree which choices matter most to the guests.
Evidence to collectThe buyer’s own account, a sample menu, service schedule and documented dietary-information process, and records relevant to delivery against agreed service times and confirmed requirements.

Your working sheet

Write your own version below. Notes are saved on this browser when local storage is available. Use Download to keep a separate copy; avoid adding confidential information on a shared device.

Example: an event manager arranging a company reception; investigate a recent example of the problem: guest numbers, service times and dietary information arrive late.

Example: a staffed reception catering package. Intended practical result: a clear service plan matched to confirmed headcount and venue access. Next action: review the service schedule and confirm a sample menu with the organiser.

Example: Use the practical claim a clear service plan matched to confirmed headcount and venue access only as an intended outcome. Evidence: a sample menu, service schedule and documented dietary-information process.

Example: a venue partner introduction; send readers to a page that explains the offer and lets them request the relevant next step. Assign follow-up ownership.

Example: Record an approved cap, currency, period and owner. Review the fit of enquiries and delivery against agreed service times and confirmed requirements; do not assume ad-platform attribution proves causality.

Review your work

Tick only what you can support with your answer or practice. This is a reflection checklist, not an automated assessment.

Questions about this resource

How do I adapt this for my corporate catering business?

Replace the audience, offer and evidence with your actual information. Begin with a recent buyer conversation about why guest numbers, service times and dietary information arrive late, then check which assumptions match your business.

Is the filled example ready to publish?

No. It is a working example. Verify claims, permissions, prices, current capabilities and any customer information before using it externally. Never promise an allergen-free environment without verified operational capability.

What should I do after completing the worksheet?

Use it to make one decision or have one focused conversation. The intended output is a complete campaign brief with operational responsibilities. Set a review date and update it when the evidence changes.

Illustrative business worksheet. No customer results, market rates, traffic volumes or performance benchmarks are implied. About these resources.