What to agree before briefing a video marketing agency

What to take away

A framework only helps if it turns a vague brief into a decision you can defend with evidence.
For public-sector briefs, commissioning and service requirements shape the work and how it is measured.
Mobile-first creative is now the default for most social video, not a separate format to bolt on.
Campaign measurement should be agreed before production starts, using platform guidance rather than assumptions.
The framework below gives you a situation, a choice and a rule for what to avoid.

Start with the decision, not the deliverable

Most briefs to a video marketing agency arrive as a request for a video. That is a deliverable, not a decision. A strategy framework asks what changes if the video works, and who notices.

Is the brief ready?

Does a decision depend on the outcome?

Yes

Write the decision in one sentence

The brief is not ready

Write the decision in one sentence: approve a second production phase, or move budget from paid social to organic. If no decision depends on the outcome, the brief is not ready.

Before approaching an agency, bring the objective, available evidence and budget constraints together. State the decision the work must support and what evidence will show whether it did.

Agree the practical terms before briefing

Scope and deliverables:list the work included, such as the main film, cut-downs, captions, subtitles and source files, and state what is excluded. Specify the required formats, aspect ratios, durations and placements.
Schedule and approvals:set production milestones, delivery dates and the people responsible for feedback and sign-off. Agree the number of revision rounds and how additional changes will be approved and charged.
Budget and payment:set the budget or spending limit, payment schedule, invoice terms and treatment of expenses. Separate agency and production fees from media spend, and agree cancellation terms before work starts.
Ownership and usage rights:state who owns the footage, project files and final edits. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, specify whether copyright is assigned in writing or the agency grants a licence; define the permitted channels, territory, duration and paid or organic use.
Clearances and insurance:agree who obtains and pays for music composition and recording permissions, talent releases and location permissions, and record any limits on their use. Check whether PRS for Music or PPL permissions or licences are relevant; direct clearance from rights holders may also be needed. Confirm the agency's relevant insurance cover.
Advertising, data and accessibility:for non-broadcast ads, agree how the work will comply with the CAP Code, administered by the Advertising Standards Authority. Where personal data is handled, agree responsibilities under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Where public-sector digital services are in scope, agree applicable requirements under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018, including WCAG 2.1 AA.
Public-sector approvals:confirm the procurement route and approval process before inviting proposals. For relevant procurements by authorities in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, check the Procurement Act 2023 and Procurement Regulations 2024; Scottish authorities follow separate procurement legislation.

Build the evidence layer

A framework needs inputs that survive scrutiny. Three are enough for most briefs: audience behaviour, channel performance and commissioning context.

Three evidence inputs

Audience behaviourwhere and how long
Channel performanceyour own accounts
Commissioning contextprocurement rules
One page per input
Dated, with source named

Audience behaviour covers where people watch and for how long. Channel performance covers what your own accounts show. Commissioning context matters most when the client is a public body, because the client's procurement route shapes what an agency can propose.

The digital government strategy sets the wider context. For government digital services, the GOV.UK Service Standard provides service criteria; use it to consider how video supports the service, rather than treating it as a video production rule.

Keep the evidence layer short: one page per input, dated, with the source named. Undated evidence is opinion.

Set the creative rules before the pitch

Creative rules are the constraints an agency must work within. They stop good ideas arriving that cannot be approved.

For social video, the main constraint is mobile. IAB UK's mobile creativity guidance sets out the practical questions to settle early, including how a message survives a small screen and a muted start.

Other rules to write down: brand approvals, legal review, accessibility requirements and the maximum length for each placement. A video production company can work with tight rules. It struggles with rules that appear after the first cut.

Use our video marketing agencies planning template to record the objective, audience evidence, channel constraints, approval requirements and measurement plan in one place, so the agency sees the problem and its boundaries from the start.

Choose a route with a table

Use a decision table to make the choice explicit. The table below is a starting point, not a substitute for judgement.

Choose a route

Choose

You need one flagship film for a launch: A production-led agency with a clear post-production route
You need volume for paid social: An agency with a repeatable testing process
You are a public body with procurement rules: A supplier already familiar with your framework
Your in-house team can shoot but not plan: A strategy-led agency that hands over assets

Avoid

You need one flagship film for a launch: Splitting the brief across three suppliers with no lead
You need volume for paid social: Commissioning one hero film and cutting it down
You are a public body with procurement rules: A pitch process that ignores approval timelines
Your in-house team can shoot but not plan: Retaining an agency for work you can do

Each row forces a trade-off. The wrong choice is usually the one that avoids the trade-off rather than accepting it.

Agree measurement before production

Measurement is where frameworks fail. Teams agree to review performance later, then discover the platform does not report what they need.

Google Ads guidance on running successful campaigns is written for advertisers, but the principle applies to video: define the action you want, then build the campaign around it.

Write the measurement plan into the brief. For each objective, agree a baseline, target, metric, reporting platform, known platform reporting limits and review cadence. For example, success might mean completed views, click-through rate or cost per acquisition; confirm the platform can report the chosen measure. A framework that cannot be measured is a preference.

Common questions

How long should a framework take to write?

A first version takes a few hours for most client teams, not weeks. The value comes from sharing it before the brief goes out.

Does a framework limit creative work?

It limits the wrong work. Clear constraints give an agency a defined problem to solve, which is easier to price and easier to approve.

What if the client will not share evidence?

Ask for the decision the work must support. If that cannot be given, treat the brief as exploratory and price it accordingly.

How often should the framework be reviewed?

Review it when the objective, budget or channel mix changes, or once a quarter with the agency.