How to Brief a CPI Creative Without Art Skills

A CPI creative brief needs five things: the hook, the core loop shown in three seconds, the visual style reference, the call to action, and the format and length. You do not need to draw anything, storyboard anything, or know video editing software. You need to describe what the ad should communicate and provide references for how it should look.

Why the brief matters more than the art

Most CPI creatives are made by a designer or a freelancer working from your direction. The quality of their output depends almost entirely on the clarity of your input.

A vague brief ("make a cool ad for our puzzle game") produces generic work that tests poorly. A specific brief produces work that matches your game and your audience, and that can be iterated based on results.

The brief is the highest-leverage artifact in a creative test. Spending an hour on it saves days of revision.

The five-field brief format

Every CPI creative brief should contain these five fields. Anything else is optional.

1. The hook (first 1 to 2 seconds). What grabs attention. This is the single most important element. Describe what the viewer sees first and why it makes them stop scrolling.

Good hooks fall into a few patterns.

• A satisfying action shown mid-result (paint filling, blocks breaking, a perfect cut).
• A fail state that makes the viewer think "I could do better."
• A question posed visually ("Can you solve this?").
• An unexpected outcome.

You do not need to draw the hook. Describe it in one sentence and link to a reference video that does something similar. The four-beat structure from How to Write an Ad Hook in Four Beats is the framework.

2. The core loop (3 to 5 seconds). After the hook, the ad shows the main mechanic. Not a tutorial. Not an explanation. The actual interaction, running, so the viewer understands what they will do in the game.

Describe what the player's hand is doing and what happens on screen as a result. "The player swipes left to dodge, the character slides, coins fly up." That level of specificity.

3. Visual style reference. Link to two or three reference videos or screenshots. These replace the storyboard. A designer who sees three examples of the visual quality and style you want can match it. A designer who reads "modern and clean" cannot.

Sources for references.

• Your competitors' ads. The ad library tools show what other games in your genre are running.
• Your own gameplay footage. Screen recordings of the game in its current state, showing the part you want the ad to feature.
• Other games' ads in different genres that have a visual style you want to borrow.

A brief with three reference videos beats a brief with three paragraphs of description. Show, do not tell.

4. The call to action (last 1 to 2 seconds). What the viewer sees at the end. Usually the game icon, the name, and "Play Now" or "Download Free." Keep this standard unless you have a reason not to.

5. Format and length. Specify the aspect ratio (9:16 for stories and reels, 1:1 for feeds, 16:9 for landscape placements) and the total length (15 or 30 seconds for most platforms).

If you are testing across placements, brief the 9:16 version first and note that a 1:1 crop will be needed.

A brief template you can copy

Here is the template. Fill in the brackets.

• Game: [name and one-sentence description]
• Hook: [what the viewer sees in the first two seconds, with reference link]
• Core loop: [what the player does, what happens on screen, with gameplay footage link]
• Style references: [two or three links to ads or screenshots you want to match]
• CTA: [icon, name, and download text]
• Format: [aspect ratio and length]
• Notes: [anything to avoid, brand constraints, or specific instructions]

The "notes" field is where you put the do-not-dos. "Do not use text overlays." "Do not show the menu." "Do not use music with lyrics." These constraints save revision cycles.

Giving direction without drawing

Three techniques for non-artists.

Screen record the game. Play the part you want the ad to show. Record it on your phone. The designer uses this as footage or as a reference for what to recreate.

Annotate screenshots. Take a screenshot and draw circles or arrows in any basic tool. "Start here, then show this, end on this screen." This is not art. It is direction, and it is effective.

Write a shot list. Number each moment of the ad.

1. Close-up of the character facing a wall of blocks (0 to 2 seconds).
2. Player swipes, blocks shatter satisfyingly (2 to 5 seconds).
3. Pull back to show the full level, half-cleared (5 to 7 seconds).
4. Game icon and "Play Free" (7 to 8 seconds).

A shot list is a sequence of descriptions with timings. Anyone can write one, and it gives the designer a clear structure to follow.

Common mistakes in creative briefs

Five mistakes that waste budget.

1. No hook. The brief describes the game but not what grabs attention in the first two seconds. The hook is the ad. Everything after it only matters if the hook worked.
2. Too many instructions. A brief with fifteen bullet points paralyses the designer. Five fields. Anything else is optional.
3. No references. Describing a visual style in words produces wildly different interpretations. Always link references.
4. Showing features instead of feel. An ad that lists features ("50 levels, 3 modes, daily rewards") does not convert. An ad that shows the feeling of playing converts. Show the loop, not the spec.
5. Misrepresenting the game. An ad that shows a mechanic the game does not have gets cheap installs and instant uninstalls. Your CPI looks good and your retention collapses. The downstream effect is covered in Reading Your CPI Results Without Fooling Yourself.

How many creatives to brief

For a first test, brief three variations.

• Variation A: Your best guess at the hook, showing the main mechanic.
• Variation B: A different hook, same mechanic. Tests whether the concept works with different attention-grabbers.
• Variation C: A different part of the game or a different moment. Tests whether the best part of the game is what you think it is.

Three variations with enough budget for 5,000 impressions each is the minimum viable creative test. The budget math is in Creative Testing on a $500 Budget.

After the first test, the results tell you which direction to iterate. Brief the second round based on what the first round taught you, not on new guesses.

Working with the designer

Three rules for a productive working relationship.

• Brief first, then discuss. Send the written brief before the call. Let the designer read it and come back with questions rather than trying to explain everything verbally.
• Review once, with all feedback. Collect your thoughts and send them in one batch. Drip-feeding feedback over three days costs the designer time and delays the final version.
• Trust the execution. You provided the direction. Let the designer make execution choices about transitions, timing, and visual details. If you find yourself directing frame by frame, you have hired the wrong person or written the wrong brief.

What we would do

Write the brief using the five-field template above, with at least two reference videos. Spend more time finding the right references than writing descriptions, because references communicate more precisely.

Screen-record thirty seconds of gameplay on the target device and include it in the brief. This is the single most useful asset you can provide, and it takes two minutes.

Then brief three variations for the first test, spend the budget to reach statistical significance, and use the results to brief the next round. Each round should reference what the previous round taught you.

The short version

• A CPI brief needs five fields: hook, core loop, style references, CTA, and format.
• You do not need to draw. Screen record, annotate screenshots, or write a shot list.
• Always include reference videos. They communicate better than any description.
• The hook is the ad. Everything else only matters if the hook works.
• Brief three variations for a first test and iterate based on results.
• Show how the game feels, not what features it has.

Write your first brief using the template above. If you want help planning a creative test, tell us about the game.

Related reading: How to Write an Ad Hook in Four Beats, Creative Testing on a $500 Budget, and Playable Ad Spec Sheet.