How to write an event brief, with a template
A good event brief answers five questions: who, what, when, where and why. Put the why first and state the budget. The template below uses the same fields as the ICE India enquiry form, so a finished brief pastes straight in.
In short
- A brief answers five questions: who, what, when, where and why. The why comes first.
- State the budget. An agency that knows it can design to it instead of guessing.
- The template below uses the same fields as the ICE India enquiry form, so a finished brief pastes straight in.
What a brief is for
An event brief tells an agency what the event must achieve and the limits it works within. Agencies pitching against each other should receive the same brief, so the proposals can be compared fairly.
Send it as a document or an email. Then talk it through on a call or in person, where you can explain what the page cannot.
The five questions every brief answers
Start with a short company profile, however large or small you are. It helps an agency judge whether it is the right fit.
- Why: the objective
- Is it an annual awards night, a product launch, an exhibition appearance or a knowledge-sharing symposium? Say what success looks like in one line.
- Who: the audience
- Employees, channel partners, customers or investors. Give the number, the seniority and anything the agency should know about them.
- What: the event
- An offsite, a dealer conference or a networking evening. Say whether you need travel, hotel rooms, food and a programme.
- When: the dates
- Dates, start and end times, and how long the event runs. Say whether the dates can move.
- Where: the venue
- A five-star banquet hall, an auditorium or somewhere with character. Note access, size and services you need, or ask for options.
The detail that sharpens the quote
Share the budget openly. Without it, an agency cannot judge where to spend and where to save, and every proposal is a guess.
Add any past events you have run, with photographs, video links or press cuttings. Then go through the brief once more and add what is missing. Nobody has ever complained that a brief had too much detail.
Brief face to face where you can. It builds trust, and you can use every tool to explain the event.
A brief template to copy
The first two blocks match the enquiry form: name, mobile, work email, and the box that asks what you are planning, with group size, dates and destination. The third block holds the detail behind the quote. Paste the whole brief into that box.
Download the template as a text file.
- Name, mobile, work email
- Enquiry form fields. Add your company and what it does.
- Event type and the reason for it
- Part of the form's "What are you planning?" box. One line each: the event, and the objective.
- Group size
- A number, and how firm it is. Say if it could move by 20 per cent either way.
- Dates
- Preferred dates, whether they can move, and any dates to avoid, such as festivals or quarter-end.
- Destination
- A city, a region or a country, or "open to suggestions" if you want options.
- Venue, rooms and travel
- Venue type, nights, room types, who travels from where, and local transport.
- Programme and food
- Sessions, activities, a gala or awards, dietary needs, and whether alcohol is served.
- Production
- Stage, screens, sound, speakers and performers. Use the LED wall size calculator if you need a screen size.
- Budget, must-haves and decision
- A figure or range, what cannot change, who decides and by when.
Example for the form's box: Dealer meet for 120 people, 12 to 14 February 2027, Goa. Objective: launch next year's scheme and recognise top partners. Budget range and venue preferences below. Send the brief to a conference management company, a MICE company or a product launch team and compare the proposals.
