How to Brief an Agency, According to US Bank’s Brand Chief
The Best 2% of Your Day
Brooke Brown remembers a piece of advice she got while working agency-side: “For your client, you might be the best 2% of their day.” That stuck with her.
It was a reminder that while agency teams are putting in long hours and late nights obsessing over the work, their clients are also navigating a full slate of responsibilities. Great creative isn’t born from demanding perfection from either side. It comes from understanding, curiosity, and mutual respect.
That mindset has guided Brooke through her evolution from agency pro to the SVP and Head of Brand & Creative at US Bank, where she now briefs agencies instead of receiving briefs herself.
What Makes a Good Creative Brief?
A great agency brief does more than hand off a business problem. It creates space for co-creation. According to Brooke Brown, that process begins with letting go of perfection.
In this article, we break down Brooke’s key insights for marketing professionals preparing to brief creative teams. Whether you're a junior brand manager or leading enterprise marketing, this advice will help you build stronger partnerships and produce better work.
1. Progress Over Perfection
Brooke’s team operates on a simple principle: “Progress, not perfection.”
Waiting until everything is flawless before sharing ideas slows down momentum and excludes others from the creative process. When marketers aim to be collaborative instead of buttoned-up, they open the door for stronger concepts and better alignment. A good brief does not have to be a final answer. It should be a starting point.
2. Briefing Is a Team Sport
Brooke emphasizes that briefing an agency is not just a client-to-agency handoff. It involves close collaboration with internal business partners to make sure everyone is aligned on goals, audiences, and strategic priorities.
At US Bank, the brand team met with each line of business to understand their needs before briefing the agency. That made it possible to find a unifying insight across retail banking, commercial clients, and wealth management, leading to a single brand idea that scaled: “The Power of Us.”
3. Co-Creation Beats the Black Box
“The black box model doesn’t work anymore,” Brooke says.
She’s referring to the old way agencies would go dark for months and then emerge with a single idea. Today’s creative process is more iterative. Clients want to see the thinking early. They want to give feedback. They want to help shape the idea.
This only works if both sides are open to dialogue and can check their egos. At US Bank, Brooke encourages her team to start in pencil and be willing to refine with partners. The result is stronger creative and faster timelines.
4. Ask Questions, Don’t Just Say No
When something doesn’t feel right, Brooke avoids giving flat rejections. Instead, she says, “Tell me more.”
Creative ideas come with intention. Asking a designer or writer to walk through their choices can reveal a minor change that moves an idea from a maybe to a yes. Marketers who ask thoughtful questions get better work. They also build trust with their agency partners.
Why This Advice Matters
Great marketing today demands collaboration. Whether you work on the brand side or the agency side, the ability to co-create and adapt quickly is a competitive advantage.
Brooke Brown’s approach to briefing agencies—focusing on progress, team alignment, open feedback, and curiosity—offers a clear framework for any marketer who wants to improve their creative output. These aren’t abstract principles. They’re habits that drive results.
Listen to the Full Episode
To hear the full conversation with Brooke Brown, tune into this episode of the Breaking and Entering Brandside podcast. You’ll hear how Brooke went from a public transit job to leading creative at a Fortune 100 bank, how she uses AI in campaign development, and why brand trust still matters more than big media budgets.
Listen now to learn how top marketers are thinking about creative partnerships in 2025.
🔊 Watch on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5WOCv9ngS2B4cg3J5QYflj?si=7Gfn1s3aQNKoq5WL0a7gVQ
🔊 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9kRknv2lHGQ?si=Xbohmza-WYdfgrIY
🔊 Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/she-took-a-risk-no-one-else-would/id1506434104?i=1000719962373
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