How to brief a media agency so the quote is comparable

To make quotes comparable, give every agency the same one-page brief of ten short lines. The ones that matter most fix who you want to reach, where, for how long, your budget ceiling, who makes the creative, and what proof of execution you will receive. When those are fixed, the differences between quotes are real differences of method and price. When they are loose, you are comparing three different jobs and calling the cheapest one the winner.

Why do three quotes for "a campaign" rarely match?

An agency asked to quote for "advertising for our new showroom" will make its own assumptions. One assumes the whole city, another two localities. One includes design, another assumes you have artwork. One quotes for a month, another for a quarter. The numbers at the bottom look comparable and are not.

Remove the assumptions before they are made, rather than reading between the lines afterwards. A brief that takes an hour to write can save you from a decision based on a quote that left out the largest cost.

What goes in the brief?

Copy this into a document and complete every line. If you do not know an answer, write "not decided" and let the agencies say what they would suggest, in a separate column.

1. Business and offer. One sentence on what you sell and what the advertising must make people do: visit, call or book.
2. Audience. Who buys, in the words of your own counter or sales team. Age bands, occupations or household types, not "everyone".
3. Area. Named localities, pin codes or roads. If it is a whole city, say so and say why.
4. Dates and duration. Start and end dates, and any fixed days that matter, such as a launch day or a festival.
5. Budget ceiling. The most you will spend on media in total, as a figure or range.
6. Creative. Who supplies the artwork or script: you, the agency or a third party. State the formats you need.
7. Fees. Ask the agency to show its own fee separately from the media cost.
8. Proof of execution. What you expect to see after each placement. Our guide to what a media proof of execution should contain lists what to ask for.
9. How you will judge success. Calls, visits, coupon uses, sales at the counter: one or two measures, not six.
10. Terms. Payment schedule, what happens if a placement does not run, and who owns the artwork when the campaign ends.

An invented example: a tile showroom in Madurai

Imagine a tile and bathware showroom in Madurai that asks three agencies for quotes for its relaunch. The first time, the owner sends a WhatsApp message: "Need ads for the relaunch, send quote". The quotes come back at very different levels. When the owner asks why one is so low, the answer is that it covers one newspaper insertion and no design.

The owner then writes the one-page brief. It names four localities and a six-week run, gives a budget ceiling, and says the showroom will supply product photographs while the agency makes the layouts. It asks for dated photographs of every hoarding and a copy of every insertion.

The second round of quotes has the same shape: media, creative, fee and proof, each on its own line. Now the owner can see that one agency charges a higher fee but includes proof, another is cheaper on media but silent on proof, and the third has not said who owns the artwork. The cheapest first-round quote turns out to be the dearest once proof and design are added. The owner still has to chase one agency twice before it fills in every line.

The first round failed before any agency was chosen. The question was vague, so the three answers were about three different jobs.

How do you read the answers side by side?

Set the three replies in a grid. A blank cell is information.

Ask each agency one follow-up in writing about any cell left empty, and give all three the same chance to answer. If an agency will not separate its fee from the media cost, ask it why, and record the reply.

Two small habits protect the process. Keep one list of every question an agency asks, with your written answers, and send it to all three. An answer given to one agency on a call becomes an advantage the others never had. And set a date by which quotes must arrive, the same for all.

When should you not use a formal brief?

For a single small buy, such as one insertion in one edition, this brief is more than the job needs. Call the medium's sales office, ask for the rate card and book. The brief earns its time when more than one medium, more than one location or a longer run is involved.

What to do this week

Write the ten lines today, send them to every agency on the same day, and answer questions in writing so all three hear the same thing. If media planning is the job, our media planning and buying service is one place to ask, and the marketing hub lists the rest. If you would like a second reader for your brief before you send it, tell us what you need.