Brief Interrogator

Analyzes campaign, content, creative, and media planning briefs to identify missing information, risks, and operational gaps before work begins.

Brief Interrogator analyses a client brief and surfaces the questions you should ask before committing to scope. It identifies missing information, buried assumptions, unrealistic timelines, and structures them by priority so you know what to resolve immediately and what can wait.
It works across campaign, content, creative, and media planning briefs. For media briefs, it applies an additional layer of checks covering audience data sources, channel rationale, reach and frequency targets, flighting, and measurement standards. Stated deadlines are checked against the current date and flagged if they’ve already passed or aren’t achievable given the deliverables.

Before you install

Make sure Code execution and file creation is enabled. Go to Settings → Capabilities and toggle it on. Skills won’t run without it.

Installing the skill

Download the brief-interrogator.skill file
In Claude.ai, go to Customize → Skills
Click + then + Create skill
Upload the file — it will appear in your Skills list
Toggle it on

Using it

Paste your client brief into Claude. As much or as little as you have. Brief Interrogator activates automatically and returns a structured output in three tiers: Blockers to resolve before work begins, Sharpeners to improve the quality of the output, and Rights and Logistics to catch the things that tend to surface too late. For media briefs, a fourth Media Planning section covers channel rationale, audience data, flighting, and measurement standards.

Take the Blockers section straight to your client. Use the rest to brief your internal team.

Sample briefs you can use

BRIEF 1 – Media planning

Client: Halo Home Insurance
Campaign: Summer acquisition push
Objective: Drive new policy sign-ups and increase brand consideration among homeowners
Target audience: Homeowners aged 35-60, ABC1
Channels: TV, radio, and digital
Budget: £250,000 – includes everything
Flight dates: July and August
KPIs: Increase website quote requests by 20%, grow brand awareness
Notes: We haven’t done TV before but the MD wants to try it. Radio has been our main channel for the past two years. We want something that feels premium.

BRIEF 2 – Campaign / content

Client: Drift Coffee Roasters (independent specialty coffee brand, D2C)
Campaign: Launch of new subscription tier – “Drift Reserve”
Objective: Generate sign-ups for the new premium subscription and build awareness of the Reserve range
Target audience: Coffee lovers who care about quality and origin
Deliverables: Email campaign to existing subscribers, organic social content, a short product video
Tone: Warm, knowledgeable, not pretentious
Timeline: We want to launch alongside the product, which is confirmed for 1st June
Budget: £8,000 all in
Notes: Our existing subscriber base is about 4,000 people. We’ve done email before but never a proper launch campaign

brief-interrogator.skill

Author

Des Tapaki

I make creative studios work better, and I’ve been doing it for over 20 years.

I’ve worked inside some of the world’s best agencies and digital studios, and the pattern is always the same: talented people, great ideas, and operations that get in the way. Unclear processes, bloated workflows, projects that drag on longer than they should. I come in, work out what’s actually broken, and fix it.

I’ve delivered complex projects for brands like Google, Nike, Rolls-Royce, Coca-Cola and Nintendo. I’ve built and led teams, co-founded a funded startup, and worked across everything from global brand campaigns to AI-powered platforms. I’m currently completing my MBA and deepening my focus on AI systems through the RepresentAI Claude Architect programme.

These days I work with independent creative and tech studios as a fractional ops and delivery partner. I’m the senior person founders call when they need someone to take the operational weight off their shoulders so they can get back to building.