An event brief template records the outcome you want, who is attending, the dates, location, budget, supplier requirements and decision makers. For a corporate event, it should also say who approves spending and which travel costs belong in the total. Use the copyable brief below before requesting quotes, so every supplier prices the same job.
This template is for an internal event lead or EA organising an offsite, conference or company meeting. It works in a shared document; you do not need software to start.
Copy this event brief
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Event and owner | Working title, lead organiser and deputy |
| Business outcome | The decision, relationship or skill the event should produce |
| Success measure | What you will check afterwards, who measures it and when |
| Audience | Expected attendees, roles, departure cities and external guests |
| Dates | Preferred dates, alternatives and dates that cannot move |
| Location | City or search area, travel constraints and maximum transfer time |
| Programme | Sessions, meals, activities and overnight stays |
| Venue | Seating layout, usable capacity, breakout rooms and access requirements |
| Catering | Meals, service times and how dietary requirements will be collected |
| AV | Microphones, display, connectivity, technical support and rehearsal |
| Travel | Flights or rail, hotel nights, transfers and booking owner |
| Budget | Total ceiling, currency, tax basis and contingency treatment |
| Approval | Named budget owner, spending limits and approval deadline |
| Procurement | Quote deadline, comparison criteria and required supplier information |
| Dependencies | Decisions that must happen before another task can begin |
Write “unknown, owner to confirm by [date]” where information is missing. An explicit gap is useful. A guessed guest count that looks confirmed is not.
A worked corporate event brief
The following is an illustrative scenario, not a Comtev customer case study or a market price benchmark.
Event: product and sales alignment day, 60 colleagues.
Outcome: agree the next quarter's launch responsibilities.
Success: each workstream leaves with an owner and deadline.
Dates: preferred Thursday, with the following Tuesday as an alternative.
Location: Birmingham, accessible from three departure cities.
Venue: one cabaret room, two breakouts, step-free access and a quiet room.
Programme: arrivals, shared context, workstream planning, lunch and decisions.
Travel: rail for most attendees; identify anyone needing a hotel before comparing venues.
Budget: finance to confirm the total ceiling before supplier outreach.
Approval: operations director reviews the cost proposal before any commitment.
Quotes: return an itemised total, inclusions, exclusions, validity date and payment milestones.
The brief gives a venue something to price and gives finance something to challenge. “A memorable team day somewhere central” does neither.
Give suppliers a consistent version
Send the same attendance assumptions, timings and room layouts to each supplier. Ask them to separate included items from optional extras. A quote with AV included cannot be compared fairly with one that excludes the technician, microphones and rehearsal access.
Record the brief's version and date in the quote request. If attendance changes, issue the revised assumption to every shortlisted supplier. Keep the earlier quotes as superseded evidence rather than mixing them into the current comparison. Our event procurement checklist follows that process through to approval.
Make the budget boundary explicit
Decide whether the ceiling covers venue and catering alone or the full event, including travel, accommodation and transfers. Show estimates separately from supplier-confirmed figures. Keep contingency visible instead of hiding it in inflated lines.
Use the corporate event budget template to turn those assumptions into a working total. For a wider planning sequence, see how to plan a company offsite.
Move from a brief to a reviewable proposal
Comtev uses an event brief to source venue and vendor options and estimate flights and hotels, bringing the results into one budget. You can save a versioned proposal for stakeholder review. Supplier sourcing and quoting are distinct from making a venue or vendor booking, which is settled off-platform.
Explore Comtev's budget and proposals, or bring your brief to a demo.
FAQs
What is an event brief?
An event brief is the agreed description of an event's outcome, audience, requirements, constraints and decision makers. It gives the organising team and suppliers one set of assumptions to work from.
How long should a corporate event brief be?
Start with a concise summary and a requirements table. Add schedules, room specifications and other supporting detail only where a supplier or decision maker needs them. Completeness matters more than a fixed page count.
Is an event brief the same as an event proposal?
The brief describes the requirement. A proposal responds with options, costs and a delivery approach. Keep both versions so reviewers can see whether the proposal actually meets the brief.