Adding a promo, funnel stage, and inspiration to a brief

The avatar, hook, and angle define what a brief says. The promo, funnel stage, and inspiration fields define the context around it — the offer being pushed, where the ad sits in the customer journey, and the reference that shows your editor exactly what you have in mind. Skipping these is the difference between an ad that's technically on-brief and one that's genuinely ready to build. This guide covers all three.

You'll find these fields in the brief builder. If you don't see them, they may be hidden — more on that below.

Adding a promo

The promo field captures the offer the ad should feature — a percentage off, a bundle, free shipping, a limited-time deal, or no promo at all. It matters because a promo changes the call to action, the on-screen text, and often the urgency of the whole ad. An editor building an evergreen concept makes different choices than one building around a Black Friday deal.

• State the exact offer, not just "a discount" — write "20% off first order" so nothing is ambiguous
• Note any dates or deadlines if the promo is time-boxed
• If the ad is evergreen, say so explicitly so no promo gets added by accident

Choosing the funnel stage

The funnel stage tells the team where this creative sits in the customer journey — top of funnel to win new attention, middle to nurture consideration, or bottom to convert and retarget. It shapes both the message and how you'll judge the result.

1. Decide the job of the ad: is it introducing your brand, building consideration, or closing the sale?
2. Set the matching funnel stage on the brief.
3. Align it with the awareness level — top-of-funnel concepts usually target colder, less-aware viewers; bottom-of-funnel targets warm, product-aware ones.
4. Use it to set expectations: a top-of-funnel ad and a retargeting ad shouldn't be held to the same conversion bar.

Being deliberate about funnel stage also keeps your pipeline balanced. If every brief is bottom-of-funnel, you're not feeding new prospects into the top.

Adding inspiration

Inspiration is the fastest way to remove ambiguity from a brief. A single reference ad communicates pacing, tone, structure, and style faster than a paragraph of description ever could. On the brief you can add inspiration two ways:

• Paste a link to a reference ad, a competitor's video, or a swipe file you want the editor to study
• Upload a file — a screenshot, a storyboard, or a sample clip — so the reference travels with the brief

When you attach inspiration, add a line of notes about what specifically to borrow. "Match this pacing and the text-on-screen style, but not the voiceover tone" is far more useful than a bare link, because it tells the editor what to take and what to leave.

For heavier reference material and work-in-progress cuts, keep files in the Vault, where you can organize them in folders, leave review comments with a video timecode, and track versions as the edit evolves.

If a field is missing or you need more

ATIYO lets you hide or show individual brief sections, so if your workspace doesn't use the promo field, an admin may have hidden it. You can show it again from the brief's section settings. On the flip side, if you need context fields beyond the defaults, the custom brief builder on Growth and Team plans lets you add, remove, and reorder fields so every brief matches how your team actually works.

Prefer to keep briefs lean? Hide the fields you never fill in. A short brief that's fully completed beats a long one with empty boxes.

Next steps

Open a recent brief and confirm the promo, funnel stage, and inspiration are all filled in — or intentionally left blank. Then send it to your Creative Roadmap with an editor and due date. For the fields that carry the persuasion, read Writing hooks, angles, and core desires, and for the full workflow, see How to write a creative brief your team can execute.