An aviation marketing brief does not need polished agency language. It needs operating truth.
The useful version tells an agency what the business sells, where it can deliver, which enquiries matter, what can be claimed publicly and how a lead becomes revenue. That is enough to scope aviation marketing, a website, organic search or paid search without turning the first step into a meeting marathon.
Copy the template below into an email or document. Short answers are fine. If a section is unknown, write “unknown” rather than guessing.
Copy-and-paste aviation marketing brief
1. Business and aviation sector
- Business name:
- Website:
- Primary contact:
- Sector: flight school / charter / aircraft management / MRO / FBO / drone services / aerospace / avionics / other
- Operating approvals or certificates relevant to the service:
- Bases, airports or service locations:
Include the regulatory language buyers use when it is relevant: CASA, FAA, EASA, Part 61, Part 135, Part 141, Part 145, Part 107 or the applicable local framework. The goal is accuracy, not a long credentials list.
2. Commercial objective and priority services
- Primary commercial objective for the next 90 days:
- Priority service, programme, route or capability:
- Secondary priority:
- Services that should not be promoted:
- Capacity available now:
“More leads” is too broad. A flight school may need more commercial pilot starts rather than trial flights. A charter operator may need direct corporate itineraries rather than general quote volume. An MRO may want requests within an approved capability instead of every maintenance enquiry.
3. Locations and markets
- Countries or regions served:
- Airport, route or training catchment priorities:
- Locations that cannot be served:
- Languages required:
- Regulatory or commercial limits by market:
For charter, include origin and destination patterns where appropriate. For flight training, define the practical catchment and any international-student requirements. For drone, MRO and engineering services, define where crews, approvals or equipment can operate.
4. Definition of a qualified lead
- A qualified lead is:
- Required service fit:
- Required location fit:
- Minimum information needed to respond:
- Common unqualified enquiries:
- Who makes the buying decision:
This definition connects traffic to pipeline. It also prevents a website or ad account from being judged on form submissions that the operating team cannot use.
5. Current website, SEO and paid search
- Current website platform:
- Website problems already known:
- Organic-search work completed:
- Google Ads or other paid campaigns running:
- Pages or campaigns that currently produce useful enquiries:
- Pages or campaigns that attract poor-fit enquiries:
- Previous agency or internal work that should be preserved:
Share what is working as well as what is broken. A source-safe project keeps useful URLs, evidence and measurement intact instead of rebuilding for appearance alone.
6. Website and technical constraints
- Content-management system:
- Hosting provider:
- Booking, student-management, charter, maintenance or customer systems:
- Forms, chat or phone systems:
- Required integrations:
- Internal information-technology owner or supplier:
- Known privacy, security or accessibility requirements:
For a website project, note any booking engine, learning system, fleet feed, aircraft-availability data, quote process or maintenance portal that cannot be interrupted.
7. Access and readiness
Mark each item as available, needs recovery or not in use:
- website administration;
- domain and domain-name records;
- hosting;
- Google Search Console;
- Google Analytics;
- Google Ads;
- Google Business Profile;
- tag management;
- customer or lead-management system; and
- call tracking or phone reporting.
Do not send passwords in the brief. Use role-based invitations, a password manager or the platform's own access system after the scope is agreed.
8. Compliance, evidence and public claims
- Person who approves technical and operational claims:
- Regulatory references that require review:
- Certificates, approvals or memberships that may be shown:
- Client names, aircraft registrations or project details that are confidential:
- Performance claims with supporting records:
- Required disclaimer or legal review:
Aviation copy often crosses operations, safety, training, engineering and regulation. Name the reviewer early. If a result or credential has no current source, leave it out until it can be verified.
9. Internal approval owner
- Final commercial decision owner:
- Website or technical approver:
- Operational or compliance approver:
- Who supplies source material:
- Expected review time:
One owner can fill several roles. What matters is knowing who can approve each type of decision.
10. Decision and start window
- Decision date:
- Earliest practical start:
- Fixed operational dates:
- Launch, enrolment, route, fleet or audit deadlines:
- Periods when the team cannot review work:
Separate a real operational deadline from a preferred marketing date. That lets the scope protect certificate work, peak flying periods and roster constraints.
11. Working budget range
- Project or monthly working range:
- Does the range include ad spend?
- Internal costs or suppliers already committed:
- What must be included:
- What may be phased later:
A range is enough for the first pass. It helps distinguish a channel problem from a scope problem without forcing the operator to design the solution.
12. Measurement and reporting
- Primary business outcome:
- Lead stages currently recorded:
- How a lead is marked qualified:
- How a sale or enrolment is recorded:
- Reporting recipient:
- Useful reporting frequency:
- Current baseline, if known:
Ask for reporting that follows the enquiry beyond the form. Rankings, visits and ad conversions explain part of the path; the operator's qualified and won outcomes explain whether the work is commercially useful.
What to attach
Useful attachments include:
- current service or capability list;
- approved certificate and regulatory wording;
- aircraft, facility, team and operational photography that may be published;
- existing brand assets;
- recent lead-quality notes;
- anonymised sales-stage definitions;
- current page or campaign priorities; and
- approved testimonials or case-study evidence.
Do not attach passwords, private keys, passenger information, student records, maintenance records or confidential client data. The brief is for scoping, not credential storage.
How OTGM uses the brief
The answers support five decisions:
- Commercial fit: which service and buyer should lead the work.
- Search demand: whether organic search, paid search or another channel matches the buying behaviour.
- Architecture: which sector, service, location or capability pages are needed and which existing URLs should remain.
- Measurement: how a visit connects to a qualified enquiry and final outcome.
- Paid-search quality: how campaigns, locations and landing pages should filter for serviceable demand.
The output should be a written scope with assumptions, exclusions, measurement and next actions. You should not need to arrive with a finished strategy.
To have OTGM review the brief asynchronously, send the completed answers. You can also check the current service structure and pricing and review published work before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
What should an aviation marketing brief include?
It should define the commercial objective, priority services, locations, qualified lead, current marketing setup, technical constraints, access, claims process, decision owner, timing, budget range and measurement plan.
Does an aviation operator need a finished strategy before contacting an agency?
No. The operator needs clear operating facts and commercial constraints. The agency should turn those facts into channel, page and measurement recommendations.
Why does an aviation marketing brief ask about compliance and claims?
Aviation services can involve regulatory approvals, operational limits and safety-sensitive statements. Naming the approval process early reduces rework and helps keep public claims accurate.
