Event Agency RFP and Brief Template
Bad briefs produce bad pitches and then bad events. This is the structure we wish every RFP used, including the questions that most reliably expose weak agencies.
The brief: eight sections
- Business context and the outcome the event must produce
- Audience: who, how many, seniority, travel origin
- Format constraints and any non-negotiables
- Date window, geography and known conflicts
- Budget band (state it — withholding it wastes everyone's time and produces uncomparable proposals)
- Scope split: what you will do in-house versus what the agency owns
- Decision process, timeline and who signs
- Evaluation criteria and weightings
Questions that separate agencies
- Name the exact team who will work on this and their availability in our date window.
- Show a project of similar complexity that went wrong and what you changed afterwards.
- How is your fee structured, and what triggers a change order?
- What is your supplier margin policy and will you disclose it?
- Who is on site, with what authority, and who is the escalation after hours?
Scoring
Weight relevant experience and named team above creative concept. Pitch creative is written by people who often do not deliver the event; the named producer is who determines the outcome.
Frequently asked questions
Should we tell agencies our budget in an RFP?
Yes. Withholding the budget produces proposals you cannot compare and forces agencies to guess at scope. State a band; you keep the negotiating room and get comparable submissions.
How many agencies should be in an event RFP?
Three to four. Beyond that you dilute the quality of every response, because good agencies deprioritise pitches with long lists.
Keep planning
When you're ready to brief someone
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