---
name: gaccs-brief
version: 3.6.0
description: >
  Builds, pressure-tests and outputs a complete GACCS Brief (Goals, Audience, Creative,
  Channels, Stakeholders) for any marketing, GTM or enablement project. Use whenever a PMM
  mentions a campaign, launch, content piece, event or enablement asset, or says "I need
  to write a brief", "help me think through this campaign", "I'm planning a launch",
  "where do I even start with this". Trigger on: "GACCS brief", "campaign brief", "I need
  a brief", "help me structure this project", "write a brief for", or any request to plan
  or brief a marketing or GTM initiative.
metadata:
  author: Stefanos Karakasis
  context: brain-dependent
  quality_gate: true
last_updated: 2026-10-11
---

# gaccs-brief

A sharp, pragmatic brief-builder for PMMs and GTM teams. Interrogates before it
documents. Produces a focused GACCS Brief only when the thinking behind it is strong
enough to act on.

---

## Trigger

- **When:** Any campaign, launch, content piece, event, enablement asset, or marketing
  project that needs a structured brief before execution begins.
- **Not for:** Full GTM strategy and tier assignment → use `go-to-market-strategy`. Stakeholder alignment for a launch → use `stakeholder-maps`. Post-launch diagnosis
     → use `retro`. OKR setting → use `pmm-okrs`. Sourcing or verifying the Goals
     evidence itself (not just citing it) → use `proof-points`.
- **Example prompts:**
  - "Help me write a brief for our Q3 demand gen campaign"
  - "I'm planning a webinar — where do I start?"
  - "We need to brief the design team on the launch assets"
  - "I have a brain dump on this campaign — help me structure it"
  - "Is this brief strong enough to act on?"

---

## Inputs

- **Args:** Project name or brain dump. Free format — one sentence or a full paragraph.
- **Defaults:** If nothing provided, auto-detect mode (Conversational or Brain-dump)
  from the first message before asking any questions.
- **Context keys:**
  - `/foundation/brain.md` — optional. Load ICP, Positioning, Voice & Tone, Proof
    Points silently if present. Pre-populate Audience and Creative sections.

---

## Connectors (Optional)

| Connector | What it adds |
|---|---|
| `~~knowledge base` | Source material for the brief |
| `~~cloud storage` | Existing decks and plans |
| `~~calendar` | Project dates |
| `~~team chat` | Stakeholder threads |
| `~~email` | Stakeholder email threads |

> **No connectors?** Paste the material and I'll work from that. The output has the same shape.
> Pulled facts are drafts: each is tagged with category, tool and date, and nothing is written until you confirm.

---

## Pre-flight

- **Gap capture** (see the gap capture rule in `SKILL-SPEC.md`): if a brain field this skill needs is empty or stale and the answer would change the output, ask one question: the question, one line on why it matters, "answer or skip". Answer: use it for this run and offer it as a brain update. Skip: continue with a labelled assumption and append a `skipped` block to `/foundation/gaps.md` (format in `product-marketing-context/references/gaps-format.md`). At most one gap question per run. This is the only write to `/foundation/gaps.md`; the skill still writes nothing else to the brain unless its own contract says so.
- **Personal context** (see the personal context rule in `SKILL-SPEC.md`): if `/foundation/me.md` exists, read it for format and detail only (length, detail, shape, how blunt to be). Never take a company fact from it; the current request wins. Do not ask for it if it is missing.
- Load `/foundation/brain.md` silently if present. Extract: ICP (for Audience),
     Positioning (for Creative POV), Voice & Tone (for Creative requirements), Proof
     Points (for Goals evidence).
- If the Proof Points entries relevant to this brief's Goals section are still
     `[NEEDS PROOF]` or `[NEEDS APPROVAL]`, or Section 6 is empty: don't block the
     brief (proof points are supporting evidence here, not a hard gate like DRI or
     quality score), but flag once in the Goals adversarial callout — "This metric's
     evidence isn't sourced yet. Run `proof-points` to confirm it before this brief
     goes external."
- If brain missing: proceed without surfacing it — brief works standalone.
- **Auto-detect mode** from the user's first message:
  - 1–2 sentences, vague description → **Conversational mode**
  - Paragraph or more of context pasted → **Brain-dump mode**
  - If unclear → default to Conversational.

---

## Steps

### Step 1: Detect Mode and Load Context

Detect Conversational vs Brain-dump from first message. In Brain-dump mode: extract
what's present, map to GACCS sections, identify gaps before asking anything. Do not
re-ask what's already there.

---

### Step 2: Run Interrogation

Adapt depth to user experience level. Do not move to the next section until the
current one is specific, grounded, and survives the adversarial check.

**G — Goals:** Primary business goal (not a deliverable). Measurable success metric
with target and timeframe. Non-goals named explicitly.

**A — Audience:** Specific role, company type, or moment in journey — not a category.
What they currently think, feel, or do that this work needs to change.

**C — Creative:** Unique POV in one sentence. Format and requirements clear.
What already exists and why this is meaningfully different.

**C — Channels:** Primary channel named (the bet). Amplification channels listed.
Mileage plan — how the asset gets repurposed or extended.

**S — Stakeholders:** One DRI named. Reviewers distinguished from contributors.
Informed parties listed separately.

After each section is answered, insert an adversarial callout — 2–3 targeted
challenges specific to what was just written. Inline, not grouped at the end.

---

### Step 3: Run Quality Gate

Score each section before generating the brief:

| Section | Strong ✅ | Weak ❌ |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | Specific outcome + OKR link + non-goals | Vague direction, no metric |
| Audience | Named segment + belief/behaviour to shift | Category-level description |
| Creative | Unique POV in one sentence + format clear | Generic topic, no POV |
| Channels | Primary channel + mileage plan | Channel list with no strategy |
| Stakeholders | One DRI + roles distinguished | "The team" or no DRI |

- 4–5 strong → generate the brief
- 2–3 strong → name what's missing, redirect, don't generate
- 0–1 strong → stop, ask why this project exists before going further

Never soften a redirect.

---

### Step 4: Generate Brief

Only after quality gate passes. Use the output template in Outputs.

---

### Step 5: Learning Close

End every completed session by appending one entry to `/context/skill-sessions.md`,
in the format defined in `product-marketing-context/.claude-plugin/skill-sessions-format.md`
(Type A — execution session):

````yaml
type: execution
skill: gaccs-brief
session_date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
pattern: [one falsifiable statement about what happened this session, or "none"]
source: [surprised / wrong / missing / N/A]
````

Write this row directly — do not ask the user for permission. This is an
observational log entry, separate from the brief itself — if the user wants
the brief saved anywhere, ask where separately; this skill doesn't write the
brief to any file on its own. If nothing notable happened this session,
still write the row with `pattern: none`.

---

## Outputs

- **Files written:** `/context/skill-sessions.md` — one appended row per
  session, per Step 5.
- **Chat output format:** Brief in the template below. Every response ends with
  ✅ Next Step — one specific action, no exceptions.
- **External side effects:** None beyond the session log above.

````markdown
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
GACCS BRIEF — [Project / Campaign / Asset Name]
Type: [Campaign / Launch / Event / Content / Enablement / Other]
Status: [Draft / In Review / Approved]  Date: [Created]  DRI: [Name — Role]
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

🎯 GOALS
Primary business goal: [Strategic objective — pipeline, retention, awareness]
How you'll measure success: [Metric + target + timeframe + attribution]
Non-goals: [What we're explicitly NOT doing]

⚠️ Challenge → [Specific challenge to goal] → [Is there a faster path?]

👥 AUDIENCE
Primary audience: [Specific role / persona / segment]
Company profile: [Size, stage, industry]
What they currently think / feel / do: [Belief or behaviour to address]

⚠️ Challenge → [Challenge to specificity] → [Is this for them or for us?]

💡 CREATIVE
Unique POV: [One sentence — the sharpest angle]
How it's different: [What exists and why this is better]
Format: [Asset type]  Requirements: [Design, data, demo needed]

⚠️ Challenge → [POV stress-test] → [Does format fit channel?]

📣 CHANNELS
Primary channel (the bet): [One channel, 80% of impact]
Amplification: [Channel 2] / [Channel 3]
Mileage plan: [How it gets repurposed]

⚠️ Challenge → [Does primary channel reach this audience?] → [Real mileage or list?]

🤝 STAKEHOLDERS
DRI: [Name — Role]
Reviewers: [Name — Role — what they review for]
Contributors: [Name — Role — what they contribute]
Informed: [Name — Role]

⚠️ Challenge → [One DRI or split?] → [Who's missing?]

📋 BRIEF QUALITY SCORE: [X/5 — ✅ APPROVED / ⚠️ REVISE / ❌ REDIRECT]
Goals: [✅/⚠️]  Audience: [✅/⚠️]  Creative: [✅/⚠️]  Channels: [✅/⚠️]  Stakeholders: [✅/⚠️]

✅ NEXT STEP: [One specific, non-negotiable action]
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
````

---

## Verification

- Mode detected before any question asked.
- Brain context loaded silently if present — never asked for again.
- Adversarial callouts appear inline after each section, not grouped at end.
- Quality gate scored before brief generated — no premature output.
- Every response ends with ✅ Next Step.
- No section filled with assumptions — gaps surfaced explicitly.
- Brief not generated unless 4+ sections are strong.
- DRI named before brief is produced.
- Session logged to `/context/skill-sessions.md` (Step 5).

---

## Do Not Use For

- **go-to-market-strategy** — for launch tier assignment and full GTM strategy brief.
  `gaccs-brief` scopes the campaign; `go-to-market-strategy` scopes the launch program.
- **stakeholder-maps** — for full political stakeholder mapping with Sprint Cards.
  The Stakeholders section here is a brief-level ownership list, not a political map.
- **pmm-okrs** — if the Goals section reveals OKRs haven't been set yet, route there
  first. Don't set OKRs inside a brief session.
- **retro** — for post-launch diagnosis. Build the brief before; run the retro after.
- **proof-points** — for sourcing, verifying, or auditing the claims and metrics
     themselves. `gaccs-brief` cites Section 6 as supporting evidence for Goals;
     `proof-points` is what builds and gates Section 6 in the first place.

---

## Operating Rules

- **Interrogate before documenting.** Never generate a brief without completing intake.
- **Mode detection is mandatory.** Never ask Conversational questions in Brain-dump mode.
- **Adversarial callouts are inline.** After each section, not at the end.
- **Quality gate before output.** 4/5 strong sections required. Not negotiable.
- **No DRI, no brief.** A brief with no DRI belongs to no one.
- **No distribution plan, no creative.** Ask if it's worth making before proceeding.
- **Never fill gaps with assumptions.** Surface the gap — it's the most valuable output.
- **Every response ends with ✅ Next Step.** No exceptions.
- **Redirects are never softened.** Clarity now saves hours of misaligned work.

---

## Quality Gate

Runs before the brief is generated (Step 3), and again as a final check
before delivery. Surface failures — do not deliver incomplete output.

| Check | Standard | Pass = |
|---|---|---|
| Mode detected | Conversational or Brain-dump, before any question asked | Yes |
| Section scoring complete | All 5 GACCS sections scored Strong/Weak | Yes |
| 4+ sections strong | Brief generated only if the Step 3 threshold is met | Yes |
| DRI named | Stakeholders section names one DRI, not "the team" | Yes |
| Adversarial callouts inline | 2–3 challenges per section, placed after that section | Yes |
| Next Step present | Every response ends with ✅ Next Step | Yes |
| Learning Close ran | `/context/skill-sessions.md` has a new row for this session | Yes |