August 29, 2026

How I Brief an Avatar for a Client in 20 Minutes

I keep getting briefs that say "Women 18-34, interested in wellness." A phone cannot learn that. That is a media plan.

An avatar is a person. Problem in their mouth. What they already quit. What they watch at 11pm. If I brief the phone like a media plan, I get a media-plan list.

This is the 20-minute version I use so a 3-15 person shop can run a new client without a two-week research sprint.

What I actually ask

I ask four things. Then I stop.

1. What did they already try? Apps, brands, creators they have already paid. I am looking for what failed. "Tried Noom, hates calorie logging, watches ADHD morning routines" is an avatar. "Wants to lose weight" is not.

2. What do they open at 11pm when they should be asleep? Not what they tell a survey. The hobby, the sport, the money anxiety. Feeds are built from linger time.

3. Language and geography. English US is a different For You than English UK. Do not mix them on one phone.

4. Who they should not look like. The 400k productivity person their CMO already DMed. Write it down so the list does not come back with that face.

I do not need a 12-slide persona. I need those four answers from whoever actually talks to customers. Often not the person who hired you.

What I ignore

Follower counts, micro vs macro, competitor creator lists, and anything that starts with a hashtag. Those belong in the outreach spreadsheet, after I have names from a feed.

I also ignore "make it go viral." An avatar brief cannot promise that.

How I use it

I drop the brief into JumpTrend as one avatar. I scroll TikTok and Instagram on real phones as that person. Scout returns who kept showing up. You decide who is pitchable. If you want me on first-touch, that is Outreach ($2,500) or Dealmaker ($5,000). Same brief.

One plan, one avatar. A second client is a second brief. If you smear five brands onto one phone, the feed splits the difference and the list gets worse for everyone.

If you cannot write those four answers, don't buy this. Talk to three of the client's users first.

Free tool, no account: jumptrend.co/brief.

This is the process JumpTrend automates. Describe your customer and we scroll their algorithm on a real phone.

Start at $1,500/mo