Guide for brands
How to write a campaign brief
A campaign brief should state the goal, the exact deliverables and posting dates, the key messages and any required claims, what must be avoided, the disclosure requirement, the approval process, the usage rights, and the fee with payment terms. Be exact on rules and permissive on creative.
A brief has one job: remove every ambiguity that could turn into a dispute, without removing the creator's judgement about their own audience. Briefs fail in both directions, and the vague ones and the over-specified ones fail differently.
1. State the goal in one line
Tell the creator what the campaign is for. A creator making content for sign-ups makes different content than one making content for awareness, and they cannot make that choice if you do not tell them.
This also sets expectations for the report. A creator who knows you are measuring code redemptions will mention the code properly.
2. Specify deliverables precisely and count them
Name the format, the platform, the quantity, and the dates. Three stories is ambiguous. Three story frames posted the same day, each with a link sticker, between the 3rd and the 10th is not.
List anything additional separately with its own price, particularly cutdowns for adverts, versions for other platforms, and raw footage.
3. Give key messages, not a script
Three or four bullet points of what must come across, plus any legally required claim wording. That is the whole of what should be mandatory about the content.
Explicitly invite the creator to put it in their own voice and format. Writing that line in the brief measurably improves what comes back, because otherwise creators default to guessing what you want.
Common mistake: A shot list and a script. It produces content the creator's audience recognises as an advert instantly, and it is the single biggest cause of a campaign underperforming.
4. List what to avoid
Competitor mentions, claims you cannot substantiate, topics that are off-brand, and any regulated language for your category. A short do-not list is more useful than a long do list.
Include the practical ones people forget: other brands visible in shot, music licensing, and anything that would break the platform's own advertising rules.
5. State the disclosure requirement explicitly
Say exactly what you require: the platform's paid partnership label, plus a clear written or spoken disclosure at the start of the content. Do not leave it to the creator to work out what is sufficient.
This protects both sides. Regulators expect the brand to have told the creator the rules and to have checked they were followed, so a brief that omits it is a gap in your own compliance.
6. Define approvals, rights, and payment
Say how many approval rounds are included, usually one or two, and how quickly you will respond. Open-ended approvals are the most common source of resentment in creator work.
State the usage rights you are buying: which channels, which territories, how long, and whether you may edit. Then state the fee, the invoicing process, and the payment terms. If any of these are missing, assume they will be argued about later.
Common questions
- How long should a campaign brief be?
- One to two pages. Long briefs are skimmed, and the sections that get skipped are usually the compliance ones that actually matter. Put the rules first and the inspiration last.
- Should a brief include the fee?
- Yes. A brief that omits the fee forces a second negotiation after the creator has already started planning, which is where deals fall apart.
Terms used in this guide
- Campaign brief
- A campaign brief is the document a brand gives a creator setting out the goal, the deliverables, the key messages, the dos and don'ts, the timeline, and the disclosure requirements.
- Deliverable
- A deliverable is a single specified piece of content a creator has agreed to produce, such as one feed post, a set of three story frames, or a 60-second video.
- Usage rights
- Usage rights define where a brand may reuse a creator's content, in what form, and for how long. Without them, the brand may not repost or advertise with the content even though it paid for the post.
- FTC disclosure
- FTC disclosure is the requirement in the United States that a creator clearly reveals any material connection to a brand, such as payment, free product, or commission, when endorsing it. Disclosure must be clear, prominent, and hard to miss.
- Payment terms
- Payment terms set when a creator is actually paid after invoicing. Net 30 means payment is due 30 days after the invoice date, net 60 within 60 days.