A creator campaign is only as clear as its brief. When creators understand the goal, the audience and the boundaries, they can do what they do best: make content their audience actually wants to watch. When the brief is vague, campaigns tend to need more revisions, take longer and feel less natural.
Here’s what a strong brief covers.
1. The goal
Start with what success looks like. Are you building awareness for a launch, driving sign-ups, collecting content for your own channels, or growing a long-term presence in a community? The goal shapes everything else, from which creators fit to which formats make sense.
2. The audience
Describe who you want to reach: age range, interests, location and what they care about. This helps creators confirm their audience is a match and decide how to frame your product for the people who follow them.
3. The product or offer
Explain what you’re promoting and why it matters. Include the key points you’d like mentioned, any discount codes or links, and how the creator will receive the product. Fewer, clearer messages usually work better than a long list.
4. Deliverables
Be specific:
- Platforms and formats (for example, one TikTok and three Instagram Stories)
- Rough length or number of frames
- Whether links, tags or codes are required
- Any required hashtags or disclosure wording
5. Creative direction, with room to breathe
Share your brand’s tone, examples you like and anything that must be avoided. Then leave space for the creator’s own style. Audiences follow creators for their voice. Content that sounds like a script often performs worse than content that sounds like the creator.
6. Timeline and approvals
List the dates for product delivery, draft submission, feedback, final approval and posting. Say how many rounds of revisions are included and who gives feedback. Clear approval steps prevent last-minute surprises for both sides.
7. Usage rights and exclusivity
If you’d like to use the content beyond the creator’s own post, such as in ads, on your website or in email, state where, for how long and whether you’d like to run ads through the creator’s account. Note any exclusivity period. These affect pricing, so it’s best to raise them up front.
8. Reporting
Tell creators which results you’d like shared after posting, such as views, reach, link clicks or saves, and when. Agreeing on this in advance makes it easy to measure the campaign.
9. Compensation and payment terms
Confirm the fee, what it covers, and when and how payment is made. Clear payment terms build trust and make creators more likely to want to work with you again.
How MBV supports brands
MBV works with brands on sponsored content, UGC, product seeding, ambassador partnerships, events and long-term campaigns. We help shape briefs, match brands with creators who genuinely fit, and coordinate approvals and deadlines from start to finish. If you’re planning a campaign, start a conversation with us.