There’s a contradiction that shows up in almost every first campaign: the brand hires a creator because they don’t sound like an ad, and then sends over a script that turns them into exactly that.
You can spot the result from a mile away. The piece sounds read off a page, the audience notices, engagement drops, and the conclusion drawn inside the company is that “influencers didn’t work”.
What does belong in the brief
Context. What the product is, who it’s for, what problem it solves. This doesn’t get cut: a creator who doesn’t understand the product will speak in generalities.
The non-negotiables. Usually few and serious: what can NOT be said. Health claims that aren’t substantiated, competitor comparisons, promises of results. This list protects both sides and works best explicit and short.
The points that have to land. One, two, three at most. If your list has seven key messages, none of them will land.
The formalities. Deliverables, dates, how the partnership gets disclosed, where the link or code goes.
References of what you like. Two or three examples, each with one sentence on why. Far more useful than three paragraphs of adjectives about brand tone.
What to let go of
The word-for-word script. The person who best knows how their community talks is the one who built it. Give them the what; the how is their craft, and it’s literally what you’re paying for.
The mandatory packshot at second one. It works in an ad, where the audience already knows they’re being sold to. In a feed it makes people scroll past before the sentence starts.
The five approval rounds. Every round moves the piece further from the original voice and closer to the publish date. One revision round with specific notes is usually enough; put the number in writing.
The exact brand phrase in the opening line. If the first sentence has to contain the product name and three attributes, it isn’t a recommendation any more: it’s a radio spot.
A brief structure that works
One page. If it doesn’t fit, something is surplus.
- What it is and who it’s for (three lines)
- What we want to happen (one: awareness, trial, sales, content)
- Points that must land (three max, in plain language)
- Non-negotiables (short list of what can’t be said)
- Deliverables and dates
- Disclosure and links
- References (two or three, with the why)
Everything else — brand history, palette, manifesto — goes in an appendix that gets read if needed.
The acid test
Before sending the brief, read it and ask yourself: could any creator in my category deliver exactly the same piece from this?
If the answer is yes, the brief is too closed. What you’ve written is an ad, and you didn’t need a creator for that.
At Venture180 we build the brief with you and translate it into each creator’s language, non-negotiables intact. You approve the approach; the creator decides how to tell it.