A complete UGC brief tells you what the product is, the one claim the video must land, who it is for, what to deliver, what to say, what to show, when to send it, and how the brand may use it. If any of those are missing, pause before filming and ask for the exact decision you need.
What a complete UGC brief should answer
A good brief answers two different needs. The creative part tells you what to say and show. The commercial part tells you what to deliver, how the brand may use it, and how approval and payment work. Keep both parts in the same document. You should not have to search an email thread for the usage term after you have filmed.
Start with the product and one claim
Name the product and describe what it does in plain language. Then choose the one idea the video needs to land. A product can have ten details, but a UGC video gives the viewer time to understand one of them.
Make the claim concrete enough to demonstrate or explain. "Makes mornings better" is an angle, not a brief. "Mixes into iced coffee without dairy" gives you a product action and a line the brand can approve. If the claim needs exact wording, paste that wording into the brief and mark whether you may shorten it when speaking.
Define the audience before the angle
State who should recognize themselves in the first few seconds. Include the situation, not only a demographic label. "People who make iced coffee before work and want a dairy-free option" gives you more to write than "coffee lovers aged 18 to 34." The situation tells you what the viewer is doing, noticing, or trying to solve.
Lock the deliverables before you film
Write the deliverable like a production order. The creator needs to know how many files are due, what each file should contain, and which parts can vary. Include these fields:
- Count: the number of videos, plus whether they are separate concepts or variations of one concept.
- Length: the target range for each video, with a clear maximum if one matters.
- Aspect ratio: for example, 9:16 for a vertical deliverable.
- Hook variations: the number of opening lines and whether the body and CTA stay the same.
- Files: edited videos, raw footage, or both, with the requested file format.
- Captions and music: whether captions are burned in, supplied separately, or omitted, and whether the creator should add music.
Separate must-say from must-not-say
Put required words in a short must-say list. Include the exact product name, approved claim, discount code, offer wording, pronunciation notes, and CTA language if any of them must survive unchanged. A creator can make the delivery natural without guessing which words are locked.
Use a separate must-not-say list for claims, comparisons, words, and situations the brand wants to avoid. Add the reason when it helps, such as an unapproved performance claim or a legal review concern. "Do not promise that it cures acne" is more useful than "avoid strong claims."
Use reference videos as instructions
A reference video is useful when you say what to study. Note whether the reference shows pacing, framing, a product demonstration, caption placement, or the kind of opening you want. Do not send a pile of links and ask the creator to copy the mood. That leaves the most important decision unresolved.
- Write one sentence explaining what each reference gets right.
- Say what may be borrowed, such as the shot order, and what must stay original, such as the words and delivery.
- Call out any reference detail that is unavailable, such as a second person, a kitchen setup, or a prop.
Write the terms down before the shoot
- Deadline: the date, time, and time zone for delivery, plus whether the date includes the brand's review.
- Revision rounds: the number of included rounds and how feedback will be collected. One consolidated list is different from new notes arriving every day.
- Usage rights and duration: where the brand may run the video, whether paid advertising is included, and how long the permission lasts.
- Payment terms: the agreed amount and currency, what starts the payment clock, and the payment method or invoice process.
- Approval contact: the person who can give final approval, with the best way to reach them.
Usage rights deserve their own line. A brand using a video on its organic account is a different request from running it as an ad for a stated period. If the brief says "all channels forever," ask the brand to spell out the channels and duration before you accept.
Copy-paste UGC creative brief template
- Product: [Product name and what it does]
- One claim to land: [The single approved point the viewer should remember]
- Audience: [Who they are, what they are doing, and what problem they have]
- Deliverables: [Video count, target length, aspect ratio, and whether each is a separate concept]
- Hook variations: [Number of hooks and what stays the same between versions]
- Must say: [Exact product name, claims, codes, offer, pronunciation, and CTA wording]
- Must not say: [Claims, comparisons, words, or situations to avoid]
- Visual do: [Product actions, setting, framing, props, and gestures to include]
- Visual do not: [Packaging, backgrounds, gestures, or product uses to avoid]
- Reference videos: [Links plus the specific pacing, shot, or structure to study]
- Files: [Edited video, raw footage, or both, plus format and naming rules]
- Captions and music: [Caption style or file, music source, and whether a clean version is needed]
- Deadline: [Date, time, time zone, and review date if different]
- Revision rounds: [Number of rounds and how feedback will be grouped]
- Usage rights and duration: [Channels, paid or organic use, territory if relevant, and end date]
- Payment terms: [Amount, currency, trigger, method, and payment timing]
- Approval contact: [Name, role, email or agreed channel, and who has final say]
Filled example: Morrow oat creamer
Morrow oat creamer is fictional. Here is a complete brief without a prewritten script.
- Product: Morrow oat creamer, a fictional oat-based creamer for cold coffee.
- One claim to land: It mixes into iced coffee without dairy.
- Audience: People who make iced coffee before work and want a dairy-free option that is easy to pour.
- Deliverables: Two edited vertical videos, 25 to 35 seconds each, in 9:16. Both use the same body and CTA.
- Hook variations: Two hooks, one about a watery iced coffee and one about a dairy-free swap.
- Must say: "Morrow oat creamer" and "shake before pouring."
- Must not say: "The best creamer," "healthy," or any promise about weight, digestion, or medical results.
- Visual do: Show the bottle being shaken, poured into iced coffee, and stored in a refrigerator.
- Visual do not: Show a competitor package, a messy sink, or the bottle beside a medical product.
- Reference videos: Two brand-supplied videos, one for close-up pouring and one for a quick taste-test opening. Use the shot rhythm, not the wording.
- Files: Two edited MP4 files and the raw talking-head takes for the selected hooks.
- Captions and music: Burned-in captions, no music under the spoken master, and a clean version without music.
- Deadline: Friday at 5:00 p.m. in the agreed time zone.
- Revision rounds: One consolidated round after the first review.
- Usage rights and duration: Organic social use for six months. Paid advertising is not included.
- Payment terms: The agreed fee is paid within 14 days of accepted delivery.
- Approval contact: Nina at Morrow gives final approval in the agreed project channel.
Five questions to ask when a brief is thin
- What is the one claim you need the viewer to remember, and what wording has already been approved?
- How many files are due, how long should each be, and do you need edited footage, raw footage, or both?
- Which words, visuals, comparisons, or product results must I avoid?
- Who gives final approval, how many revision rounds are included, and when will feedback arrive?
- Where may you use the video, for how long, and what are the payment terms?
Red flags before you say yes
- The brief says "make it go viral" without naming an audience, product point, or deliverable.
- The brand wants unlimited revisions or all raw footage but does not define the scope or rights.
- The deadline leaves no time for review, yet the brand expects changes before the campaign starts.
- No one is named as the final approver, so every stakeholder can send a new direction.
- The requested wording implies a result the brand has not approved or cannot support.
- Usage is described as "everywhere" without channels, paid use, duration, or territory.
- Payment is deferred to a later conversation after the work is delivered.
Turn the brief into a script line by line
Once the brief is complete, do not copy every field into the voiceover. Use the fields to give each line a job. The short-form video script template gives you a simple Hook, Body, and CTA shape, while turning a script into a video helps you attach a shot to each line.
- Hook: name the audience's situation. For Morrow, try, "If your iced coffee tastes watery before lunch, check the creamer you are using."
- Product action: show the first useful movement. "I shake Morrow oat creamer, then pour it over the ice."
- Approved claim: say the point the brief cleared. "It mixes into iced coffee without dairy."
- Proof or context: show what the viewer should notice. "The drink stays cold, and the creamer blends in while I stir." Only keep this line if the footage supports it.
- Must-say detail: place locked wording where it sounds natural. "Shake before pouring."
- CTA: use the action the brief requests. "Save this if you are testing a dairy-free iced coffee swap."
Keep the approved brief beside the script while you record. The UGC creator app stack is easier to manage when the brief, script, files, and delivery notes stay connected instead of living in separate places.
Where UGCut's planned marketplace fits
UGCut's marketplace is in development and coming soon. It is planned as a briefs-first marketplace for paid brand work: brands post structured briefs and creators answer them. Browsing the feed and brief details is free, so you can read the terms before deciding whether a job fits.
At launch, brands will pay a 5 percent service fee and creators will keep 100 percent. Payment will be held in escrow and released on acceptance. Those terms do not replace the brief. You still need the rights, revision, deadline, and approval details in writing.
For the filming step, UGCut's script editor uses a script-first workflow. You write sentences first, tag them Hook, Body, or CTA, and those sentences become the recording, cut, and retake units for the work that follows.
Until UGCut's marketplace is ready, use this template to make the brief complete before you pick up the phone.