The influencer brief that gets you the video you asked for.

Why the brief decides the video

Most of what goes wrong in an influencer video was decided before anyone pressed record. The brand turns up at second 12. The ad label is missing. The message drifts into something nobody asked for. Each of those traces back to a brief that didn’t ask for it.

The brief is also the cheapest place to fix them. A line in the brief costs nothing; a re-cut after the video arrives costs a week, and a video that goes out wrong costs the fee.

What most brief templates leave out

We looked at 20 influencer brief templates that platforms and agencies give away, and read the 15 that were open in full (21 October 2026). Nearly all cover deliverables and dates. None named the UK rules from the ASA or the CMA, none worked the dates back from the day the post goes live to leave time to check the draft, and none said how you would know the campaign worked beyond counting views and clicks. This one does all three.

The template, section by section

It uses the same sections as the brief influencers see in Justify.

1. The goal. One sentence on what the campaign is for, and the brand in one line: who you are and what you sell, said the way you would say it to a friend.
2. Key messages. Three at most, the most important first. The one thing a viewer should be able to repeat.
3. Audience. The people you want to reach, in plain words, and what they care about.
4. Creative direction. The idea and the talking points, not a script: give them the facts and let them find the words. Add two or three videos you like.
5. Tone and style. How it should feel, and any words you always or never use.
6. Requirements. The product on screen in the first three seconds. The brand name said out loud early. Your pack, colours or logo clearly in view. The promo code or link, said and shown.
7. Disclosure. “Ad” at the start of every post, where people see it without clicking. The platform’s paid-partnership label can help, but it may not be enough on its own, so add “Ad” as well. Avoid “sponsored”, “gifted”, “in association with” and “spon”. Gifted products count, and the brand and the influencer are both responsible. Check the label on the draft and again on the live post (ASA advice, 6 August 2026; CMA guidance, updated 3 September 2025).
8. Approved claims. What they can say about the product, word for word. And what not to say: any claim you can’t back with evidence, such as “number one” or “the best”, any health or results claim, and anything about other brands.
9. Specs and deliverables. Platform, format, length, and how many posts and Stories.
10. Timeline, worked back from go-live. Start with the posting window, then the sign-off date, then the draft date. Leave at least two working days to check the draft, say how quickly you will reply, and keep changes to two rounds.
11. Rights and fee. Whether you can repost the video, run it as a paid advert (such as Instagram’s partnership ads or TikTok’s Spark Ads) or use it on your website and in emails, for how long and where. Any exclusivity. Then the fee and when it is paid: on posting, on approval, and with the post left up for an agreed number of days.
12. Success criteria. How you will know it worked: the question you want answered, what you will measure, what you will compare it with, what counts as a success, and when you will read it. Say what the influencer is not judged on.

End by asking them to reply “Agreed”, so you both know the brief is settled.

A filled-in example

Here it is filled in for a Christmas gift set from Fernwick, a skincare brand.

Copy the blank brief

Copy it into your own document, or download it, then fill in the blanks and send it with the offer.

INFLUENCER BRIEF

The goal: ______
Key messages (three at most, most important first): 1 ______  2 ______  3 ______
Audience: ______

Creative direction (talking points, not a script): ______
Tone and style: ______

Requirements
- Product on screen in the first 3 seconds
- Brand name said out loud in the first line
- Pack, colours or logo clearly in view
- Promo code or link, said and shown: ______

Disclosure: “Ad” at the start of every post, seen without clicking, plus the platform’s paid-partnership label. Not “sponsored”, “gifted” or “spon”. We check it on the draft and on the live post.

Approved claims: ______
Do not say: claims we can’t back (e.g. “number one”), health or results claims, anything about other brands

Specs and deliverables: platform ______, format ______, length ______, posts ______, Stories ______

Timeline (worked back from go-live): live between ______; sign-off by ______; draft by ______; we reply within ______ working days; up to two rounds of changes

Rights: repost yes / no; paid advert yes / no, for ______ months, on ______, in ______; website and email yes / no; exclusivity ______
Fee: ______, paid when ______; post stays up for ______ days

Success criteria: question ______; measure ______; compared with ______; success means ______; read on ______; not judged on ______

Please reply “Agreed” to confirm.

Copy the briefDownload as a document

Three mistakes that cost the most

Doing all this over DMs and a spreadsheet?

Plenty of brands run influencers this way: a brief in a Google Doc, the back and forth in Instagram DMs, a spreadsheet of who is posting what, and a scramble at the end to work out what sold. It works, until there are more than a handful of influencers.

That is the point of doing it in one place: more influencers, without more spreadsheets, and at the end you know what the work achieved.

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