What goes into an influencer brief?

Fill in the square brackets and delete whatever doesn’t fit your campaign. Send the long version as a document together with the contract. The short one fits into a DM or the top of an email.

Brief: [campaign name]
Brand: [name], contact: [name, email, phone]
Contract dated: [date]

1. Goal
[What should the post achieve? For example sales of the new serum during promotion week, clicks to the product page or awareness of the new line]

2. Product
[Name, variant, colour or size, price, link to the product page]
[What makes it special, in one or two sentences we can back up]

3. Deliverables
[Platform, format and number, for example 1 Reel and 3 Story frames with a link sticker on Instagram]

4. Key messages (three at most)
- [Message 1]
- [Message 2]
Say it in your own words. We won’t hand you a finished script.

5. Please don’t
- [Claims about effects we can’t back up]
- [Comparisons with other brands]
- [Products from other brands in the same category in the same post]

6. Disclosure (German rules)
- Post: “Werbung” or “Anzeige” (advertisement) as the first word of the caption, visible without expanding the text
- Story: “Werbung” clearly legible on every frame that is part of the collaboration
- Reel and other videos with the product at the centre: “Werbung” on screen for the whole video or the whole ad sequence, plus “Werbung” as the first word of the caption
- Affiliate link: asterisk (*) on the link and a short explanation right next to it
- Discount code: “Werbung” or “Anzeige” right by the code
- Not enough: “ad”, “#ad” among the hashtags, “sponsored by”, “PR sample”
- Please tag [@brand] in the post

7. Links and codes
Link: [link]
Discount code: [code], valid until [date], [minimum order value, exclusions]

8. Timing
Publish between [date] and [date], keep online until at least [date]

9. Approval
Draft or screenshot by [date] to [email]. We’ll reply within [number] working days. We check claims and disclosure, not your style.

10. KPIs
Please send us screenshots from your stats [number] days after posting: [reach, views, link clicks, watch time]

11. Pay
[Fee, commission or products], details in the contract dated [date]

Hi [name], here are the key points for [campaign] at a glance:
Product: [name] [link]
Goal: [for example sales during promotion week]
Deliverables: [for example 1 Reel, 3 Story frames]
Please include: [key message 1], [key message 2]
Please don’t: [no-go]
Disclosure: “Werbung” as the first word of the caption, on screen for the whole Reel, on every Story frame. An * on affiliate links with a short note.
Code: [code], valid until [date]
Online between [date] and [date]
Draft to me by [date]
The full brief is attached. Thanks

The creator comes first. Under § 5a(4) UWG, the German Act against Unfair Competition, it is unfair not to make the commercial purpose of a post clear, where it is not obvious from the circumstances and leaving it out could lead consumers to a transactional decision they would not otherwise have taken. A post about another company’s brand only has a commercial purpose in this sense if payment or a similar consideration was received or promised. The law presumes it was, until it is shown credibly that none was received. According to the German media authorities, products sent free of charge can count as consideration too. In 2021 the Federal Court of Justice objected to an Instagram post for which an influencer had received consideration from the manufacturer and which she had not labelled clearly enough (I ZR 90/20, under the UWG as then in force).

That doesn’t let the brand off the hook. Under § 8(2) UWG, claims for removal and injunctive relief also lie against the owner of a business if an employee or agent commits the infringement within that business. It is for the courts to decide, case by case, if a creator counts as your brand’s agent. The provision contains no exception for carefully briefed campaigns. A good brief makes mistakes less likely, but it does not shield you from liability.

Your brand can also face claims directly. In 2017, in summary proceedings, the Higher Regional Court of Celle barred a company from advertising cosmetics through an influencer presenting herself as a private person without making the advertising purpose clear. The court based the ban on § 8(1), § 3 and § 5a(6) UWG as then in force. A “#ad” as the second of six hashtags at the end of the post was not enough (13 U 53/17). The court warned of a penalty payment of up to €250,000 for each further breach.

1. Put the exact wording in the brief: “Werbung” or “Anzeige”. According to the media authorities, “bezahlte Werbepartnerschaft” (paid advertising partnership) also works, but “ad”, “AZ”, “sponsored by” or “PR sample” do not.
2. Say where the label goes: as the first word of the caption, on every Story frame and, if the product is the focus of a video, on screen for the whole video or the ad sequence. According to the media authorities, it must be visible without scrolling or expanding.
3. Ask for your brand to be named or tagged in the post. Under § 6(1) no. 2 DDG (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, Germany’s national Digital Services Act), it must be clear on whose behalf the advertising is done.
4. For affiliate links, ask for an asterisk on the link and a short explanation right next to it. For discount codes, ask for “Werbung” or “Anzeige” by the code and the terms of the code.
5. Have the draft sent to you before it goes live, and check the finished post in the app and in a browser. According to the media authorities, the label must be recognisable on all devices.
6. Keep the brief, the approval and screenshots of the published post. That way you can show later what was agreed and what went online.

With wyrld Boost you put up a campaign budget and set the products, KPIs and time frame. KPIs can be, for example, purchases, clicks, watch time or reach. wyrld measures clicks through the links, the shops report purchases, and creators upload watch time and reach from their own stats. You also decide where people buy: only in your shop, on Amazon, or with price comparison across the shops that carry your product.

Many creators can take part at once and then feature your products in their own videos and storefronts. Each creator decides for themselves if they join, so the number of participants isn’t fixed in advance. Boost campaign videos are advertising, and creators label them as such. The pool goes to the creators according to the KPIs they hit. You agree with wyrld before the start how it is split. After the campaign you see which creator delivered which results.

With the brand and shop subscription you also see which creators already feature your products and which of them sell. With those creators, wyrld sets up your own terms or plans a Boost campaign. Even if creators can usually already pick your products through your affiliate programme with one of the major networks, that alone doesn’t lead to posts. You can talk through with wyrld which option fits your campaign: Boost, the subscription, or a connection through your affiliate programme or directly. Prices for the subscription and Boost are available on request.