Physical Product vs Digital Asset Briefs: What Changes in Your Instructions
Not every UGC brief works the same way. A brand selling skincare needs different instructions than a brand selling software. Here’s what changes.
Physical product briefs
If your product is something you can hold, like a snack, a skincare item, or a gadget, your brief needs to plan around shipping.
Here’s what that means in practice:
You send the actual product to the creator.
The creator has 7 days to film and upload once they receive it.
You arrange the return through your own courier, if you want the item back.
Your brief should describe how the product looks, feels, and works, since the creator is holding it in their hands.
Unboxing moments, texture, and first impressions matter a lot here.
Because the product is physical, timing depends on delivery. A brief for a physical product should always include a buffer for shipping delays.
Digital asset briefs
If your product is a service, an app, or anything digital, there’s no shipping step at all. Instead, you send the creator digital assets. This could be:
Screen recordings of your app
Login access to try the product
Screenshots or mockups
A short explainer of how it works
Since there’s no waiting for a courier, digital briefs usually move faster. But they need more written detail, since the creator can’t physically explore the product the way they would with something tangible.
What stays the same
Both brief types still need a clear goal, a target audience, and a tone. Whether physical or digital, the creator should always know who they’re talking to and why the product matters to that person.
If you’re not sure which brief type fits your product, reelpeople.co.za supports both physical and digital asset briefs, so you can pick the right path without guessing.
Location-specific filming, like a creator filming inside your store or at a specific landmark, is treated as a custom add-on outside the base brief, so flag that early if you need it.
Getting the brief type right from the start saves you a round of back and forth later. Match the brief to the product, and the rest of the process runs smoother.