💸 Retail Media

SOCIAL COMMERCE RETAIL MEDIA

Retail media is a form of advertising where retailers sell branded ad placements directly within their own digital environment — on their website, app, or other owned channels. Instead of brands advertising on third-party platforms, they pay the retailer to appear precisely where shoppers are already browsing and buying.

🎯 WHERE IT HAPPENS: Point of purchase

👥 WHO PAYS: Brands & advertisers

🏬 WHO SELLS: The retailer

👁️ THE GOAL: Visibility at decision time

🎬 Common Retail Media Video Formats

▶️ Sponsored video placements

Brand-created video clips promoted to appear first in search results, category pages, or video feeds.

📌 Pinned videos in widgets or feeds

Videos pinned to fixed positions within curated carousels or content widgets, guaranteeing top exposure.

🔴 Sponsored live shopping shows

Brands pay to host or co-host live stream events on the retailer's platform, combining entertainment with direct purchase opportunities.

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Why it matters: Retail media gives brands access to high-intent audiences at the exact moment of purchase consideration. For retailers, it creates a high-margin revenue stream from their existing traffic — without changing what they sell.

BEST TIME FOR RETAIL MEDIA IN E-COMMERCE

Shopable video retail media adds a second layer of requirements on top of general retail media. It's not just about having multiple brands — it also requires that video is a viable product discovery format for your category and that your brand partners can actually produce video content worth promoting.

Strong fit

Multi-brand shop with visual products

✔️ Multiple brands compete for placement and can fund sponsored video slots

✔️ Products are visually demonstrable — fashion, beauty, food, home, consumer electronics

✔️ Brand partners already produce video content or have budgets to do so

✔️ Shoppers browse inspirationally, not just by keyword search

Limited fit

Own-brand or low-visual product shop

❌ No third-party brands to sell video placements to

❌ Products don't benefit from video demonstration (e.g. commodities, spare parts, B2B supplies)

Exception: own-brand shops can still use shopable video for their own content — just not as a paid retail media product

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➕ Additional factors specific to shopable video

▶️ Video as a discovery format fits your category

Categories like beauty, fashion, food, and home décor have proven video engagement because products benefit from seeing them in use. Categories where specs matter more than aesthetics — such as industrial tools or office supplies — are a weaker fit.

🎥 Brand partners can supply video content

Unlike sponsored product listings, shopable video requires actual video assets. Larger consumer brands typically have this content already. Smaller brands may need support or incentives to create it — worth factoring into your go-to-market approach.

📱 Mobile-first or app-driven audience

Shopable video performs best on mobile, where scrollable video feeds are a natural browsing pattern. If your audience shops predominantly on desktop, video engagement may be lower and the format may need more friction-reduction to convert.

🛒 Seamless add-to-cart from video

The "shopable" element only delivers value if the path from watching to buying is frictionless. Your platform needs to support in-video product tagging and direct checkout — otherwise it is just video advertising, not retail media with measurable return.

📉 Ability to measure and report performance

Brands investing in sponsored video placements will expect closed-loop reporting: views, engagement, attributed sales. Without the measurement infrastructure to prove ROI, it becomes difficult to retain advertisers or grow spend over time.

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Bottom line: Shopable video retail media makes sense when you have multiple brands, visually compelling products, video-ready brand partners, a mobile-oriented audience, and the technical ability to link watching to buying. Meeting all five conditions puts you in a strong position; missing the video content or the shoppable infrastructure are the most common blockers.

RESPONSIBILITY & TEAM SETUP

Before launching a retail media program, it helps to identify who already manages relationships with the brands you carry. These teams hold the supplier contacts, the commercial agreements, and the trust — making them the natural owners or key collaborators for any retail media initiative.

🛍️ Buying / category management

Decides which brands and products are listed. Already negotiates commercial terms with suppliers — a natural entry point for introducing paid placement as part of broader trading agreements.

👥 Vendor management

Manages ongoing supplier relationships and contractual compliance. Often the team best positioned to open retail media conversations since they have regular touchpoints with brand contacts.

📣 Trade marketing

Coordinates co-funded promotions and in-store activations with brand partners. Already familiar with how brands allocate trade budgets — which is essentially the same budget pool retail media draws from.

🫱🏼‍🫲🏽 Brand partnership teams

Dedicated to developing strategic relationships with specific brands or categories. Where this team exists, retail media is often already part of their remit — or they are the most obvious team to own it.

🏬 Retail media teams

Where this function already exists, it is the primary owner of the retail media program. If your organization has this team, the question shifts from "who should own it?" to "how do we expand their scope and capabilities?"

🎛️ Marketplace teams

Relevant if your shop operates a marketplace model where third-party sellers list products. These teams manage seller relationships and platform rules — and often have the closest view of seller ad spend potential.

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⛔️ If no dedicated team exists

🔎 Identify the closest owner

Find the team with the most active supplier relationships — typically buying or trade marketing.

🚩 Start with a pilot

A small cross-functional group can test retail media before a dedicated team is formally established.

🎯 Plan for a dedicated function

As revenue grows, a standalone retail media team becomes necessary to manage sales, ops, and reporting at scale.

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Key point: The right starting team is the one that already has the brand relationships and commercial trust. Retail media does not require building from scratch — it extends what these teams already do.

BRAND COMMUNICATION OWNERSHIP

The most effective person to introduce retail media to a brand is whoever already has a working relationship with them. Retail media asks brands to spend money — that conversation lands very differently depending on who initiates it and what trust already exists.

Recommended

The team with existing brand relationships

✔️ Trust is already established — brands are more receptive to spending proposals from known contacts

✔️ Communication channels are in place — no cold introductions needed

✔️ Commercial context is understood — they know each brand's budget cycles, priorities, and decision-makers

✔️ Faster onboarding — brands can start spending sooner with fewer friction points

✔️ Retail media fits naturally alongside existing trading conversations — it does not require a separate selling process

Fallback

Your own team or a new dedicated contact

➖ Use when no existing team manages brand relationships

➖ Expect a longer ramp-up — trust and context must be built from scratch

➖ Consider hiring a dedicated retail media sales role if the program grows beyond early pilots

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📋 Guidance for the handover

↔️ Involve the existing team early, even if retail media has a separate owner

Even when a retail media team is set up to manage placements, the buying or vendor management team should make the initial introduction. A warm handover prevents brands from feeling like they are being approached by a stranger asking for budget.

⚠️ Avoid channel conflicts between teams

If both a buying team and a retail media team approach the same brand contact independently, it creates confusion and can undermine trust. Agree internally on who owns which part of the brand conversation before going to market.

🎯 Reach the right contact at the brand

The person who manages the supply relationship is often not the person who controls the advertising budget. Trade marketing or retail media budgets at brand level are typically owned by a different team. Your contact may need to connect you with their marketing or shopper marketing colleagues.

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Key point: Who communicates matters as much as what is communicated. The right messenger — someone the brand already trusts — dramatically increases the chance of a brand saying yes to their first retail media placement.

TEAM DELEGATION & SUPPORT

Yes — a team outside the social commerce or video product function can fully support or even lead brand communication. The key is making sure they are properly briefed, positioned correctly to brands, and operating with a clearly defined remit that avoids overlap or confusion with other teams.

👥 Teams that can take on this role

📣 Trade marketing

Already sells co-funded placements and promotions to brands. Shopable video slots can be introduced as a natural extension of the existing trade marketing portfolio — brands are already accustomed to paying for visibility through this team.

💵 Retail media or ad sales team

If your organization already sells other ad formats — sponsored listings, display banners — this team can add video placements to their existing portfolio. They already understand ad budgets and speak the right language with brand marketing contacts.

👥 Buying / category management

Particularly effective for brands where the commercial relationship is the primary touchpoint. Retail media placements can be bundled into annual trading negotiations, making adoption easier since the conversation is already happening.

🫱🏼‍🫲🏽 Brand partnership or strategic accounts team

Best suited for priority brands where the relationship warrants a more consultative approach. Can position video placements as part of a broader strategic partnership rather than a simple ad buy.

🏆 How to set it up for success

🎓 Brief the communicating team thoroughly

A team outside the social commerce or video function needs to be equipped to explain what shopable video placements are, what formats are available, how pricing works, and what results brands can expect. Without this, brand conversations stall on basic questions.

↔️ Frame video as an extension, not a new product

The conversation lands better when video placements are introduced as an additional way to gain visibility on your platform — not as a separate initiative from a separate team. Brands respond more positively when it feels like a natural evolution of what they already do with you.

📋 Define responsibilities clearly between teams

Decide upfront who handles the initial pitch, who manages campaign setup and asset collection, who owns performance reporting, and who the brand contacts for ongoing questions. Unclear ownership leads to dropped balls or conflicting messages reaching the same brand contact.

⚠️ Keep the social commerce team in the loop

Even if another team leads brand communication, the social commerce or video product team needs visibility on what is being promised. Commitments made to brands about formats, delivery timelines, or reporting need to be technically deliverable — misalignment here creates problems after the deal is signed.

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Key point: Any team with existing brand trust can carry the retail media conversation — the social commerce team does not need to own it. What matters is that the communicating team is properly briefed, positioned correctly, and operating within a clear internal structure that prevents conflicting messages or missed handoffs.

RETAIL MEDIA OFFERINGS

With LIVEBUY powering your social commerce, you have a concrete set of placement types to offer brands. These span two core formats — sponsored video and live commerce — plus supplementary placements that extend brand visibility across the shopping experience.

💲 Sponsored video placements

👑 Full widget sponsorship - Premium

A brand exclusively sponsors an entire video widget on a high-traffic page. All clips shown within that widget are from or curated for that brand. Maximum share of voice and brand presence in a single placement unit.

▶️ Individual sponsored clips

A brand's video clip is placed inside an existing multi-brand widget. Clearly labeled as sponsored but positioned alongside organic content. Lower cost than full widget sponsorship, suitable for brands testing the format.

📌 Pinned videos

A brand's clip is pinned to a fixed position within a feed or widget — typically first or second slot. Guarantees visibility regardless of how the feed is sorted or personalised. Well suited to product launches or time-sensitive campaigns.

🎥 Live commerce formats

🔴 Sponsored live shows

A brand pays to be featured prominently within a live shopping event you host. Their products are showcased and shoppable in real time. You retain editorial control while the brand gains high-intent visibility at the point of purchase.

🫱🏼‍🫲🏽 Co-branded live events

A jointly produced live event where both your brand and the partner brand are visible throughout — in the title, visual identity, and product selection. More involved than a sponsored show; suits strategic brand partners willing to co-invest in production.

🚀 Product launches via live shopping

Brands use a live show to introduce a new product — with real-time Q&A, demonstrations, and direct purchase. The live format creates urgency and excitement that static product pages cannot replicate. A strong use case for brands with upcoming launches looking for reach at the point of sale.

➕ Additional placements

🎛️ Category page placements

Video or widget shown at the top of a relevant category — e.g. a skincare brand featured on the beauty category page.

📦 PDP video placements

A brand's video shown directly on the product detail page — closest to the purchase decision, highest conversion potential.

🗓️ Seasonal campaign integrations

Priority placement tied to key shopping moments — Black Friday, Christmas, Valentine's Day. Brands pay for guaranteed visibility during peak traffic windows.

📱 App feed visibility

Sponsored positions within the in-app video or discovery feed — high engagement surface for mobile-first shoppers.

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Positioning tip: Not every brand needs the full menu. Start conversations by matching the format to the brand's objective — product launch suggests live shopping, ongoing visibility suggests sponsored clips or widget sponsorship, seasonal peaks suggest campaign integrations.

PLANNING & EXECUTION INCLUSION

Yes — planning and execution support can and often should be part of the offering. Whether you offer it, how much of it you provide, and how you price it depends on the type of brands you work with and the internal capacity you have available.

Self-service

Brand handles execution

The brand provides its own video content and manages the campaign with minimal input from your team. Your role is to provide the platform, a clear technical brief, and asset specifications.

✔️ Scales easily — no team resource required per campaign

✔️ Works well for larger brands with in-house content teams

❌ Brands without video capabilities may not be able to participate

❌ Content quality may vary — which affects overall platform experience

Higher value

Managed service

Your team actively supports the brand throughout the campaign — from concept through to reporting. The brand pays a premium for the expertise, coordination, and reduced internal effort this requires from them.

✔️ Justifies significantly higher pricing — service has tangible value

✔️ Opens the format to brands that lack video production capability

✔️ Ensures content quality remains consistent on your platform

❌ Requires internal capacity — does not scale without dedicated resources

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🤝 What managed service typically includes

💡 Concept creation

Developing a creative idea and format recommendation based on the brand's product and campaign goal.

🎥 Production guidance

Briefing and supporting the brand on content creation — format specs, style guidance, platform best practices.

⚙️ Campaign execution

Setting up and managing the placement — scheduling, tagging products, live event coordination if applicable.

📊 Performance reporting

Delivering post-campaign insights — views, engagement, attributed sales — so the brand can evaluate ROI and plan future spend.

⚖️ How to decide which model to offer

👥 Consider your brand partners' capabilities

Large consumer brands with dedicated content teams are natural self-service candidates. Smaller or mid-size brands often lack video production resources and will only participate if you offer support — making managed service the only viable route to getting them on the platform.

⚖️ Offer both — but price them differently

Most mature retail media programs offer a tiered structure: a base self-service rate for brands that bring their own content, and a managed service premium that reflects the additional effort. This maximizes the number of brands you can onboard while protecting your margins on the service-intensive accounts.

🕔 Start managed, move toward self-service over time

Many programs launch in a managed-heavy model to reduce friction for early brand partners and ensure quality. As brands become more comfortable with the format and build internal capabilities, they can transition to self-service — freeing up your team for new accounts.

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Key point: The model you offer directly affects which brands can participate. Self-service alone excludes brands without video capabilities. Managed service alone does not scale. A tiered approach gives you the broadest reach while preserving the economics on both sides.

PRICING LISTS

Pricing should ideally be created by whoever already has experience selling media or brand placements in your organisation. Getting this right from the start matters — underpricing devalues the inventory and is very hard to reverse once brands have an expectation set.

Recommended

Team already selling media or brand placements

Retail media, trade marketing, or ad sales teams who already manage placement pricing have the right context — market benchmarks, brand negotiation norms, and how to bundle new formats with existing inventory.

✔️ Understands what brands currently pay for comparable placements

✔️ Knows how far brands will negotiate and where floors need to be set

✔️ Can bundle social commerce into existing rate cards and annual trading terms

✔️ Avoids pricing decisions being driven by product enthusiasm rather than commercial logic

Fallback

Your own team owns pricing initially

If no existing media pricing structure or relevant team exists, the social commerce or product team may need to build pricing from scratch. This is workable but carries more risk — without commercial anchors, it is easy to price too low or inconsistently.

⚠️ Research market rates for comparable video or sponsored placements before setting any price

⚠️ Involve finance or commercial leadership early to validate margin assumptions

⚠️ Treat initial pricing as a pilot — plan to review and adjust after early deals are signed

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🏷️ What a pricing structure should cover

📑 Rate card per format

A published or shareable price per placement type — sponsored clip, pinned video, widget sponsorship, live show, and so on.

➕ Self-service vs managed tiers

Separate pricing for brands that bring their own content versus those who require planning and execution support.

📦 Bundle options

Combined packages — e.g. a live show plus follow-up sponsored clips — that are easier to sell and increase total brand spend.

↕️ Floor prices and discount rules

Minimum prices that protect margin, and clear internal rules for when and how discounts can be offered in negotiations.

🗓️ Seasonal premiums

Higher rates for peak traffic windows such as Black Friday, Christmas, or major campaign periods when placement value is highest.

🔄 Review cadence

A defined schedule for reviewing and updating prices — at minimum annually — so the rate card reflects current demand, traffic, and competitive benchmarks.

⚠️ The underpricing risk: Early pricing decisions are hard to undo. Brands anchor to the first price they see, and raising rates later — even with justification — creates friction and risks losing early adopters. It is better to launch with a firm, well-reasoned rate card and offer introductory discounts selectively than to set a low baseline that becomes the expected norm.

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Key point: Pricing should be owned by whoever understands commercial negotiations — not whoever understands the technology. If that expertise does not exist internally, bring in external benchmarks and commercial oversight before publishing any rates to brands.

PRICING MODELS STRUCTURE

There is no single correct pricing model for social commerce placements. Most mature programs use a combination — the right mix depends on what you are selling, which brands you are selling to, and how much performance data you have to back up the pricing. The models below are not mutually exclusive; they can be layered or offered as options.

💵 Core pricing models

🏷️ Fixed placement fee

A flat fee for a defined placement over a set period — for example, a pinned video slot on the homepage for two weeks. Simple to understand, easy to invoice, and does not require traffic or performance data to justify. Best suited to premium or guaranteed placements where visibility is the clear deliverable.

+ Predictable revenue  ·  − No direct link to actual performance

👁️ CPM — cost per 1,000 impressions

Brands pay per thousand views or impressions their content receives. Familiar to any brand with a media buying background and makes the value of placement more tangible than a flat fee. Requires reliable impression tracking and works best when traffic volume is substantial enough that brands can accumulate meaningful impressions within a campaign window.

+ Ties price to actual reach  ·  − Revenue harder to predict; needs solid analytics

🛒 Performance-based pricing

Pricing tied to a measurable outcome — cost per click (CPC), cost per order (CPO), or a revenue share on attributed sales. Highly attractive to brands because risk shifts toward you as the retailer. Requires strong attribution infrastructure to track what purchases were genuinely influenced by the placement. Not suitable as a first-model for programs without mature analytics.

+ Compelling ROI story for brands  ·  − High risk without reliable attribution

👑 Sponsorship packages

A premium, often exclusive arrangement — for example, a brand sponsoring all live shows in a category for a quarter, or owning the entire video widget on the homepage. These are sold as high-visibility brand moments rather than individual placements. Typically negotiated as part of larger commercial agreements and priced at a significant premium over standard rates.

+ Highest revenue per deal  ·  − Limits inventory available to other brands

🔄 Monthly retainer

A fixed monthly fee for ongoing presence — for example, a guaranteed number of video placements or live events per month. Works well for managed service relationships where the brand values continuity and your team provides consistent support. Creates predictable revenue and reduces re-selling effort each month.

+ Stable, forecastable income  ·  − Requires defined deliverables to avoid scope creep

📦 Campaign bundles

A packaged offer combining multiple format types — for example, a live product launch plus two weeks of sponsored clip placements plus a category page feature. Bundles are easier to present than individual line items, tend to increase total spend per brand, and can be structured around seasonal moments like Black Friday or a product launch window.

+ Higher average deal value  ·  − Harder to customise per brand; needs clear deliverable definitions

🔀 How to choose and combine models

🚩 Start with fixed fees

Simplest to sell and invoice. Build toward CPM or performance models once analytics infrastructure is in place.

📈 Layer models by brand size

Large brands may prefer CPM or performance pricing. Smaller brands often find fixed fees or bundles easier to commit to.

🗓️ Bundle for seasonal peaks

Peak periods sell better as bundled campaign packages than individual placements — easier for brands to plan and budget around.

📊 Earn performance pricing

Only introduce CPC or revenue share once attribution is robust enough to defend the numbers in a brand conversation.

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Key point: The pricing model shapes how brands perceive value. Fixed fees sell visibility; CPM sells reach; performance pricing sells outcomes. Matching the model to what a brand actually cares about — and what you can credibly measure — makes the commercial conversation significantly easier.

GENERAL VS. INDIVIDUAL PRICING

Both approaches are valid and most mature programs use them in combination. Standard pricing handles the majority of brands efficiently; individual pricing is reserved for strategic partners, large budgets, or campaigns that don't fit neatly into a standard format. The key is knowing when each applies — and making sure individual deals don't quietly undermine your published rates.

Standard pricing

Published rate card

A fixed, shareable list of prices per format — the same for all brands of a given type. Brands know exactly what they are buying and what it costs. Removes friction from the sales process and allows the offering to scale without custom negotiation every time.

✔️ Fast to sell — no lengthy negotiation needed for each deal

✔️ Consistent margins across all brands at this tier

✔️ Easy to train teams on — no ambiguity about what to charge

❌ May not capture full value from brands willing to spend more

❌ Less flexible for complex or multi-format campaigns

Individual pricing

Negotiated per brand or campaign

Custom pricing agreed based on the brand's budget, the scope of the campaign, the formats involved, and the strategic value of the relationship. Appropriate for large spenders, exclusive arrangements, or bespoke packages that go beyond what the rate card covers.

✔️ Captures more value from strategic or high-spending brands

✔️ Enables bespoke campaign structures that don't fit a rate card

✔️ Supports deeper commercial relationships and longer commitments

❌ Time-intensive — requires experienced negotiators

❌ Risk of inconsistency or margin erosion if not governed carefully

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🧩 How to combine both approaches

🧱 Use a tiered structure

A practical approach is to define two tiers: a standard rate card for all brands, and a strategic or enterprise tier for high-spending accounts that unlocks custom formats, exclusivity options, or negotiated volume discounts. This keeps the process scalable while leaving room for meaningful commercial conversations with priority partners.

↕️ Set and enforce floor prices

Individual pricing negotiations should always operate above a defined minimum. Without floor prices, individual deals can drift below the cost of delivery or undercut the expectations set with other brands. Floor prices are internal guardrails, not published figures — but they must be actively enforced.

⚠️ Avoid rate card erosion

If individual deals routinely come in well below your published rates, brands will start to treat the rate card as an opening position rather than a real price — and negotiating down becomes the norm. Discounts on individual deals should be tied to a clear justification: volume commitment, multi-format bundle, long contract term, or strategic account status.

📋 Document individual deals consistently

Custom pricing needs to be recorded and tracked — not handled informally. Without a record of what was agreed and why, it becomes impossible to manage renewals, compare deal quality, or identify whether certain brands are consistently getting below-floor rates.

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Key point: Standard pricing makes the program scalable; individual pricing makes it commercially flexible. The risk is not in using both — it is in letting individual deals quietly erode the value of the rate card. Clear floor prices and a defined reason for any discount keep both approaches working together.

CONTENT QUALITY CONTROL

The risk with paid brand content is that it defaults to what brands already know how to make: polished, message-driven advertising. That format performs poorly in social commerce contexts, where shoppers expect the same kind of content they would see from a creator or a knowledgeable friend — honest, specific, and grounded in real product experience. Preventing this requires active briefing and onboarding, not just permission to post.

❌ Traditional ad mindset

• Polished studio production with brand voiceover

• Generic claims: "the best," "revolutionary," "game-changing"

• Heavy branding, logos throughout, product shown but not used

• One-way broadcast with no demonstration or explanation

• Scripted taglines designed for TV or display

✅ Social commerce mindset

• Authentic setting — real use, real hands, real context

• Specific, verifiable claims: ingredients, results, comparisons

• Product shown in action — application, preparation, assembly

• Addresses real shopper questions: "does it work for X skin type?"

• Conversational, direct — speaks like a knowledgeable person, not a campaign

📖 What good brand onboarding and briefing covers

🎓 Explain the format and the audience expectation

Brands need to understand that shoppers in a social commerce feed are in discovery mode — not passively watching ads. Content that feels like an interruption is scrolled past. Content that feels helpful, specific, and genuine earns attention and drives purchase.

💡 Brief around proof and demonstration, not claims

The goal is objective proof and authentic demonstration — not a subjective review. Brands should show what a product actually does: how it works, how it compares, what results look like. "Before and after," "ingredients explained," "how to use," and "questions answered" are all stronger starting points than "why this product is amazing."

🎥 Set clear technical and creative guidelines

Provide format specifications (aspect ratio, length, file type) alongside creative guidance: natural lighting over studio setups, real usage scenarios over styled product shots, a conversational presenter over a scripted voiceover. Examples of content that performs well on your platform are more effective than written guidelines alone.

🔎 Review content before it goes live

Even with thorough briefing, brands may submit content that reverts to advertising conventions. A review step before publication allows you to send it back for revision without damaging the brand relationship. Frame this as quality control that protects the brand's own performance — content that fits the format converts better.

🔁 Use performance data to reinforce the brief

After a campaign, share results that show how authentic content outperformed or underperformed relative to the brief. Data is the most effective way to shift a brand's content instincts over time — brands that see that demonstration-style videos drive higher conversion than polished ads will adapt their approach for the next campaign without needing to be told.

💎 The right benchmark for content quality

❌ Not: production perfection

High production value can actually hurt credibility in social commerce — it signals "ad" rather than "recommendation."

❌ Not: subjective enthusiasm

"I love this product" is not enough. Shoppers need reasons — specific, verifiable ones — to act.

✅ Yes: credibility through specificity

Real product knowledge, honest demonstration, and answers to the questions shoppers actually have at the point of purchase.

✅ Yes: useful at the moment of decision

Content that helps a shopper make a confident purchase decision — not content that reminds them a brand exists.

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Key point: Brands default to what they know. Without active guidance, a social commerce brief will produce a TV-style ad. The retailer's job is to give brands a new creative framework — proof over polish, demonstration over declaration, specificity over slogans — and then hold that standard through review and performance feedback.

BRAND BRIEFINGS

A good brand brief does two things: it gives brands a clear creative framework they may not be used to, and it sets quality standards your platform can hold them to. The goal is content that helps shoppers make confident purchase decisions — not content that looks like an ad repurposed for a different channel.

💡 Core concept

👥 Real humans

Real people showing real products in real environments. Not models in staged scenarios — actual users or knowledgeable product experts.

♥️ Honest and raw

No studio production, no over-polishing, no artificial perfection. Imperfection is not a problem — it is a credibility signal.

👁️ No filters

Truth should be visible. Colour-corrected or heavily filtered content increases purchase uncertainty — shoppers can't trust what the product actually looks like.

🔎 Answer real questions

Think about what a shopper standing in front of this product in a physical store would want to know. Answer that — not a marketing message.

🎨 Visual and audio guidelines

📱 Smartphone style — vertical format

Shoot in 9:16 vertical format, ideally on a smartphone. This is the native format for the feed and feels natural to the viewer. Horizontal or square video signals repurposed content — it immediately looks out of place. Lighting should be natural or soft ambient — not a ring light setup or studio environment.

👆🏼 Product in action

Show the product being used, not just displayed. Demonstrate size against real objects, material texture under natural light, how it is handled, applied, prepared, or assembled. Close-ups of key details — seams, finishes, ingredients, mechanisms — answer the questions that prevent purchase. A product sitting on a table with a voiceover is not a demonstration.

🎙️ Original sound — real voice or natural environment

Use a real speaking voice — the presenter or product expert talking directly to the viewer. Avoid scripted voiceover delivered by someone clearly reading off a page, excessive background music that competes with speech, or heavy audio editing that removes the sense of presence. Natural ambient sound is fine and often better than silence.

🕑 Length and pacing

Aim for 30–90 seconds for short-form product videos. Long enough to demonstrate the product meaningfully, short enough to hold attention. The first 3–5 seconds must show the product clearly — viewers decide in the first few seconds whether to keep watching. Do not open with a brand logo or a title card.

📐 Content structure

1️⃣ Show the product immediately

Open with the product in frame, in context. No brand intro, no title sequence. Shoppers are scrolling — give them a reason to stop in the first two seconds.

2️⃣ Demonstrate it in use

Show the product being used in a real setting — application, preparation, operation, wear. This is the core of the video. Do not skip past this in favour of talking about features.

3️⃣ Show important details and close-ups

Zoom in on the elements that matter: texture, size reference, label, finish, mechanism, ingredient list. These are the details shoppers cannot see from a product image and the main reason they turn to video.

4️⃣ Show realistic results

What does using the product actually achieve? Show the outcome honestly — not retouched or idealised. Realistic results build confidence; over-promised results create returns and damage trust in the platform.

5️⃣ End with a clear, simple call to action

Tell the viewer what to do next — tap to buy, check the product page, try the variant that suits you. One action, clearly stated. Do not end with a brand tagline.

➕ Additional rules

📦 One product per video

Each video should focus on a single SKU. Multi-product content dilutes attention and weakens the demonstration of each item.

❌ No generic claims

Avoid "best," "revolutionary," "game-changing." Every claim should be specific and demonstrable — or not made at all.

❌ No heavy branding

Opening or closing with a brand logo, animated intro, or persistent watermark signals advertisement. Brand presence should be natural — in the product itself, not overlaid.

✅ Subtitles recommended

A significant share of mobile video is watched without sound. Adding subtitles ensures the message lands regardless of viewing context.

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Key point: The brief should be shared as a written document with visual examples — not delivered verbally. Include at least two examples of content that meets the standard and one that does not. Brands learn faster from concrete comparisons than from written rules alone.

ANTI-GUIDELINES

Anti-guidelines are as important as positive ones. Brands default to what they know — and what they know is traditional advertising. Without explicit instructions on what not to do, even well-intentioned brands will submit content that feels like an ad, performs poorly, and undermines the credibility of your platform. These rules should be included in the brief as a named section, not buried in the fine print.

❌ No glossy, ad-style production

High production value signals "advertisement" before the viewer has seen a single second of content. TV-commercial aesthetics — drone shots, studio lighting, colour grading, branded motion graphics — immediately break the native feel of a social commerce feed and reduce engagement.

Instead of: A cinematically lit product reveal with brand music and an animated logo intro

Use: A real person picking up the product in a natural setting and showing it to the camera

❌ No overuse of jump cuts or flashy editing

Rapid cuts, transitions, and visual effects create energy but destroy demonstration. If the viewer cannot follow what the product is doing or see it clearly for more than a second, the content has failed its primary purpose. Editing should serve the product — not replace it.

Instead of: A montage of quick cuts showing the product from multiple angles with music beats

Use: Held shots that let the viewer actually see the product — its texture, size, and how it behaves in use

❌ No marketing buzzwords or exaggerated claims

Words like "revolutionary," "game-changing," "best-in-class," or "unlike anything you've ever tried" are empty to a shopper standing at the point of purchase. They raise scepticism rather than confidence. Every claim in the video should be specific, factual, and demonstrable — or it should not be made.

Instead of: "This is the most advanced moisturiser we've ever created"

Use: "It contains 5% niacinamide — here's what that does to pore appearance after two weeks"

❌ No rigid scripts or read-aloud delivery

Scripted delivery is immediately detectable and instantly distances the presenter from the viewer. The goal is not word-perfect narration — it is a conversation. Presenters should know their product well enough to talk about it naturally, answer imagined questions, and respond to what they are seeing as they demonstrate it. A stumble is better than a recitation.

Instead of: A spokesperson reading approved brand copy to camera without pausing or deviating

Use: A product expert talking through what they are showing, reacting to the product as they handle it

❌ No heavy branding or logo-led openings

Opening with a brand logo, animated intro sequence, or persistent watermark signals "ad" in the first frame. This causes scrolling before the product has been shown. Brand presence should be organic — in the product packaging, the presenter's natural mention of the name, or an end frame. Not foregrounded as the first thing the viewer sees.

Instead of: A two-second animated logo reveal before the product appears

Use: Open directly on the product in hand or in use — the brand name will appear naturally on the packaging

❌ No filters or heavy colour grading

Filters change how a product looks — its colour, texture, and finish. If the product on screen looks different from what arrives in the post, return rates increase and trust in the platform drops. Colour accuracy is part of product honesty. Minor exposure correction is acceptable; anything that changes the product's visual properties is not.

Instead of: A warm-toned, heavily graded video that makes a beige product look cream or a matte finish look shiny

Use: Natural light that shows the product's true colour, texture, and finish accurately

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How to present anti-guidelines to brands: Frame each rule around performance, not taste — "content that opens with a logo gets scrolled past before the product appears" lands better than "we don't want logo intros." Brands respond to commercial logic. Where possible, back up the rules with data from your own platform or industry benchmarks showing how native-style content outperforms ad-style content in engagement and conversion.