You sent a creator in Yaba a WhatsApp message: "Abeg make a nice 30-second video for our body oil, TikTok style." Two days later the file arrives in landscape, filmed in a dim bedroom, with the label read out loud and nothing happening in the first three seconds. You ask for a reshoot. The creator asks what exactly was wrong. Nobody can point to a document, so the argument circles for a week and your ad launch slips.
The brief caused that, not the creator. Nigerian creators move fast when the instructions are specific and improvise when the instructions are a mood. A written brief also gives both sides a reference point for the 7-day review window and for any revision request, which is the difference between a clean delivery and a dispute.
What a Brief Has to Answer Before Anyone Films
Every brief, however short, has to answer seven questions. Skip any one and the creator fills the gap with a guess.
- Who is watching this video, and where will they see it first?
- What must be said in the creator's own words?
- What must be physically visible on camera?
- Who is speaking, in what language, with what accent and energy?
- When does the product arrive, and when must filming finish?
- What is off-limits, legally and brand-wise?
- Who owns the footage, for how long, and on which channels?
Most Nigerian briefs answer question one badly and questions five to seven not at all. Those three gaps produce nearly every late delivery we see.
Drop This Into Your Next Brief
Copy the block below into a doc, fill the brackets, and attach it to your gig when you post a gig. It is deliberately boring. That is the point.
CAMPAIGN: [Brand] x [Creator name]
OBJECTIVE: [one line, e.g. drive first purchases from Instagram]
AUDIENCE: [e.g. Lagos women 25-34 who already buy shea body care]
DELIVERABLES
- 1 x 9:16 vertical video, 25-35 seconds, edited
- 3 x alternate hooks (first 3 seconds), separate files
- All raw clips, unedited, full length
- 4 x still photos, 1080x1350, natural light
- Captions burned in, bottom 20 percent kept clear
TONE AND LANGUAGE
- Language: Nigerian English / light Pidgin / Yoruba / Igbo / Hausa
- Accent: your natural accent. Do not imitate American or British speech.
- Energy: [calm and instructional / loud and playful]
- Do not read the label aloud. Say it the way you would tell a friend.
PRODUCT
- Items shipped: [list every item and quantity]
- Dispatch: [same-day in Lagos by dispatch rider / GIGL to Abuja, 2-4 working days]
- Arrival window: [date]
- Film window: [date range]
MUST SAY
- [one sentence maximum]
MUST SHOW
- [e.g. texture on skin, pump mechanism, product in hand for scale]
NO-GOS
- No medical or curative claims: no "cures", "treats", "heals".
- No before-and-after implying permanent results.
- No NAFDAC claim beyond what our certificate states.
- No competitor products in frame.
- No unlicensed music. Use the supplied track or no music.
REVISIONS
- 1 round of edit revisions, requested within the 7-day review window.
- A reshoot is required only if the footage misses a MUST SHOW or MUST SAY item.
USAGE RIGHTS
- Organic: 12 months, brand-owned channels.
- Paid: Meta and TikTok ads, 6 months, [territory].
- Whitelisting / Spark Ads: not included unless priced separately.
DELIVERY
- Drive link, filenames as [brand]_[creator]_[hook number]
- Deadline: [date and time]
Two things make that template work. The MUST SAY line is capped at one sentence, so the creator cannot turn the video into a spoken brochure. And the reshoot clause is tied to a specific missed item, which stops "I do not like the vibe" from becoming a free second shoot.
Specs That Leave Nothing to Guess
Numbers in a table beat adjectives in a paragraph. Give the creator this and delete any sentence that starts with "high quality".
| Element | Write this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | 9:16, 1080x1920 | Fills a phone screen without letterboxing on Reels, TikTok and Shorts |
| Length | 25-35 seconds edited | Long enough to demonstrate, short enough to hold retention |
| Raw footage | Every clip, unedited | Lets your editor cut paid variants later |
| Hooks | 3 alternate first 3 seconds | One hook is a single test; three are a test plan |
| Audio | Clean voice track, no background noise | Nigerian rooms echo; ask for a quiet take |
| Captions | Burned in, safe zones respected | Most viewers watch muted on the bus |
| Stills | 4 frames, 1080x1350 | Product pages and carousels need stills too |
If your product is a bag, a wig, or a food item, add a "MUST SHOW" line for scale, texture, and movement. A wig that looks good only in a still frame will disappoint a buyer who sees it swung on camera.
Direct the Accent and the Language
"Make it sound natural" is not direction. Nigerian creators switch registers constantly, and the register you leave unspecified will be the one that suits them rather than your buyer.
Name the language explicitly. Nigerian English suits fintech, proptech, B2B and diaspora-facing campaigns. Light Pidgin moves faster on Lagos consumer goods and short-form entertainment. Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa builds trust in regional retail, market-facing food brands and community products, but only when the creator actually speaks it natively.
Never ask a creator to fake a foreign accent. It reads as parody, it gets flagged in comments, and global audiences notice within three seconds.
State energy as a choice between two options rather than a scale. "Calm and instructional" and "loud and playful" produce different videos. "Be energetic" produces both, badly.
Dispatch Timelines Decide Your Launch Date
Creators cannot film what has not arrived, and Nigerian courier windows are not optional detail. Build the dispatch leg into your timeline before you approve any launch date.
| Route | Typical window | What to brief |
|---|---|---|
| Lagos same-day | Same day if booked before noon | Chowdeck, Gokada or a private rider; confirm a phone number the rider can reach |
| Lagos mainland to island | Same day to next day | Traffic makes evening deliveries unreliable |
| Lagos to Abuja | 2-4 working days via GIGL | Add one buffer day for failed first attempt |
| Lagos to Port Harcourt | 2-4 working days | Ask the creator to confirm their address twice |
| Other states | 3-5 working days | Ship a week early or use a creator in-state |
Build the entire schedule backwards: dispatch date, arrival, a one-day buffer, film window, edit, delivery, your 7-day review, approval, payout. If you want ads live on a Friday, the brief should go out two weeks before, not five days.
No-Gos, Revisions and Usage Rights
Nigerian advertising runs through ARCON, so the brief is also a compliance document. Write the limits in plain language and the creator will respect them.
For skincare, supplements, and health products, ban curative language outright. "Cures", "treats", "heals" and "permanent" are all claims you likely cannot substantiate. Demand that any NAFDAC reference match your actual certificate number, and supply the certificate with the brief.
For finance and lending products, ban specific return promises unless your compliance team has signed off. For alcohol and gambling, check the current ARCON exposure rules before writing the brief at all.
Revisions are usually the messiest clause. Fix the scope in writing: one round on the edit, no new shooting, requested inside the review window. If the creator missed a listed MUST SHOW item, the reshoot is on them. If you changed your mind about the hook after delivery, that is a new paid request.
Usage rights need a duration and a channel list, never the word "forever". Organic use and paid media are separate licences with separate prices. Paid Meta and TikTok ads need a defined term and territory, and whitelisting sits outside both unless you negotiated it. Our UGC contract template covers the clauses, and UGC usage rights for brands explains what each term is worth.
If you want to see how the finished instructions read on a real campaign, the brief examples that get good creative walk through three worked versions.
The Brief Is the Cheapest Part of the Campaign
A brief costs you twenty minutes. A reshoot costs a week, a rebooked slot, and sometimes a creator relationship you wanted to keep. At a ₦25,000 brief, the 15% brand protection fee brings your escrow total to ₦28,750, and the creator still receives the full ₦25,000.
Write the seven answers down, attach the specs table, state the dispatch date, and put the usage term in the document. Everything after that gets faster.