UGC video formats

A brand rarely writes "film something" in a brief. Usually it names a format, and you need to know what's behind the name. And when it doesn't name one, you suggest the right one yourself. That's how a brand learns it can keep working with you.

The main formats

Unboxing. You get the product, open the box, show what's inside, first reaction. Works for introducing a product, especially with nice packaging. The most common mistake: five seconds of fighting the tape. Open fast, keep the camera on the product.

Honest review. You've used the product and you say what you liked and what you didn't. "Honest" means a natural tone, not a takedown: one small drawback, if the brief allows it, makes the video believable; three turn it into something that works against the product, and the brand won't use it.

Before and after. The state before the product, the state after. A stained T-shirt and a clean one, a tangle of cables and a tidy desk, anything with a visible difference. It often works best of all, but it needs a real result: viewers can tell a faked "after". And check whether the brief allows showing a result at all: for some products that's restricted by advertising rules.

A day with the product. Morning routine, the product woven into ordinary life. Shows how the product lives in the real world rather than on a shelf. Good for anything used daily, from a flask to headphones.

Problem-and-solution skit. Five seconds of a problem, ideally funny or recognisable, then the product as the way out. The most "ad-like" format, but the strongest on the hook, which is why it's often chosen for paid campaigns.

Comparison. This product against what you used before. No competitor names unless the brand allows it, and it usually doesn't.

Objection handling. "I thought this was another gimmick, but…". Removes the fear of buying. Brands order these when they know exactly what stops customers. A weak version: "Lots of people have doubts, but the product is great." A strong one: "I was sure it wouldn't fit in my backpack. It did, like this."

How-to. Step-by-step use. Sounds dull, but for complex products it's the most needed format, and the one a brand will keep on its website for years.

Each format has its own length, and the brief always sets it. If the brief doesn't say, ask.

Which format for which goal

The usual split goes like this.

The brand wants people to discover the product: skit, unboxing, a day with the product. You need a hook and an emotion.

To pick it over others: review, comparison. You need details and trust.

To buy right now: before and after, objection handling, a review with a call to action at the end. You need a result and a removed fear.

To use the product properly and not return it: how-to.

That's only a guide: an unboxing can sell, and a before-and-after can introduce. When the brand doesn't know what it wants, ask straight out: "Is this video for discovery, for choosing, or for buying?" After that question the conversation usually gets easier.

What every good UGC video has

The product on screen as early as possible, ideally within the first three seconds. The product itself, rather than you or a story about how you found it.

Speech like you're talking to a friend. No "let me introduce you to", no shopping-channel tone. If the script sounds like an announcement, viewers scroll.

One idea. A video about a flask keeping tea hot until the evening shouldn't also cover colours, packaging and shipping.

Vertical frame, decent light, clean sound. That's the foundation from the first courses. Without it nothing else matters.

Mistake. Filming a video where the product shows up at second twenty, after a story about you. Brands watch these with a stopwatch, and a video like that doesn't even make it to revisions. It just isn't used.

Why videos get sent back

These are the reasons that come up most often.

The product is hard to see: dark, out of focus, label turned away, on screen for a second. The brand or product name mispronounced. The mandatory line from the brief missing, or said differently from how it was written. Something said that isn't allowed: a promised result, medical effects, "the best", "number one", a comparison with a named competitor. Other brands in frame: a mug with a logo, a T-shirt, a different phone brand in close-up. The script being read off a page, eyes drifting. Length off-brief: they asked for 30 seconds, you sent 70. Music the brand can't use in ads because of licensing.

Most of this takes two minutes to check before sending. Lesson five has a delivery checklist, and these points are on it.

Do this now

• Pick any product from your home and come up with one idea for it in three formats: skit, review, before and after.
• Watch three ads in your feed and name the format of each.
• Reread the list of revision reasons and mark which ones show up in your own videos.