When a French brand decides to commission UGC, two routes open up: an agency or a creator marketplace. Both supply people who film. They differ on three concrete points, and the right choice depends on volume and on who runs the process.

What each one does

The agency

The agency brings strategy, selection, briefing, follow up and a single invoice. It charges for that work, through a margin on the creator fee or through fees.

The marketplace

The marketplace gives direct access to creators, with visible prices and per job contracting. The brief and the follow up are yours, and the price drops accordingly.

When one beats the other

The agency

The agency when you produce little but complex: a regulated category, legal approvals, on location shoots, campaigns with cast and sets.

The marketplace

The marketplace when you produce often and simple: a monthly flow of creatives for paid media, testing many hooks, a brief you have already refined.

Many brands combine: an agency for the annual campaign, a marketplace for the flow.

The three questions to ask in both cases

Who holds the rights

If the agency contracts with the creator, check that the assignment actually reaches you, with duration and territory, and that it covers paid media.

How exclusivity is handled

Blocking a creator from your competitors has value and a cost; that point must be explicit.

When the creator is paid

An intermediary paying at sixty days deprives you of the best profiles on the next campaign, even if you paid at thirty.

The honest calculation

Compare total cost, not unit price: discarded pieces, revision rounds, internal time, rights bought beyond need. That total is what decides, and it is often counterintuitive.

Where to go next

The right answer depends on volume, not on fashion. Our complete UGC guide for brands covers briefing, usage rights and process.