Most UGC parcels contain one thing: the product.
That seems obviously correct and it is the reason for most of the messages that follow. A creator holding only the product has to guess the shade, the variant, the size you meant, and whether the packaging in their hands is the one you are currently selling.
What is usually in it, and why that fails
The product alone is a guess
Send one item with no note and you have delegated several decisions without saying so.
Which of your three variants is this campaign about. Is the outer box part of the shot or waste. Is this the new packaging or last year's, because the creator cannot tell and will film whichever arrived. Every one of those becomes a message, a delay, or a video showing the wrong thing.
Three things that cost nothing to add
A printed line saying what this is and which campaign it belongs to. Not the brief, one sentence, so the parcel identifies itself when it is opened three days later next to two others.
A second unit. Creators drop things, spill things, and use the product before realising they needed it sealed on camera. One spare removes an entire category of delay.
Something that shows scale or use in real life: the refill, the lid, the thing it normally sits next to. Products photograph strangely alone, and a creator with only the item often films it in a way that makes it look like a different size.
| What you put in the box | What it saves | What happens without it |
|---|---|---|
| A one line note naming the campaign | The which one is this message | A day, and sometimes the wrong variant |
| A second unit | The reshoot after a spill | An apologetic message and a delay |
| The product in its normal setting | A video that misreads the size | Footage you can use but do not love |
| Nothing else | Their attention | A parcel that feels like homework |
The last row is the point. Every extra item in the box is something the creator now feels obliged to feature, and obligation is visible on camera.
What to leave out
Leave out the printed brief, which will not be read at the door and belongs where they already work. Leave out branded merchandise, which produces a video about your tote bag. Leave out the handwritten note thanking them for being part of the family, which reads as marketing to somebody who is being paid.
The parcel has one job: to arrive complete enough that nobody has to ask a question before filming.
Keep reading
- Improved by Everybody Who Saw It
- Somebody Is Watching Your UGC Who Was Never in the Targeting
- The UGC Calendar in the UK: When to Commission
- You Did Not Sell Them Views
- The complete UGC guide for the UK
Frequently asked questions
Should we send it tracked?
Yes, and send the tracking to the creator rather than keeping it. Half of all shoot delays are a parcel nobody can locate, and the person waiting for it is the one who should be able to look.
What if the product is expensive?
Send one and say plainly that there is no spare. Creators handle that fine when they know it in advance and badly when they discover it after an accident.
Do we need it back?
Decide before you send, and say so in the note. Asking afterwards is the most awkward message in this entire process and it is entirely avoidable.