Audience research
Part of Researching influencer-agency buyers with permissioned interviews and evidence profiles
Interview prompts that reconstruct how an influencer agency was actually appointed
Use six non-ranked interview prompts to examine real influencer-agency buying decisions, with consent, access, safeguarding and sample limits.
These six prompts investigate a recent influencer-agency buying decision. They are not a script for gathering praise, forecast spend or fabricated quotations. Ask for events and records the participant is authorised to discuss.
What to take away
- The six prompts reconstruct a documented agency appointment without seeking praise, forecasts or fabricated quotations.
- Interviews can explain a process but cannot establish England-wide frequency or market intent.
- Use consent guidance covering purpose, data, recording, sharing, retention and withdrawal before the session.
- Disclosure labels and claim substantiation are separate subjects under the CAP Code.
- Under-18 creators or audience members require a separate safeguarding protocol outside this adult buyer round.
Method and participant boundary
Creatorcampaign.co.uk compiled this non-ranked list on 6 September 2026 from current UK government, ICO, ASA/CAP and CMA records. Inclusion required a prompt that tests a distinct campaign-governance decision and an authoritative source explaining why the evidence matters. Generic satisfaction questions, creator-audience polling, sales qualification and requests for confidential client results were excluded. No supplier funded the work.
Recruit adults who took a documented part in commissioning, reviewing, declining or governing a creator campaign for an English operating organisation. Record invitations, eligibility, completions, withdrawals, incentives, access provisions and missing roles. Interviews are qualitative: they can explain a process, but cannot establish England-wide frequency or market intent. The Magenta Book methods annex notes both interview depth and participation bias.
Use an information sheet and continuing consent. GOV.UK consent guidance for research covers purpose, data, recording, sharing, retention and withdrawal. Disclose incentives and conflicts before the session. Keep later sales contact outside the research permission.
1. Reconstruct the appointment decision
"Please walk through the last agency appointment or in-house decision you were authorised to review. Which document started it, and who could approve or stop it?"
Use Companies House company information only to check an incorporated legal entity. It does not verify the participant's authority or the service delivered.
2. Map creator and talent authority
"Who represented the creator, who could agree changes, and what evidence showed that authority?"
The CMA brand endorsement guidance recognises marketing and talent intermediaries. Ask about the actual mandate rather than assuming an agency represented every party.
3. Follow a claim and disclosure to release
"Choose one objective claim. Where did its evidence come from, who approved it, and how was the commercial relationship made recognisable in the final asset?"
CAP Code Section 2 and Section 3 make recognition and misleadingness separate subjects. Do not treat a disclosure label as claim substantiation.
4. Trace payment and consideration
"How did the records separate agency charges, creator money or commission, products, media, expenses and tax?"
HMRC's online-platform income guidance includes gifts and services in its creator-income examples. The interview should locate records, not decide tax treatment.
5. Examine access, incidents and exit
"Which accounts and data could the supplier reach, how would access be removed, and what happened when content needed correction or withdrawal?"
The NCSC's supply-chain principles support mapping suppliers, subcontractors, assets and access. Ask for evidence of the configured route without requesting credentials.
6. Identify the next evidence threshold
"What fact would make you appoint, pause or reject this route next time, and who owns that decision?"
This closing prompt converts an account into a testable buyer requirement. It does not ask the participant to predict campaign performance.
Under-18 creators or audience members are outside this adult buyer-interview round. If their participation becomes necessary, use a separate protocol reviewed for safeguarding, age-appropriate information, assent, parent or guardian involvement where appropriate and deletion. The ICO's children and UK GDPR guidance explains the additional data-protection considerations.
Before you act
- Recruit adults with a documented part in commissioning, reviewing, declining or governing a creator campaign.
- Record invitations, eligibility, completions, withdrawals, incentives, access provisions and missing roles.
- Use an information sheet and continuing consent before the interview.
- Disclose incentives and conflicts before the session.
- Keep later sales contact outside the research permission.
- Ask for evidence of the configured access route without requesting credentials.
Common questions
What can these interviews establish about the influencer agency appointment?
They can explain a process, but cannot establish England-wide frequency or market intent. The method is qualitative and participation bias is noted in the Magenta Book methods annex. The prompts focus on events and records the participant is authorised to discuss, not on praise or forecasts.
What should be disclosed to participants before the session?
Disclose incentives and conflicts before the session. Use an information sheet and continuing consent. GOV.UK consent guidance covers purpose, data, recording, sharing, retention and withdrawal. Keep later sales contact outside the research permission. Record invitations, eligibility, completions, withdrawals, incentives, access provisions and missing roles.
How should under-18 creators or audience members be handled?
They are outside this adult buyer-interview round. If their participation becomes necessary, use a separate protocol reviewed for safeguarding, age-appropriate information, assent, parent or guardian involvement where appropriate and deletion. The ICO children and UK GDPR guidance explains the additional data-protection considerations.
