Instagram is testing horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes, and most brand briefs still assume a 30-second Reel. That mismatch will cost money. Scripting for Instagram’s 90 minute series is a different job from scripting a Reel. You are briefing a structure, a set of clips, and a disclosure plan, not a single hook. Here is a template you can adapt.
What exactly is Instagram testing?
The format is called Features. According to ClickZ’s report on the launch, it lets select creators in the US and Brazil upload horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes. Adam Mosseri and Tessa Lyons announced the test on Oct. 26.
The design choice matters for briefing. Reels lead viewers into the long video. Lyons said creators already post clips from longer videos to drive discovery, and Features turns that habit into a product.
So a 90-minute episode is never a standalone asset. It is a parent file with a family of Reels pointing at it.
Brief the clip and the full episode as one asset across two surfaces. Results from Reels and Features will need to be read together.
That framing comes straight from ClickZ’s read on what the format means for brands, and it should shape how you structure deliverables and reporting.
Why a Reel brief fails at 90 minutes
A Reel brief front-loads everything. Hook in the first second, product in the first five, call to action at the end. Run that logic across 90 minutes and you get an infomercial nobody finishes.
Long-form audiences behave differently. They chose to stay. They tolerate a slow build, but they punish interruptions that feel bolted on. Your job is to decide where the brand earns attention and where it simply stays out of the way.
There is also a commercial wrinkle. ClickZ notes that Instagram has not announced an ad revenue share for Features, so it is funding some creators directly. The same ClickZ piece says Instagram has reportedly offered direct payments to select YouTubers and asked them to post their long videos the same day. Translation for buyers: creators have leverage, and some may be double-dipping with platform money. Ask early about exclusivity and who else is paying for the same episode.
The creative brief template
Use these eight blocks. Each one is a field in your brief document, not a suggestion.
- Series objective. One sentence, one metric. Example: “Move qualified viewers from episode clips to the full episode, then to a landing page.” If you list four goals, the creator will chase none.
- Audience and episode premise. Who watches a 60-minute conversation, and why? Write the premise as a question the episode answers.
- Run-of-show with time stamps. Break the episode into segments of 8 to 12 minutes. Mark where the brand appears and what job each appearance does (context, demo, proof).
- Brand integration moments. Cap them. Two to three native mentions beat six scattered reads. Specify what the creator must say, what they may paraphrase, and what is off limits.
- Clip map. Name 4 to 8 moments designed to be cut into Reels. Each needs a standalone hook, a visible link back to the full episode, and a plan for on-screen text.
- Claims and proof. List every factual claim, the substantiation file, and who signs off.
- Disclosure plan. Where, how often, and in which format (more below).
- Rights and reporting. Usage window, whitelisting, cutdown permissions, and the metrics the creator shares from both Reels and Features.
Scripting the run-of-show
Do not script a 90-minute video word for word. You will get a stilted read, and your audience will spot it by minute three. Script the skeleton and the brand beats, and let the creator own everything in between.
For each brand beat, give the creator a three-line card:
- Setup: the natural conversational entry point (“This connects to what I was saying about…”).
- Proof moment: the one demo, story, or number that carries the claim.
- Exit: how the segment hands back to the main topic.
Why the exit? Because the abrupt return is where viewers feel the ad. A clean handoff keeps retention intact.
Think in episodes, too. If this is a recurring series, borrow from multi-episode formats: a consistent opening, a recurring segment the brand can sponsor, and a closing question that sets up the next episode.
Engineering the clips
Clips are your discovery engine, so brief them like ads. Each one needs a first-second hook that makes sense without context. Text on screen carries a lot of weight here, since many Reel viewers watch muted. Our guide to pattern interrupt overlays covers hook construction in detail.
Two rules I would put in every brief:
- Cut the clip from the strongest 30 to 60 seconds of the episode, not from the brand segment. A clip that looks like an ad will not travel. A clip of the best insight, with the brand present in the frame naturally, will.
- Name the link-back mechanism in the brief. Lyons described creators linking Reels to the full feature, so confirm the creator will do that on every clip, not just the first.
For product-led series, chapter your episode so viewers and search can find the right moment. The approach in shoppable video chapters adapts well to long runtimes.
Disclosure across 90 minutes
Length creates a compliance problem short video never had. A viewer can drop in at minute 47 and never see the opening disclosure.
The FTC’s Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers says that for a video endorsement, the disclosure should be in the video and not just in the description. It also says viewers are more likely to notice disclosures made in both audio and video. For live streams, it says the disclosure should be repeated periodically so viewers who see only part of the stream still get it. A 90-minute recorded episode is not a live stream, but the logic transfers. Treat every sponsored segment as if it were the only one a viewer sees.
Build this into the brief:
- A spoken disclosure at the start of each brand segment.
- A superimposed label on screen during each segment.
- The platform’s paid partnership label applied to the post.
- Disclosure inside every clip that carries a brand mention.
Who carries the risk? Largely you. In the FTC’s Endorsement Guides Q&A, the agency says that if law enforcement becomes necessary, its focus usually will be on advertisers or their ad agencies and public relations firms. Make disclosure a pass/fail QA item before publish, not a courtesy note.
Live elements raise the bar further. If your series includes a live premiere or Q&A, see live sponsorship scripting for moment-by-moment tactics.
Rights, licensing, and what to negotiate
A 90-minute episode is a bigger asset than most creator deliverables, and the contract should reflect that. Specify whether you may cut your own clips, run them as paid ads, or reuse segments on other platforms. Our primer on long-form video rights walks through the license terms to settle before money moves.
Add three more clauses specific to this format:
- Exclusivity window: no competing brand in the same episode or the following clips.
- Cross-posting: whether the same episode can live on YouTube, and when. Instagram has reportedly asked some creators to post long videos the same day, per ClickZ, so same-day duplicates are plausible.
- Data access: screenshots or exports of retention and clip-to-episode click-through from the creator within a set number of days.
Next step
Take your last long-form creator brief, or your best podcast sponsorship, and fill in the eight blocks above for a single pilot episode. Ask the creator for a clip map and a disclosure plan before you approve the run-of-show.
FAQs
How long can Instagram’s Features videos be?
ClickZ reports that the Features test allows horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes from select creators in the US and Brazil. Availability may change as the test evolves, so confirm access with each creator before you build a campaign around it.
Should I script a 90-minute creator video word for word?
No. Script the run-of-show, the brand beats, and the claims. Give the creator setup, proof, and exit cards for each integration, then let them handle the rest in their own voice.
How many brand mentions are right for a long episode?
Two to three well-placed integrations usually work better than frequent reads. Space them across segments, and make sure each one has a clear purpose such as context, demo, or proof.
How should I handle FTC disclosure in a long video?
Disclose in the video itself, not only the caption, and use both audio and on-screen text. Repeat the disclosure at each sponsored segment so a viewer who joins mid-episode still sees it. Apply the same standard to every clip you cut from the episode.
Do I need separate briefs for the clips and the full episode?
Use one brief with a dedicated clip map. Because Reels are designed to lead viewers to the full video, the clips and the episode form one asset, and the clip map keeps hooks, disclosures, and link-backs consistent.
What should I ask creators to report after publishing?
Ask for retention data on the full episode, views and link-back clicks on each clip, and any paid partnership label metrics available. Agree on the delivery window in the contract.
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