UGC video in Morocco: what it is, when to use it and what it costs

A UGC video is an ad filmed like a creator's video: a person speaks to camera, filmed vertically as if on their own account, and shows a product or service they use. The acronym stands for user-generated content. In advertising, it describes a style, not an origin: the video is written and commissioned by the brand, but it borrows the codes of what people post themselves.

At UltraVision Agency, a UGC video is an advertising video like any other, at the same price: €390 (≈ MAD 4,300) excluding tax, from the angle to the edit. What remains is knowing when the format works, and when a produced ad does better.

What is a UGC video, in practice?

• The format: vertical, 9:16, framed like a phone video.
• The person: face to camera, speaking in the first person — “let me show you”, “here's what it looks like” — and looking into the lens.
• The setting: a bathroom, a kitchen, a car, a shop. An everyday place, not a set.
• The sound: the person's own voice, subtitled, rather than music laid over images.
• The rhythm: a hook in the first few seconds, a demonstration, then an offer.

It is the shape of many of the videos people scroll through on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. An ad that borrows it slips into the feed instead of interrupting it: that is the whole point.

What is the difference between a UGC video and a produced ad?

The work does not disappear, it moves. A UGC video needs less lighting and set dressing, but more writing: a line spoken to camera has to sound like something you would say to a friend, not like a slogan.

UGC video or produced ad: which should you choose?

• A UGC video, when the product is understood by seeing it used: a treatment, a cosmetic, a dish, an app, a workout. It also suits proof: a person showing what they got.
• A produced ad, when the place or the material is the selling point: a villa, a riad, a restaurant dining room in the evening, a collection. There, the light and the framing make the sale.
• Both, within the same funnel: each stage of the acquisition funnel can take one or the other. The face-to-camera video lends itself particularly to proof, the produced video to brand image.

A UGC video is not trying to be beautiful. It is trying to be believable.

How do you shoot a UGC video that works?

• Vertical from the start of the shoot, with the face in the top third of the frame and the bottom left clear for the apps' interface. The details are in our article on the vertical format.
• A hook in the first few seconds: a result, a question, a gesture.
• Subtitles, for people watching without sound.
• A person who really uses the product on screen. A demonstration can be checked; a fake review misleads the customer, and it ends up being spotted.
• The customer's language: Darija, French, Arabic or English. Choosing the language is choosing the target, before it is a matter of translation.
• Several hooks for the same script. A UGC video is easy to make variations of, and comparing the versions is how you find the one that sells: the logic behind four videos a month.

Who appears in a UGC video?

Three options. You, or someone on your team: often the most believable face, because it is the real one. A customer who agrees to talk about their experience. Or a person chosen through casting, when you do not want to appear or your target calls for a different profile.

In that last case, we go through our casting. Actresses, models and content creators submit their profile there, with their photos and the languages they speak, and we look through it for our shoots. The choice is made on your target: the age, the language and the style of the person your customer should recognise themselves in.

UGC agency or solo creator: which should you choose?

An independent creator delivers footage, based on your brief. An agency writes the angle, chooses the person, directs the shoot, edits several hooks and can manage the advertising to tell you which one sells. If you already have an angle that works and an ad account that is running, a creator may be enough. If you are starting from scratch, the angle has to be found first.

How much does a UGC video cost at UltraVision?

Our prices make no distinction between a UGC video and a produced video: it is an advertising video, at €390 (≈ MAD 4,300) excluding tax, with the angle, script, shoot, edit and vertical formats.

A UGC video only sells once it is shown. We can also manage its advertising on TikTok and on Facebook and Instagram, and tell you which hook brings in enquiries.