A guide to what a London brand partnership meeting expects from a media kit

What to take away

What a London brand partnership meeting actually reviews

A London brand partnership meeting is not a general chat about your content. The partnerships team has a brief, a budget and a launch date. They review your media kit to see whether you can deliver against all three.

The first thing they check is whether your audience matches the brief. A fashion brand looking for London-based women aged 25 to 34 will want to see that breakdown, not just a total follower number. If your media kit shows a global audience with no city split, the meeting stalls.

The second check is evidence. London agencies work with brands that need to justify spend internally. Your media kit needs dated screenshots from Instagram, TikTok or YouTube analytics, not a screenshot from six months ago.

The third check is commercial fit. They want to know your rate, what it includes and whether you are VAT registered. A media kit that hides the rate wastes everyone's time. The ONS regional accounts show London's economy is the largest in the UK, so budgets here are real, but they are also scrutinised.

Finally, they check brand safety. A quick look at your recent comments and past partnerships tells them whether your audience is safe for a household name. If you have worked with a competitor, say so early.

The format London agencies expect from a media kit

London influencer agencies see hundreds of media kits. The ones that get a second read follow a predictable format. Yours should too.

Use a PDF of no more than four pages, or a live link that loads on a phone. The first page is your overview: name, platforms, total reach, audience location and a one-line description of what you make.

The second page is audience evidence: age, gender, top cities, and a note on how you gathered the data. The third page is past work: three campaigns with brand names, deliverables and results. The fourth page is rates and contact details.

If you send a live link, make sure it works without a login. Agency staff often review kits on a train. A broken link or a file that needs a password is an instant rejection.

Keep the design clean. Use your own photos, not stock images. Avoid autoplay video. If you include video, host it on YouTube or Vimeo and link out.

The media kit format should also state your location. London agencies want to know if you are in London, because that affects shoot logistics and travel costs. If you are outside London, say so and state your travel policy.

For a full walkthrough of how an approved kit moves from requested change to delivery, see our guide to the operating workflow.

Evidence and figures to bring to the meeting

Bring numbers, but bring the right ones. London partnerships teams care about engagement rate, audience quality and past performance, not vanity metrics.

Your engagement rate should be calculated per platform and stated as a percentage. If you have a 4% engagement rate on Instagram and a 7% rate on TikTok, show both. Do not average them.

Audience location matters. London brands often want a UK-heavy audience. Show the percentage of your followers in the UK, and if you have a London concentration, highlight it. Use screenshots from your platform's analytics dashboard, dated within the last 30 days.

Past campaign results should include the brand, the deliverable, the reach and any measurable outcome. If a brand saw a sales lift, ask permission to mention it. If you cannot share sales data, share saves, shares or comments.

Do not invent figures. The ASA and CMA both take a dim view of unsubstantiated claims, and agencies check. If a number is an estimate, label it as such.

Bring a printed copy of your key stats to the meeting. Screenshots on your phone are fine, but a printed one-pager is easier for a room to review. For more on setting realistic service standards, read our guide to service standards.

How to present rates and VAT to a London partnerships team

Rate presentation is where many creators lose money. London partnerships teams expect a clear breakdown, not a single number.

Your rate card should list each deliverable separately: one Instagram Reel, one TikTok video, one set of Stories. State the fee for each. Then add a line for usage rights. If the brand wants to use your content in paid ads for three months, that is a separate fee. If they want exclusivity, that is another fee.

VAT is not optional. If you are VAT registered, you must charge VAT on top of your fee. If you are not VAT registered, say so clearly. HMRC's VAT registration threshold applies, and Making Tax Digital rules mean you need to keep digital records.

State your currency. London agencies usually pay in GBP. If you quote in USD or EUR, state the exchange rate you used and the date. For a deeper look at scope, currency and VAT, see our cost guide.

Payment terms matter. State when you invoice, how long you give for payment, and whether you charge late fees. London agencies often work on 30 or 60 day terms. If you need faster payment, say so before the meeting.

Finally, be ready to negotiate. London partnerships teams have budgets, but they also have flexibility on deliverables. If they cannot meet your fee, offer a smaller package rather than discounting your main rate.

Named agencies and trade body material on creative best practice

London is home to the UK's highest concentration of influencer agencies and brand partnerships teams. Knowing who they are helps you prepare.

Gleam Futures represents creators and expects a professional media kit with clear audience data. Whalar works with brands and creators and looks for evidence of creative range. Social Chain, now part of Brave Bison, reviews media kits for strategic fit. These agencies set the standard for what a media kit should contain.

The IAB UK is the trade body for digital advertising. Its An introduction to creative best practice | IAB UK sets out how creative should be described and delivered. Your media kit should reflect those principles, especially around transparency and disclosure.

For partnership content that runs as native distribution, the IAB UK's Native distribution: Principles for creative best practice | IAB UK explains how to label and present it. If your media kit mentions native partnerships, align with those principles.

The IAB UK's Our story | IAB UK gives context on the UK digital advertising market. Understanding that market helps you speak the same language as the agency across the table.

For London market figures, the ONS Regional accounts - Office for National Statistics provides data on output and income. That data shows why London budgets are significant, but also why they are scrutinised.

When you discuss contract terms, be clear about usage rights and exclusivity. Our guide to contract terms covers the three clauses that deserve a proper read.

A pre-meeting media kit checklist for London

Use this checklist before every London brand partnership meeting. It takes ten minutes and saves you from a wasted trip.

Then follow these steps to finalise your kit:

If you are meeting a named agency, look up their recent campaigns. Gleam Futures, Whalar and Social Chain all publish case studies. Mentioning one shows you have done your homework.

Finally, confirm the meeting location and time. London traffic and tube delays are real. Aim to arrive ten minutes early.

Common questions