Creative Guidelines
Branded Content Production Guidelines
TIME VOICE/TONE: The Time tone is knowledgeable, personal and accessible at every level. Writing should be digestible and interspersed with data, quotes/pull quotes, graphics that move the story forward. Articles should be about 400-600 words. All advertiser content must follow our TIME Guide to Style.
Articles:
- Average word length between 400 and 600 words (generally shorter for print)
- TITLE with subhead of no more than 20 words max, shorter the better
Spotlights:
- These are just short articles or columns of 200 to 250 words
Videos:
- Average video length :90 seconds to two minutes
- Long-form videos can extend to 3 or 4 minutes but anything beyond three minutes is going to lose people
- :15 seconds or less is ideal video cut down length for social
- Animated videos should be no more than :30 seconds
- Data graphics overlaying video is one way to provide another layer of story, especially right now when we’re relying heavily on Zoom interviews and b-roll
- Explainer videos can be up to but shouldn’t exceed 2 minutes, based on complexity of subject
Social copy:
- Copy specs provided in template
Infographics:
- These will vary based on topic
Last modified: October 15, 2020