Creator Casting Tool

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name: creator-casting-tool description: "Find the right creators for any brand campaign, activation, or ambassador program. Takes a campaign brief (brand, vibe, category, budget, audience), searches Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Substack, and returns a castable shortlist with stats, content examples, rate estimates, and brand conflict checks. Use when casting creators for campaigns, sourcing influencers for a brand, building ambassador shortlists, finding creators for events/activations, or matching talent to a brief. Triggers on: 'find creators for,' 'cast for this campaign,' 'who should we use for,' 'source influencers,' 'creator shortlist,' 'casting list,' 'find talent for [brand],' 'ambassador search,' or any request to match creators to a brand or campaign brief."

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Creator Casting Tool

Find and shortlist the right creators for any brand campaign, activation, event, or ambassador program.

Who This Is For

Brand marketing teams casting influencer campaigns

PR and comms agencies sourcing talent for clients

Casting directors for events, activations, content shoots

DTC brands building ambassador or affiliate programs

Creative agencies staffing content productions

Prerequisites

web_search tool (required) — for cross-platform discovery, rate research, conflict checks

web_fetch tool (required) — for reading profiles, articles, and content

gram CLI (optional but recommended) — for Instagram discovery, engagement data, and content analysis. If unavailable, web search is used as fallback.

Check gram:

which gram

Workflow

1. Collect Campaign Brief

Ask the user for (or detect from context):

| Parameter | Required | Description | |-----------|----------|-------------| | brand | yes | Brand name and brief description | | campaign_type | yes | Content, event, activation, ambassador, gifting, UGC | | category | yes | Fashion, beauty, food, fitness, lifestyle, art, tech, travel, wellness, home, luxury, music, gaming, comedy, parenting, finance | | vibe | yes | Aesthetic/tonal direction (e.g., "minimalist, editorial, elevated" or "playful, bold, Gen-Z") | | audience_demo | recommended | Target audience age, gender, location | | budget_range | recommended | Per-creator budget (e.g., "$1K-5K" or "$10K+") | | num_creators | 10 | How many to return | | platforms | all | Which platforms matter: instagram, tiktok, youtube, substack | | follower_range | 10K-500K | Min and max followers | | geo_focus | US | Geographic focus for creators | | exclusions | none | Competitor brands, creators to avoid, agencies to skip | | deliverables | optional | What the creators would produce (e.g., "1 IG Reel + 3 Stories") |

2. Discover Creators

Search across platforms for creators matching the brief. Cast a wide net (40-60 candidates) to filter down.

Instagram (via gram CLI if available):

gram search "[category] [vibe keyword]" --limit 20
gram explore "[category]" --limit 20
gram hashtag "[relevant hashtag]" --limit 20

If gram unavailable, use web search:

"[category] [vibe] instagram creator" [geo]
"[category] influencer" aesthetic [vibe keywords] 2026
site:instagram.com "[category]" "[vibe keyword]"

TikTok:

"[category] tiktok creator" [vibe] [geo] 2026
"[category] tiktoker" [audience_demo keywords]
"best [category] tiktok" [vibe] creators

YouTube:

"[category] youtube creator" [vibe] [geo]
"[category] youtuber" [audience_demo] subscribers

Substack:

"[category] substack" [vibe] newsletter writer
site:substack.com "[category]" "[vibe keyword]"

Also search for:

"[brand name] type creator" OR "[competitor brand] influencer"
"[vibe] creators to watch 2026"
"[category] creators for brand campaigns"
best "[category] [vibe]" influencer lists 2026

Listicles and round-ups (great for discovery):

"[category] influencers to watch 2026"
"[vibe] creators" brand campaign
"best [category] content creators" [geo]

3. Gather Creator Profiles

For each candidate, collect:

From gram (if available):

gram user info [handle]
gram user posts [handle] --limit 12

From web search / web_fetch:

"[creator name]" [platform] followers engagement
"[creator handle]" brand partnership OR sponsored
"[creator name]" rate OR pricing (for rate estimates)

Build a profile for each:

Name / handles per platform

Follower counts per platform

Engagement quality (like-to-follower ratio, comment quality, saves if visible)

Content style and aesthetic

Audience demo indicators (comments, content topics, stated location)

Recent brand partnerships (last 6 months)

Content quality notes (production value, editing, originality)

4. Check Brand Conflicts

This is critical. For each candidate, check if they're currently working with or recently posted for a competitor.

"[creator name]" "[competitor brand 1]" OR "[competitor brand 2]"
"[creator handle]" sponsored "[competitor category]"

From gram (if available):

gram user posts [handle] --limit 30

Scan recent posts for competitor brand tags, #ad/#sponsored with competitors, or gifted product from competing brands.

Classify as:

Clear — No competitor conflicts found

Potential conflict — Posted competitor product but unclear if paid

Active conflict — Currently in a paid campaign with a competitor → FLAG prominently

Also check for:

Controversial content or past brand safety issues

Alignment between creator's personal brand and the campaign brand

5. Estimate Rates

Based on follower count, engagement, platform, and niche, estimate per-creator rates:

| Follower Range | IG Post | IG Reel | IG Story Set | TikTok | YouTube | |----------------|---------|---------|--------------|--------|---------| | 10K-50K | $250-1K | $500-2K | $150-500 | $300-1.5K | $500-2K | | 50K-100K | $1K-3K | $2K-5K | $500-1.5K | $1.5K-4K | $2K-5K | | 100K-250K | $3K-7K | $5K-10K | $1.5K-3K | $4K-8K | $5K-10K | | 250K-500K | $7K-15K | $10K-20K | $3K-5K | $8K-15K | $10K-25K | | 500K+ | $15K+ | $20K+ | $5K+ | $15K+ | $25K+ |

Adjust estimates based on:

Niche premium: Luxury, finance, tech command higher rates

Engagement quality: High engagement = higher rates justified

Content production value: High-quality production = premium

Exclusivity: If campaign requires exclusivity, add 30-50%

Cross-reference with web search:

"[creator name]" rate card OR pricing
influencer rate calculator [follower count] [platform]

Note: These are ESTIMATES. Always flag them as approximate.

6. Score & Rank (1-100 Campaign Fit Score)

| Signal | Points | |--------|--------| | Aesthetic/vibe alignment with brief | +25 | | Audience demo match | +20 | | Engagement quality (not just rate — comment quality, saves, shares) | +15 | | Brand safety — clean history, no conflicts | +15 | | Within budget range | +10 | | Multi-platform presence (amplification potential) | +10 | | Past brand campaign experience (knows how to deliver) | +5 |

Deductions:

Active competitor conflict: -30

Potential competitor conflict: -10

Low engagement relative to following: -15

Inconsistent posting: -10

Content quality below brief standard: -20

7. Output Format

# Creator Casting Report
Brand: [brand name]
Campaign: [campaign type and description]
Category: [category]
Vibe: [vibe description]
Budget: [per-creator range]
Platforms: [target platforms]
Geo: [geographic focus]
Candidates Screened: [total reviewed]
Shortlist: [number returned]
Shortlist
1. [Creator Name] — Fit Score: [X]/100
Handles: IG @[handle] ([X]K) · TikTok @[handle] ([X]K) · YT [channel] ([X]K)
Engagement: [avg likes/comments per post, engagement rate if available]
Content Style: [2-3 sentence description of their aesthetic and content approach]
Why They Fit: [Specific reasons this creator matches the brief — reference vibe, audience, content style]
Recent Brand Work: [List 2-3 recent partnerships if any, or "No recent sponsored content visible"]
Conflict Check: 🟢 Clear / 🟡 Potential conflict with [brand] / 🔴 Active conflict with [brand]
Est. Rate: $[X]-[Y] for [deliverable type]
Content Examples: [Link or describe 2-3 posts that demonstrate campaign-relevant content]
Notes: [Anything else relevant — representation status, availability signals, negotiation notes]
2. [Creator Name] — Fit Score: [X]/100
...
Budget Summary
| Creator | Est. Rate | Fit Score | Conflict |
|---------|-----------|-----------|----------|
| [Name] | $[X]-[Y] | [score] | 🟢/🟡/🔴 |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Total Est. Range | $[min]-[max] | | |
Casting Notes
Best value picks: [creators with high fit score relative to rate]
Premium picks: [highest fit score, may be above budget]
Safe bets: [proven brand campaign performers with clean histories]
Rising stars: [smaller but high-momentum, great for long-term ambassador programs]
Methodology
Platforms searched: [list]
Search queries run: [count]
Candidates screened: [count]
Excluded (conflicts): [count]
Excluded (poor fit): [count]
Instagram data source: [gram CLI / web search]
Rate estimates are approximate and based on publicly available data + industry benchmarks

Error Handling

| Issue | Action | |-------|--------| | gram not installed | Use web search for all Instagram data; note reduced accuracy in engagement metrics | | Vague brief | Ask clarifying questions before searching. Minimum: brand, category, vibe | | No budget given | Return creators across ranges, flag estimated rates, let user filter | | Very niche category | Broaden to adjacent categories, note limited pool | | Can't find enough creators | Lower follower minimum, expand geo, broaden vibe interpretation. Report what you found. | | Rate data unavailable | Use benchmark table, flag as "estimated based on industry averages" | | Competitor list unclear | Ask user to confirm top 3-5 competitors to check against | | Creator has no recent posts | Flag as "potentially inactive" with last post date |

Tips for Best Results

Be specific with the vibe. "Elevated minimalist with warm tones" yields better results than "fashion"

Include competitor brands in exclusions — this prevents embarrassing casting overlaps

For ambassador programs, prioritize creators with owned audience (newsletter, podcast, Substack) over pure social

Smaller creators (10K-50K) often deliver better engagement rates and are more responsive to briefs

Always verify shortlist manually before presenting to a client — this tool finds candidates, humans close deals

Run quarterly for ongoing programs to catch rising creators before they price up

For events/activations, factor in location — a creator's city matters for in-person work

web_search tool (required) — for cross-platform discovery, rate research, conflict checks

web_fetch tool (required) — for reading profiles, articles, and content

gram CLI (optional but recommended) — for Instagram discovery, engagement data, and content analysis. If unavailable, web search is used as fallback.

Check gram:

which gram