Direct answer: Use customer-created content when a real person's experience answers a buyer's question that the brand cannot answer as credibly on its own. Use brand-made work when the offer, terms, visual system, or product demonstration needs precise control. A combination is often defensible, but research does not show that every informal video beats every produced one.
The two content sources have different strengths. A customer can show use in a real setting; the brand can explain what is included, what has changed, and what to do next. Treat “authentic” as a property of truthful context and identifiable source, not as a filter, rough camera movement, or a scripted line designed to look accidental.
Read the studies at the level they measured
Diwanji and Cortese's 2020 ecommerce study compared user-generated and brand-generated videos with 177 participants. Its publisher abstract reports that user-generated videos produced more favorable attitudes toward the ad and brand in that study. The sample and shopping context matter: this is evidence about viewers' responses to tested ecommerce videos, not a guarantee of higher sales for an unrelated service campaign.
Malodia and colleagues' 2024 research used four between-subjects experiments with 1,048 participants to compare prosumer-led and firm-led social conversations, plus interviews with brand practitioners. Their abstract reports higher engagement for prosumer-led conversations; identity disclosure and hedonic content also mattered. A 2026 publisher correction changed some reported values and mediation details while stating that the nature and significance of the findings were unchanged. This is not a direct test of video production quality. It suggests that who speaks and why the message matters may be more important than whether footage looks polished.
The studies do not compare the same content, medium, and business outcome. Together they justify testing source credibility and relevance, not declaring an informal style universally superior.
Match the source to the buyer question
For a new service, a brand-made explainer may need to state eligibility, process, and limits. A customer's account could then show what the experience felt like, provided the example is real and representative enough for the intended claim. For a physical product, a customer demonstration might reveal scale or use in a home, while brand-made photography shows exact variants and details. If the customer material cannot establish a product specification, the brand should not let it carry that claim alone.
Build a two-column content plan: the claims the business must state accurately, and the questions a real user can answer from experience. Leave a gap when no verified customer material exists. Do not manufacture a “customer-style” clip and present it as spontaneous evidence.
Before using a real person's words, image, or footage, confirm permission and any limits on use. WIPO's copyright guidance explains that use of protected work generally needs authorization, with national-law exceptions and details; contracts and the law where the material will run determine the actual rights. If the campaign relies on an endorsement, the applicable advertising rules need a separate review.
ARCHV can produce the brand-made assets and design the visual relationship that lets real customer material sit beside them. The result should make it easy to tell whose experience is being shown and which facts come from the business. For the separate question of showing proof without recognizable client logos, use the focused proof guide.