White Label Content
Ghosted by Your Own Work
One of the toughest challenges in creative work isn’t the brainstorming, the production, or even the last-minute revisions. It’s making something incredible—something that moves the needle, sparks engagement, and maybe even goes viral—while knowing you can’t publicly take credit for it. You poured your soul into this masterpiece, and now? It’s like you never even existed. Brutal.
If you’ve ever signed an NDA or worked under a white-label agreement, you know exactly what I mean. The client wants something awesome made, but the contract says you can’t tell anyone you made it. It’s part of the job, but it can also back you into a corner, leaving you with little to no proof of your contributions. And when you’re trying to land your next gig, build your portfolio, or just get the recognition you deserve, that’s a tough place to be.
How to Prove You Existed Without Proof
So how do you navigate this? How do you convey what you did, how cool it was, and the impact it made—without any actual proof that it exists?
The key is getting really good at describing white-label projects without breaking confidentiality. You have to frame your work in terms of skills developed, categories tackled, and the overall impact rather than specifics.
For example, I’ve had the opportunity to work on an annual video series that drives tune-in to one of the biggest events of the year. I’ve scripted out segments that your favorite influencers and creators have taken part in. And I’ve helped produce the show in a variety of ways, from sketch comedy to variety-show formats. All the while tens of thousands of eyes watched this content live and even more clocked on the clips.
Now, that doesn’t really tell you much in terms of names, brands, or specific content. But what it does is highlight the scope of my experience, the types of projects I’ve contributed to, and the breadth of my skill set.
Tell, Don’t Show
Instead of saying, “I made that,” you pivot to, “Here’s what I learned and the kind of work I can do.” You can’t name names, but you can highlight the skills you honed—leading a creative team, working under tight deadlines, developing engagement strategies. You can talk about the type of work you did—creative development for a major product launch in the sports industry sounds just as impressive as dropping a brand name. And if you can’t show the project, you can still share its impact: “A campaign I worked on boosted engagement by 20% and hit a million views in 48 hours.” Numbers talk, even when specifics don’t.
The best part? This forces you to sell yourself, not just your client list. Future clients get to see what you bring to the table without the crutch of recognizable names. It’s frustrating, sure, but it’s also a great way to show that you can make magic happen from scratch.
The Reality of Ghost Content
I won’t lie—this isn’t my favorite part of the job. Every creative should get their due credit for what they make. But in the world of branded content, ghost creation is part of the game. Brands often prefer a clean, polished image where the content appears seamlessly integrated into their voice, not a collaboration with outside creatives. And when they pay for that exclusivity, you have to roll with it.
But that doesn’t mean your work disappears into the void. It means you have to be more strategic in how you talk about it. The more you refine your ability to describe your contributions, the more you set yourself up for future opportunities—even if your name isn’t in the credits. Platforms like Gondola are starting to help in this area, giving creatives a way to track and showcase their work without breaking confidentiality. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s a step toward getting some visibility in an industry that often requires staying behind the curtain.
Maybe this isn’t the best way to build your portfolio, but it’s the reality of the creative world. Learning how to work around it—how to talk about what you’ve done without direct credit—is a skill worth having in your toolkit. And in the end, if you do it right, you won’t just be a ghost—you’ll be a legend.
