How to brief a pet creator (no deck required)

A bad brief costs you a round of edits. A good one fits in a text message.

Why briefs go sideways

Most pet video problems start before anyone hits record.

One way it goes wrong: the brand sends a long deck. Brand values, color codes, a full script. The creator skims it, guesses what matters, and films. Round one of edits turns into round three.

The other way: a one-line email that says "make it fun." Now the creator is guessing, and you're paying for the guess.

A good brief sits in the middle. Short enough to read in one go. Clear enough that nobody has to guess.

The three must-haves

If you only send three things, send these. They're exactly what Tank asks for:

1. The product. What it is, who it's for, and the one thing you want people to remember.
2. Your deadline. When the files need to be live. Work back from that date.
3. What you want: video files, a post, or both. Files are yours to run on your own channels. A post goes out to the creator's audience. Those are two different things, so expect them to be priced separately.

That's it. No deck required.

The extras that save you edits

Pick one feeling. What should a dog parent feel in the first 3 seconds? A laugh. Relief. "That's my dog." One video, one feeling. Aim for all three and you get none.

Say if it's going to be an ad. Running a video as a paid ad usually costs more than posting it on your own page. Say so up front, so the price you get is the price you pay. (Here's how usage rights work.)

Say if you need exclusivity. If you don't want the same dog selling a rival product next month, ask for it. If you don't need it, don't pay for it.

List your must-say and must-not-say. If there's a claim your legal team won't allow, write it down. If there's a product name that has to be said a certain way, write that down too.

Plan the label and any codes. Paid and gifted posts get labeled. If you want a discount or affiliate code in the post, put it in the brief.

What to leave out

The shot list. Pet creators know their dog. Chelsee knows what Tank will do on camera, and what he flat-out won't. A tight shot list fights that.

The script. Dogs can't read. Write the idea, skip the lines.

The deck. If the important part is buried on slide 14, it gets missed.

A sample brief you can steal

Here's a made-up example. Swap in your own details:

Seven lines. A creator can read that in one quick pass and know exactly what you need.

What happens after you send it

Here's how it goes with Tank:

1. You send the brief. We reply with dates and your price.
2. Once your brief is booked, you get a ship-to address. Hold the product until then.
3. Once the product is in hand, we lock a filming date.
4. Tank films it into his real day: couch, meals, walks, recovery days. Vertical, 15-30 seconds.
5. You get two rounds of edits. Then the files are yours to keep.

A single video is $400. Three, shot together, are $1,000.

Want the long version?

Our free 7-step brief checklist walks through every call above. It takes about 10 minutes, and it answers the questions that usually cost you a round of edits.