You Hired the Creator. Let Them Create.

By Rob Pountney

There's something a bit strange about choosing a creator because you love what they do, then asking them to sound like everyone else.

You like their personality. Their audience. The way they move, speak or explain something. Then the brief arrives, and the thing that made you interested is barely in it.

I understand why this happens. A brand has a product to explain, people who need to approve the work and money to account for. Sometimes there are legal requirements that genuinely cannot move. Asking a creator to respect those things is reasonable.

A brief isn't the problem. Not knowing which parts of it need to be fixed can be.

If every line, gesture and camera angle is already decided, it is worth being honest about the job. You may need someone to deliver a finished idea rather than develop one. That's a legitimate booking, but it isn't quite the same as commissioning someone's judgement.

Be clear about the job

I'd start with the purpose, the audience and the things that have to be included. Then separate those from suggestions. A product claim that has been legally approved belongs in a different conversation from someone's preference for how the first three seconds should look.

Tell the creator what success would mean for the brand. Give them the context behind the request. It is much easier to propose something useful when you know why a team wants it, rather than being handed a list of instructions without the reasoning.

There should be room for the talent to say that something doesn't feel like them, or that their audience won't understand it in the way the brand expects. That isn't necessarily resistance. It can be part of the service you are paying for.

Of course the creator needs to listen too. Creative freedom doesn't mean ignoring the brief, missing agreed deadlines or treating every note as an insult. Both sides have a job to do. It helps if the approval process is agreed before anyone starts making the work.

A useful early conversation can save an unnecessary reshoot. Discuss the approach while it can still change. Don't wait until the finished edit to discover that the brand imagined a polished advert and the creator thought they were making something deliberately informal.

Not everyone is offering the same skill

There is another issue here. Being brilliant at a craft and being good at making content about it are different things.

A dancer might be exceptional in front of a live audience and find speaking to a camera difficult. A coach might explain something beautifully to a person in the room but need help turning it into a short video. That doesn't make their knowledge less useful.

Performance, teaching, coaching, presenting and content creation overlap, but they aren't interchangeable. Each requires preparation. Some people move comfortably between them. Others have a clear strength and should be booked with that in mind.

If the brief needs someone to develop a concept, perform, film, edit and deliver several versions, it contains more than one job. Be realistic about whether the talent can do all of it, and whether the budget covers what you are asking.

Production support isn't a failure of the partnership. A filmmaker, an editor or somebody helping with the format might be what allows the person's actual strengths to come through.

Sometimes the better answer is to bring the talent into a production rather than ask them to become the production. Other creators already have a way of working that suits them. Find that out before adding a team or a process they don't need.

It's also important not to stretch someone's expertise for the sake of the product. Being an impressive athlete doesn't automatically qualify someone to give medical advice. A collaboration should respect what the person actually knows.

Agree the commercial details early

Content usage, revisions and paid media aren't small print to sort out at the end. They affect the work and the fee.

A post on the creator's account is different from footage used in a brand's advertising. Agree the channels, territory and duration. If the brand wants to run ads through the creator's account, discuss that specifically. Don't assume that permission to make a video covers every future use of it.

The same goes for revisions. Who gathers the feedback? How many rounds are included? What happens if the brief changes after an approach has been approved? Those questions are much less awkward before the shoot than after somebody has done the work.

I want talent to make money, and I want the brand to receive work it can actually use. Clear terms help both. They also make it easier to have a sensible conversation if the campaign grows and the brand wants to do more.

Finally, follower count doesn't settle whether someone is right for the job. Watch their work. Listen to how they speak. Look at the kind of response they get, and think about whether the product belongs in that conversation.

The right creator may not be the person with the biggest account. They should be someone whose contribution makes the work better. Once you've chosen them for that reason, leave enough space for them to contribute.