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How DogPack added 600K followers in just 10 days
See how AI-hosted “pawdcasts” + humor beat feature selling in feeds.
Collin Armstrong
August 27, 2025
Issue #234
August 27, 2025
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Quick Hits:
If you've been Instagram or TikTok in the last month and your FYP looks anything like mine (92% pet content) then chances are you’ve come across DogPack's viral “pawdcast.”
Their numbers speak for themselves – one of their clips a couple of weeks ago hit 7.9M views with +770K likes.
But here's what makes their approach worth studying…they're not selling features or running traditional ads here.
Instead, they've built an AI-hosted video series where dogs appear to host their own podcast, complete with hot takes about fetch politics and roasting their humans.
@officialdogpack Find new spots to throw the ball on DogPack App 🐾😉
But do people like it?
Mmm, they can’t get enough.
Within ~10 days from their first rendition of the podcast they gained ~600K followers between IG & TikTok.
As for how many of those have converted to app downloads, we’re unsure but the CEO of DogPack, Jonathan Punski, has mentioned seeing an uptick in organic users on the app due to this content series.
The real story here isn't about just copying their format – it's about understanding why entertainment-first content works and how modern tools enable creative execution.
Lets walk through what makes DogPack's strategy effective, the technical mechanics behind it, and most importantly, what principles you can extract to inspire your own original approach (HINT: it does not have to incorporate AI!).
Because here's the thing, directly copying this idea isn't just lazy, it's counterproductive. The pet community will call you out instantly, and you'll have sacrificed your brand's authenticity for a cheap imitation.
The Geico Principle Applied to Pet Tech
Remember those Geico commercials?
The ones where you watch a gecko crack jokes for 28 seconds before hearing "15 minutes could save you 15% or more"? Or the caveman campaign reminding us “it’s so easy, a caveman could do it” where the caveman is living in the modern world and is insulted by Geico’s “new” tagline?
Geico doesn’t inundate you with coverage details, instead they introduce you to lovable mascots and hit you with their one-liner about savings. Taking a relatively boring or necessary service and making it highly entertaining and memorable, eliciting positive emotions and associations with the brand.
DogPack channels that exact principle.
Their AI dog hosts typically touch on a single human truth (from a dog’s POV) in each video making pet parents laugh – like how owners think their dogs are obsessed with them because they follow them everywhere, but they’re the ones taking pictures of them 500 times a day – and the caption is the only place where they insert any sort of mention or CTA for their app. 👇️
@officialdogpack How much of your camera roll is pictures of your dog? Share your pics on DogPack App ❤️
This post is littered with dog owner comments like “I sure do” “💯 true” and then directly sharing photos of their dogs.
This works because of a simple psychological truth. People's brains are wired to pay attention to entertainment, not necessarily advertisements. When you make someone laugh, you earn permission to make a soft pitch.
DogPack understood that trying to explain their app's features in a 15-30 second TikTok would get swiped away instantly. But a talking Golden Retriever ranting to his Frenchie co-host about how his owner’s antics? Now that stops thumbs. Not to mention they both let out a big cackle (arguably the best part lol) after each punchline. That keeps the viewer hooked for a payoff.
The format itself is deceptively simple.
Each “episode” clip typically runs anywhere between 8 to 15 seconds (with some deeper stories going longer) with a tight structure: hook, punchline, laughter. The hook grabs you in the first three seconds ("They always ask the obvious questions..."), then the joke delivery, followed by laughter, and then the caption does a gentle CTA ("Find new spots to throw the ball on DogPack App").
It's comedy writing 101 applied to growth marketing.
What you should take from this isn't "make a dog podcast too" – it's that your brand needs to find its own entertaining angle that resonates with your specific audience. The format doesn't matter as much as the principle: entertain and delight first, soft sell second.
You do NOT need to utilize AI, this is just a superb example of how AI is being leveraged, accepted, and fueling positive brand associations with insane amounts of engagement.
Understanding the Technical Mechanics
Let's demystify how this actually works technically, so you understand what's possible with current tools and can imagine your own creative applications.
Voice Generation
DogPack most likely uses AI voice tools like ElevenLabs or Google’s Veo 3 to create consistent character voices. The technical insight here is about consistency – they pick distinct voice profiles for recurring hosts and maintain them religiously. One character might have a warm baritone while another speaks in a more sarcastic tone.
When writing dialogue for AI voices, they add natural speech patterns using punctuation. Ellipses create pauses ("Well... that's embarrassing"), exclamation points add energy, and strategic misspellings can create emphasis ("This is sooooo typical").
Visual Assembly
For visuals, there are several approaches these days. Veo 3 can create 8 sec clips that generate both VO and visuals, or tools like Higgsfield and HeyGen can create lip-synced animations from still photos. The takeaway here isn't which tool to use, but that production value matters less than consistent character recognition and humor quality.
CapCut and DaVinci Resolve have both become the standard editor for this style of content. CapCut auto-generates subtitles (crucial since most people watch on mute), offers those bold, colorful text styles TikTok audiences expect, and handles all basic editing needs. However both IG and TikTok have pretty solid auto caption tools built into the app as well.
The tool choice matters less than understanding why these features work - accessibility, visual engagement, and platform-native styling.
The Production Pipeline
While we can't know DogPack's exact workflow (I noticed that they posted 4-5 videos within a 24hr span recently), we can understand the efficiency principles at play.
With their consistent setting and two main characters locked in, much of the production complexity is already solved. The real work becomes scripting and slight variations in execution.
Here's a theoretical batching workflow that could enable this kind of output:
Scripting in batches: Writing 10-15 episode ideas at once, focusing on the established character dynamics.
Voice generation sessions: Generating multiple AI voiceovers in one go since the character voices are already defined.
Template-based editing: Using a consistent visual format/prompt that speeds up production to easily execute 3-4 clips per day.
The workflow likely gets more complex when they introduce variables like guest characters – especially when that guest needs to resemble a specific real life dog, like a rescue story or featuring a particular pup who went viral.
These episodes require additional consideration: matching the "voice" to the dog's perceived personality, ensuring accuracy in the story being told, and potentially coordinating with the actual rescue organization or owner.
Understanding this theoretical workflow helps you see that consistency beats perfection.
Once you establish your core format and characters, production becomes about efficiently creating variations on your proven theme. Whatever format you develop for your brand, the key is making it repeatable and efficient enough to maintain without burning out your team.
Content Strategy That Actually Converts
DogPack's content mix feels deliberately engineered, and understanding the ratios helps explain why it works:
Relatable Humor (80% of content) These are everyday pet parent experiences exaggerated just enough to be hilarious. The insight here is that shared experiences create instant connection. Every dog owner has lived these moments, which makes the content inherently shareable.
Breed Profiling + Heartfelt + Cats (15% of content) Some of this overlaps into humor as well, but less focus on humans, and some clips are more heartfelt. There’s also some cameo cats (and a squirrel and a goldfish) and the conversation is centered on pot shots or comments on their contentious relationship. Same format different scripting.
Community Stories (<5% of content) DogPack has recently introduced rescue dogs and viral dogs as their guests. They recently did a collaboration with rescue advocate Niall Harbison highlighting one of his most painstaking rescues, Hank, which he ended up adopting himself. These pieces add depth without overwhelming the comedy core.
The strategic insight here is balance and adapting. Whatever content pillars you choose for your brand, maintain consistent ratios. Too much promotion kills trust. Too much singular emotion exhausts viewers. Find your mix and stick to it.
The Conversion Architecture
DogPack's funnel from entertainment to installation is a great example of experimenting, consistently posting and doubling down on what works.
Their TikTok bio wastes no words – it's a straight CTA with a link to their homepage with a button to download the app.
They also have one podcast clip (:30) that’s pinned to their page where they seamlessly had the Golden & Frenchie promote the app by giving you a rundown of its features with their signature comedic one-liners.
@officialdogpack 🐾 DogPack – your dog’s new favorite app (and probably yours too). Find dog-friendly parks, trails, cafés, and businesses near you. Meet ot... See more
Finding Your Own Voice: A Strategic Framework
Instead of copying DogPack's format, here's how to develop your own entertainment-first strategy:
Week 1: Discovery Identify what makes your audience laugh, cry, or share. Or as Shaan Puri puts it your content will only get shared if it makes the viewer go LOL, WTF, or OMG.
What inside jokes exist in your community? What frustrations do they all face? What moments of joy unite them? Your format should emerge from these insights, not from what's working for others.
Week 2-3: Experimentation Test 3-4 completely different formats. Monitor average watch time obsessively – if people bail before 10 seconds, your hooks need work. TikTok's algorithm heavily favors high completion rates and re-watches.
Week 3-4: Double Down Once you find something that resonates, commit to it. Consistency builds audience expectation and algorithm favorability. But remember – it has to be authentically yours.
The Ethics of AI Content
If you’re going to use AI in your social content, transparency is non-negotiable. Always disclose AI usage to maintain trust.
DON’T be Will Smith and publish a video that says your favorite part of your recent tour “is seeing you all up close”, and then getting caught using AI crowds 😅
When using any UGC or real stories, get permission and/or give credit and fact-check. If referencing real events or organizations (like DogPack does with rescue stories), coordinate with them directly.
The pet community particularly values authenticity. They'll embrace creative AI use if you're honest about it, but they'll destroy brands that try to deceive them.
Why This Matters for Pet Brands
DogPack's success demonstrates that in the attention economy, creativity and consistency beat budget. Modern AI tools have started to democratize content production, but that doesn't mean everyone should make the same thing or should be using it for these purposes. It just means you have the tools to execute your unique vision if this path makes sense for you and your brand.
The deeper lesson is about respecting your audience's intelligence.
Pet parents don't want to be sold to or have a fast one pulled on them – they want to be entertained, understood, educated, and connected with. DogPack's entertainment-first content has quickly become their most reliable source of brand awareness, and engagement at a fraction of the cost.
TBD on how many of these followers have converted to users, but having this amount of positive attention is never a bad thing.
The next brand to succeed won't be copying DogPack's dog podcast – they'll be creating something entirely new that captures their brand's unique perspective and their audience's specific desires.
The tools are accessible, the principles are proven, and your audience is scrolling right now. They're looking for the next fresh idea that will make them stop and LOL, WTF, or OMG and share.
Search interest in "Sniffspot" has steadily climbed over the past five years, hitting 24K searches in the past month and showing a 6% gain YoY.
What’s most compelling is that despite typical seasonal dips, the broader trajectory shows sustained growth, particularly in the past 12–18 months. That suggests we’re past early adopter phase.
Sniffspot is now building real brand momentum, likely driven by increasing awareness of private dog parks, creator/influencer word-of-mouth, and a shift in pet parents seeking controlled, off-leash alternatives.
Compare that to the steady decline of searches for "dog parks near me”, a phrase that once dominated weekend pet parent behavior, and it’s clear we’re witnessing a structural behavior change.
Whether it’s fear of reactive dogs, frustration with overcrowding, or the rise of the “intentional outing” trend (think: renting a private spot for 30–60 mins of focused time).
Sniffspot’s rise isn’t just a fad, it reflects a changing set of expectations about convenience, control, and quality time with pets.
See you Friday!
