Launched three years ago as an annual event for ad agency heads of production, executive producers and producers—both staff and freelance—to network, discuss issues, share ideas and learn more about the industry, the Producers Conference has had success in fulfilling that agenda. But now the keynote speaker for last month’s two-day (3/29-30) confab sponsored by SHOOT—Jennifer Golub, director of broadcast production at TBWA/Chiat/ Day, San Francisco—has issued a call to take networking, education and marshaling of resources to a higher plane.
Addressing an opening-day gathering of Producers Conference attendees in San Francisco, Golub described agency producers as "enablers" and "keepers of the flame" when it comes to making creative ideas a reality. That task has become all the more daunting with "an economy in transition," cutbacks at many agencies and ever-increasing workloads, she acknowledged. Nonetheless, Golub suggested that she and her agency producer colleagues could do even more, with a grander purpose in mind—and in heart.
"We’re entering a political regime of passivity," she observed. But she noted that agency producers can help cut through the apathy with their communication talents and "abilities to advocate and to fund-raise. … We can take initiatives to protect our environment. We can be the advocates for the elderly, the homeless, the abused and disenfranchised."
Golub asked agency producers "to harness the talent and ability that surrounds you every day, on behalf of something meaningful. Though this may not enhance your reel or the profile of your company, everyone in this room can do something meaningful. Imagine for a moment what we could engineer as an industry. As a collective of producers, we could be a force. Innumerable issues are in desperate need of communication skills.
"I propose that this year we each take something on," Golub continued. "It could be a spot, a film, a poster, billboard, a Web site—a singular effort or an innovative campaign … If we each took on one project this year, we could generate a media sensation."
Golub recently met with researchers at UCLA to discuss global literacy. She told spot industry conferees that research has yielded progressive teaching strategies to make youngsters literate. Now the goal is to take this early childhood education worldwide. Towards that end, TBWA/Chiat/Day has produced a 10-minute film to help spread the word. Thanks to "enormous generosity" and pooling of resources and talent, said Golub, the film was done for an out-of-pocket cost of some $1,200.
From small local ad shop to multinational agency network, Golub stated, "we have the resources, intelligence and ability to make a difference. … to make a connection to improve people’s lives."
She added that cost-effective tools can be readily accessed: "We can shoot on digital video, edit on Final Cut Pro. We can tag onto jobs when we see a lull. We can work at night. Because whatever we do, big or small, our effort will be important."
Noting that last year’s Rock The Vote campaign encouraged 150,000 people to register to vote, Golub urged her colleagues to seek out causes. To aid in that search, she passed out a list of more than 100 recognized charities, with phone numbers and Web site addresses. She also provided two big-picture Web site addresses: www. helping.org, which helps to locate more than 600,000 charities; and the National Charities Information Bureau’s www.give. org, which profiles 400 organizations that have been proven to be effective, low-administrative-cost charities.
"Find your passion," she told the audience. "Pick up the phone to produce [for worthy social causes] the way we produce for our clients each and every day."
