In the spring of 2000 veteran agency producers J.D. Williams and Scott Weitz opened The Production Department. It was a New York-based entity that pitched itself as an independent agency production department for hire, and offered its clients "The Digital Resource Manager," the company’s proprietary production management software.
In the two years since its inception, The Production Department has quite literally grown out of its space. From the get-go the company ser-viced big name agencies such as BBDO New York, McCann-Erickson Detroit, Troy, Mich., and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco. It was responsible for producing such Super Bowl fare as Charles Schwab’s "Ringo," helmed by David Cornell of bicoastal Headquarters, out of BBDO. In addition, the company reel boasts work for Windows XP and the Microsoft Network, General Motors, E*Trade, and Snickers, among others.
While Weitz and Williams provided senior-level agency production services to ad shops, the two raised capital to grow its Web-based production tool. Their idea was to create a way for producers to keep all aspects of the production process in one place—online. Users of the software would get their own virtual job jacket folder that they could use to store all production elements in one electronic location that would be accessible for viewing by several different parties. The idea took off and while Weitz and Williams can’t be certain how many people are tapping into the resource at any given time, they use it for every project they produce.
With both parts of the business booming, it became evident to Weitz and Williams that they had to make a move that would benefit both the software side of the company as well as the production side. Recognizing that the two parts had become successful ventures unto themselves, earlier this year the duo spun off the producing arm of the business to launch a new shop called Driver, also based in New York. Meanwhile, The Production Department would continue to develop software solutions for producers, offering its resources online.
Separate But Equal
The Production Department and Driver have offices a few blocks away from each other, just south of Midtown Manhattan. Driver, while focusing exclusively on production, utilizes the "Digital Resource Manager" originally developed under the auspices of The Production Department. In fact, Driver probably couldn’t operate without it. The two companies are like siblings, with Weitz and Williams as their parents.
"It got to the point where we needed more space and another name to brand the agency production aspect of the business," explains Williams. To that end, Driver now has its own Web site, www.driver.tv, and a kitschy new logo featuring a Winnebago, both created by Digital Kitchen, which has offices in Chicago and Seattle. While The Production Department and Driver may occupy different office space, the principles The Production Department was founded on are still in place at Driver, with the new company operating on a continuum, picking up where The Production Department left off.
The benefit of going to Driver depends on what an agency is looking for. The company has the ability to manage new business pitches or be part of the entire production process from the storyboard stage to broadcast. Sometimes it simply augments an agency’s existing production department. Driver has relationships with up to 12 freelance producers in key locations, and staffs up according to its workflow. But perhaps the biggest benefit Driver has to offer is the follow-through factor.
"Often you get a freelance producer and two weeks after the production has finished, the agency has a question and [the producer] has already moved on to another job," relates Weitz. "We’re always here and [agencies] know there’s a place they can call."
The upshot for Weitz and Williams’ new company is that they already have a stable of clients who know and trust them. Weitz had previously worked as an agency producer at the New York offices of D’Arcy and BBDO. He then worked as a freelance producer for five years before opening The Production Department.
Similarly, Williams worked his way up through the producing ranks at Ogilvy & Mather, New York, and then went to BBDO, where he stayed for seven-and-a-half years, ultimately becoming an executive producer. The sum of their experience gave Weitz and Williams the existing relationships they needed to get their business off the ground.
As a result, the two have continued to work with BBDO on a regular basis; Driver is currently in production on a Doritos spot directed by David McNally of Omaha Pictures, Santa Monica, and Williams is prepping for a Visa ad. The company also worked with BBDO on Visa’s "Six Degrees (of Kevin Bacon)," directed by Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international hungry man via BBDO, which debuted on this year’s Super Bowl. Additionally, Driver recently finished a five-minute film for BMW Motorcycles out of Merkley Newman Harty| Partners, New York.
While Driver has been servicing agencies of all sizes from across the country, it’s the larger agencies that have been keeping the duo busy. "Sometimes [large agencies] just find themselves overwhelmed, so they outsource," relates Williams.
A perfect example of this is when McCann-Erickson, San Francisco, approached Weitz and Williams to manage (still under The Production Department name) both the global launch of Windows XP and an eight-spot campaign for Microsoft Network. (The initial spot for Windows XP was "Launch," directed by Kinka Usher at House of Usher Films, Santa Monica.) "[McCann-Erickson] was overwhelmed with work and understaffed and we were able to step in and seamlessly blend with the agency and manage these projects," recalls Weitz.
Likewise, mid-size and smaller agencies that can’t afford to keep several senior level producers on staff—especially during the current economic slump—have turned to Driver to fill that gap. "The economy has been a kind of a Catch-22 for us," relates Williams. "It’s been beneficial because agencies who have downsized have fewer producers on staff, but there’s less work around."
Creative Producing
In addition to agency producing, Weitz and Williams are using this venture to create new content for television and film. At press time, they had already pitched two reality-based TV shows, one of which has a deal on the table. They also have plans to pitch two more, with the hope that if the shows come to pass, they will produce them.
Meanwhile, the team continues to participate in the day-to-day operations of The Production Department, which now focuses exclusively on developing software solutions for agencies and producers. That company has a staff of six people and is headed up by CEO Mark Braunstein. Put it all together and Weitz and Williams are offering clients what they call "creative producing."
"We want to make sure we drive the most creativity out of each project," says Weitz, explaining the meaning behind the Driver moniker. "We’re looking at a storyboard and we’re listening to a creative’s hopes and dreams of what they’d like this to be and we want to drive them from that hope to the final product."