ONCE UPON A TIME, :30 NA- tional spots ruled the world. Creative work was executed before being tested, clients trusted their agencies, directors owned their own shops or were loyal to a particular production company. Agencies trusted their visions to a handful of directors all the way through post. That was 1974. Cut (or dissolve) to 1999. The dollars being spent on spot production are slowly being splintered into partnership marketing, price reductions, promotions, Internet advertising, inflated media rates, research and a host of other emerging media opportunities. And there are nearly 5,000 commercial directors in this country alone …
Many friends on the production and editorial side have been whining and complaining about the slowdown in work, reduced budgets, and declining level of professionalism and courtesy of the agencies. I don’t disagree, but isn’t it time we took a long, hard look at our own professionalism? Perhaps we earned their loss of respect by continuing to do business the way we did 15 and 20 years ago. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Maybe production companies are evolving into the dinosaurs we accuse the agencies of becoming.
Perhaps we need to distinguish ourselves from one another as creative production entities. Maybe we need to convince the agencies we are more than just agents for whomever is the latest, hottest, newest talent to emerge. Perhaps we need to be known for something other than who is on our roster at any given time. With the way directors change roosts so quickly these days, it provides for some very schizophrenic company profiles. Production companies need to learn to be more than the sum of their temporary parts.
We, at Big Picture Communications, are positioning ourselves not only as a place to discover up and coming directing talent, and to refresh more seasoned helmers, but also as a creative problem solving resource. We recognize the impact of branding across multiple platforms and have built an infrastructure in every mediumfilm, print, radio, digital and interactive.
For example, our new print production company, ice, inc., was launched to introduce art and music photographers to the advertising community. Additionally, print is often a component in spots, interactive media, internal and external presentations, and graphic design. By servicing agencies on multiple levels, it helps them do business and allows us to understand their needs even better.
Each production company can find its own point of differentiation and we can include our directors. Since many new directors hail from the agency side, they are ideally suited to become involved in creative development. Isn’t it time they explore alternative creative avenues with the talented people around them? Maybe, just maybe, if we take risks, we can all find new and exciting revenue streams and stop bitching and moaning. Maybe directors would have greater loyalty to their companies if they perceived them as more than just procurers of storyboards. Maybe the agencies would treat us with more respect if we learn to speak their language.
The future is now. And they all lived happily ever after.
