Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B), Miami, is noted for its ability to produce work across multiple platforms–online, cinema, TV, print, outdoor–in striking ways. Its production department–appropriately called the integrated production department–is about to get a lot busier; the shop will welcome the Volkswagen account later this month. And Coca-Cola’s Sprite recently came aboard the agency’s client roster. Other accounts at the shop include Burger King, the American Legacy Foundation, and the Miller Brewing Company.
To accommodate the growing client list, the department is staffing up. Rupert Samuel, VP/director of integrated production at the agency, expects to add substantially to the 50 or so staffers–by January the department should be up to 72. Though producers in the department are referred to as integrated producers–as opposed to broadcast or interactive producers–Samuel relates that he’s looking for people with strong interactive skills, since the shop has been doing more interactive work in-house for all its clients, and will welcome Volkswagen’s Web site, VW.com.
“I think chemistry is a big key, and finding people who know how to work within our realm,” says Samuel of what he looks for in a would-be CP+B producer. “We work at a very fast pace, which I think might be slightly different from the way other agencies might operate.”
Word of mouth is Samuel’s primary strategy for finding new talent. He often looks to his vendors, whom he says he finds trustworthy and reliable, for recommendations. In addition to chemistry and “a certain level of intuition,” Samuel searches for specific skills in his producers. “For a senior producer they obviously have to have a really good base of traditional knowledge in terms of production, also with some outreach into the whole world of interactive and Web content development,” he says. “To me, it’s just having the base knowledge to make things happen and being able to go out and make content happen on the twist of a dime.”
SHIFTING
This year, the department re-branded itself as the integrated production department; rather than having broadcast, interactive and art buying as separate departments, all three are now under one umbrella. Samuel, who was formerly co-director of the department along with David Rolfe (who moved to DDB Chicago in August to become senior VP/director of branded production), says he and Rolfe decided to remodel the department as the agency increasingly ventured in fully integrated campaigns, like the award-winning “Counterfeit” campaign for the Mini Cooper which encompassed a DVD, online components and broadcast spots. (Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international Hungry Man directed; the agency resigned the Mini account when it was awarded VW). “We knew that all the content was coming through different areas, and there was a lack of communication between the three areas,” relates Samuel. “Why not put it all under one roof so you can have everyone sitting in the same area and talking the same language and being part of the same project in the right way and feeding off each other?”
The change has resulted in a department that its members say is open and progressive. “In general there’s this understanding that it makes the place better,” states Jessica Hoffman, a senior art producer. “The fewer parameters you lock down on somebody, the less stifled the environment. You’re going to have this openness for change, and that will breed great things.”
Now, when a project comes into the department, it comes through one door and is open for all areas of production from broadcast to radio to the Web and beyond. A team of people becomes content providers for the whole job–handling anything that might be needed, Samuel explains, comparing it to hitting one bird with many stones. “It becomes more of one big idea with all the little bits and pieces put together rather than piecemealing it like other places might do,” he says.
The change took place about eight months ago and though it may have been slightly confusing at first, people have settled into their roles and are able to “dabble in different areas” and learn from one another, Samuel notes. The set-up eases the creative flow, especially on tight deadlines. “It’s much better to have all of the heads in one place,” he adds.
Producer Jessica Dierauer, who was formerly an associate broadcast producer at kirshenbaum bond + partners, New York, and The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va., has been with CP+B for a year and a half. For her, its been beneficial to problem solve in an open environment and “see things on a much broader, bigger scope.” Looking at a broadcast script, she will consider how it can evolve into other elements like a Web site or perhaps a podcast.
PROGRESSING
Since Rolfe’s departure, the department is even busier. “Dave and I did put in a lot of ground work into developing the department to where it’s at right now and he deserves a lot of credit for that too,” Samuel shares. Though he misses the banter with his former co-director, Samuel has people around him that he says he can trust and rely on to help make decisions, like integrated senior producer Matt Bonin who joined the shop a year ago.
Moving from traditional broadcast roles at Young & Rubicam, New York, and DDB Dallas, Bonin points out that the speed of operations at the agency took a little getting used to. “Anybody that comes in from outside of the company for the first time to CP+B–in any department, any role–is probably a little shocked at the pace,” he relates. “The pace is lightening fast. It’s very exciting because I feel like the politics and the BS of the bigger places doesn’t exist there.”
Timelines on integrated projects are tight, Samuel says, offering the recent Miller Lite “Great Taste Trial” project as an example. Samuel and his team learned about the job on a Saturday, had a director call on Monday, awarded the job on Wednesday and were shooting a week later. Martin Granger of bicoastal/international Moxie Pictures directed the 10-spot package, which included the ads “Twist Off,” “Taste Under Review,” and “Miller Taste Expert.” In addition to the spots, Granger directed content for the Web site, as well as a long-form piece. (Bonin served as the senior producer on the Miller project.)
Directors often want to be a part of components outside of the spots, relates producer Dan Ruth. “It’s really powerful to have [directors] who are into it and think beyond the thirty-second commercial.” With tight deadlines, Samuel and the producers in the department look for directors who can collaborate with the creatives and with the shop as a whole since, he says, nothing is really set in stone. Decisions often have to be made quickly, and a director should be able to thrive in the back-and-forth nature of the situation.
“They evolve through the entire process which is interesting,” senior producer Keith Rose who joined the shop three months ago after leaving Mullen, Winston-Salem, N.C. as head of production. “Some agencies say, ‘We’ve got the board, this is how we want the board, and there it is.’ I think [at Crispin] it comes right from Alex [Bogusky, executive creative director and partner], and applies to everyone here–they continuously evolve the work. As we’re prepping or bidding with a director, even as you shoot, [the creatives are] thinking on set. They’re very willing to change, they’re very willing to roll and experiment and see if we can make it better every step of the way; editorial, same thing. You just keep pushing, try something new, try something else and that to me is how I always thought it should be but it isn’t that way in a lot of places.”
Integrated/interactive producer Paul Sutton, agrees. “What’s really cool about how Crispin set it up is that projects evolve so much. When you look at it the beginning of the day versus what it looks like at the end of the day, there is so much creativity between all parties that it’s just amazing how many pieces can be added during the production
process and how those can be immediately incorporated across the entire campaign.”
Though producers in the department often have traditional agency experience, not all do. The aforementioned Ruth has been with the shop since he started as an intern three years ago. He was then promoted to editor and later, producer. He finds his background in editing useful when working on a team. “In the editing room it’s helpful to have a super technical background–that’s my way of approaching it. Thinking as an editor [during] the pre-production and the production itself and seeing how it all fits into place in the end,” he explains.
DOWN THE ROAD
In addition to hiring 15 to 20 new producers, Samuel is working to develop an internal production unit. Within it, people who are skilled across the spectrum–everything from being able to shoot and edit to working with After Effects–could team up with creatives to experiment with ideas or pitch jobs to clients who might be wary about a concept. Or collaborations could help make productions happen on their own for something like Web content. Samuel explains that it would give the agency “another level of versatility in-house–it’s not going to replace anything by any means.”
The shop already has some of these capabilities with staffers who shoot and the addition of a green screen studio. They also have several Avids and some of the producers Samuel is hiring will have their own Final Cut Pro systems. In the future, Samuel sees a versatile department that continues to work with directors and production companies and also utilizes internal resources.
Challenging and fast-paced, the agency is a great place for passionate producers. Says Samuel, “If you like being challenged and also having a bloody good laugh at the same time, then Crispin is the place to be.”