Seeking to extend its global footprint and add some European flair to its creative offerings, multi-platform content creation company Antenna has forged a strategic alliance with Barcelona-based Custom EFX. The agreement provides Antenna with access to the talent and resources of one of Europe’s top boutique providers of visual effects, animation and post-production services, with a client list that includes some of the world’s best known brands. Custom EFX secures access to the U.S. market via a well-established production services provider with a strong, national sales network. It will also have the opportunity to market Antenna‘s services in Europe.
“It’s a big win for both companies—and for our clients,” says Antenna executive producer Marie Soto, who engineered the agreement. “Custom EFX has developed a stellar reputation for creative innovation and technical excellence, and it has a proven record for working across borders and cultures. We’ve already begun to introduce them to our agency clients and the response has been overwhelming. We have very high expectations for this new relationship.”
Under the terms of the reciprocal agreement, Antenna will market Custom EFX’s services as an extension of its own services to U.S.-based advertising agencies. Custom EFX will do the same for Antenna among European agencies.
Custom EFX was founded in 2006 by executive producer Quique Medina and specializes in animation, motion graphics, visual effects, color grading and compositing. It’s won universal praise for the quality of its work and built a clientele that extends across Europe and South America. Its credit list includes such recognizable names as Coca Cola, Nestlé, BMW, Samsung and Ikea ; it is also the only post-production service provider in Spain approved by Proctor & Gamble. In addition to broadcast advertising, the shop produces web media, print media and multi-media installations.
Recently, Custom EFX brought on acclaimed creative and technical director Lucas Elliot to head its creative team. The former creative director and co-founder of the internationally acclaimed design shop Boolab, Elliot has won a string of awards for his work as a designer and visual effects supervisor, including two Gold Lions and one Silver at Cannes.
Both Medina and Elliot have previous experience in servicing U.S. clients. At Boolab, Elliot oversaw co-production agreements with U.S. producers The Ebeling Group, Ridley Scott Associates, Psyop and Blacklist. Medina’s background includes work as a freelance visual effects artist for post houses in the U.S. and the U.K.
“We are very excited at the prospect of creating work for U.S. advertisers,” Medina says. “The U.S. is the top market in the world, creatively and technically, and we look forward to the challenge of competing at the highest level. We are especially excited to pursue this opportunity in collaboration with Antenna, which has the resources and connections to put us in front of the most interesting American advertising agencies.”
Now is “the perfect moment” for Custom EFX to venture into the American market, adds Elliot. “We are living at a time when it has become easy to work across oceans and to manage projects across borders,” he says. “Post production has become a global business, and we offer an infrastructure that is primed to take advantage of the opportunities inherent to a global business. We can work with the whole world.”
The agreement, concludes Soto, is all about providing advertising agencies with more creative options. “Custom EFX is a Five Star, Triple A studio with deep expertise, incredible resources and a proven ability
