Your Best Production Weapon Is Talent

Over the last five years, the amount of time adults spend watching digital video has increased over five-fold, from 21 minutes spent on average per day in 2011, to a whopping hour and 16 minutes in 2015.

It’s no surprise that brands have taken notice and are producing thousands of hours of content in the hopes that they will be the ones to connect with consumers during that one hour plus of video. 

This explosive growth has led to tough competition in the content creation space, leaving ad agencies and production companies fighting to remain ahead of multi-channel networks and the 24/7 content machine run by consumers themselves. Snapchat. YouTube. Instagram. Periscope. Vine. All of these platforms create both supply and demand of branded content and opportunities for new creators, which requires agencies and production companies to work smarter, faster and as efficiently as possible to continue to be valued partners to our clients.

As the content universe expands, budgets have not kept pace. Instead we are being asked to produce more content, maintain the quality, at a faster pace for the same amount or sometimes less money. 

Clients and peers alike ask me: How do I make more, better, faster, with less? Many assume my advice will be technology dependent. It’s true that technology has been a gift that allows us to create premium content at a volume that would have been impossible a decade ago.  The one resource that has truly allowed us to adapt, and will continue to meet this challenge is talent. You can have all the latest gear and all the production know-how in the world, but the people you work with - and how you work with them - are the real key to making quality content affordable. 

Let your producers run free

Great producers have a deep understanding of a brand’s story, and can bring it to life in a way that feels true to the brand while driving engagement. They’re able to envision a finished piece of content in their head from the first time they see even a rough script. When you find a producer with that kind of talent, give them the freedom to do what they’re good at. 

When they’re built into the client’s marketing structure as agency producers are, then there is a 360-view of the storytelling process and more efficient communications with the larger team. When they’re acting as simply a middleman, things get lost in translation and it makes the process clunky.

It’s like a TV show pilot, versus one in its sixth season. The effort to make a pilot takes almost as much work as an entire season, but once you’re into the series, it’s much more smooth sailing because of the well-oiled team dynamics. 

Get the right content from the right people

Five years ago, everyone’s title included the word “integrated.” But now, we're hiring specialists again.  Not all digital producers are experts at telling a story in a cinematic way, just as not all content producers are well-versed in site architecture.  The best of the best can do both but it turns out they are few and far between.  

In order to create fast, quality content for our clients, find experts in every aspect of production who are masters at their discipline. They will improve everything about your process, again saving time and money over the long haul from day one and cutting down on mistakes and missed opportunities to work smarter. 

Boost your creativity with outsiders

By investing in key talent from outside of the traditional advertising agency model, you’re able to scale up with highly specialized experts in VFX, motion design, animation and other disciplines that offer a unique caliber of skills to content production that has been historically less available to agencies. 

Ultimately, great talent will always be the differentiating factor for the ad industry, and it will enable us to stay ahead of the ever-increasing competition.