From the Big Picture to the Nitty Gritty, AICP Covers it All
The second AICP Conference just wrapped in New York, and it held something for everyone.
From the Big Picture to the Nitty Gritty, AICP Covers it All
The second AICP Conference just wrapped in New York,
and it held something for everyone.
The second AICP Conference wrapped this week with an impressive roster of seminars and discussions and an audience peppered with agency producers and heads of production. (For a gallery of photos from the conference, click here.) The two-day event, which attracted audiences of close to 300 production professionals from around the US and abroad, was designed to address issues related to how work gets done, which was the subject of the first day's "Digital Conference," and broader issues facing the industry, which were addressed in day two's "Big Picture" panels.
AICP President and CEO Matt Miller said that, after the inaugural AICP Conference last year, there were requests for more hands-on sessions that would provide insights into new ways of working, particularly in light of the ongoing shift to digital acquisition in place of shooting film and the resulting changes in workflow that this entails. In addition, the AICP Digital Chapter, now in its second year, wanted to reach out to the industry with a series of events designed to help educate producers on standards and practices in digital production.
There was also a desire for more industry overview discussions, Miller noted, hence the second day of the conference, which was devoted to 'big picture' takes on issues like new distribution channels for ad content, evolving legal concerns facing agencies and production houses, client perspectives on production for brands, developing and nurturing new talent, the role of procurement in production, green production practices and other issues.
SourceEcreative hosted a panel during this portion of the conference titled "The Client POV: Where Production for Agencies and Brands is Heading," which examined issues such as the ongoing shift to integration production models for clients, the need to develop a more global approach to production and the use of preferred vendor lists and cost consultants in terms of managing production expenses.
Taking part in that panel were Nick Felder, Global Group Director of Film & Music Production for The Coca-Cola Company, Mark Huffman, Executive Production Manager for Procter & Gamble, and Mike Stewart, Broadcast Production Manager of Anheuser-Busch.
Felder cited a recent Coca-Cola 2012 Olympics production that took place in London as an example of the need to properly manage integrated deliverables, pointing out that close to 10 different agencies were involved in the campaign (from brand to digital to direct response to social media, etc.), and that close to a half-dozen producers were working on the project. He noted that all of these activities revolved around the production of the commercial, which placed the production company at the center of the action; a development that he feels bodes well for the role of more traditional production houses as the needs of clients diversifies.
Huffman discussed the need for production houses to find innovative new models that will help them deliver a broader array of content for less money. He noted that all of P&G's brands are being asked to do more with less, and that things like the company's use of a preferred vendor list for production and post production companies, which the marketer uses globally, is one approach to trying to find more ways to get work done for less. He asked members of the production community to help find ways for clients to meet the new reality of advertising production, in which budgets are being split between more media forms while the need for content has expanded across the board.
Stewart added that A-B is in the process of adapting to a more global perspective now that it's part of InBev, and that this shift is impacting how it works with both agencies and production houses. He said that, while A-B has adopted a broader, 360-degree approach to all of its marketing, television ads will continue to play a key role in its approach to connecting with consumers, and that the company will continue to fund the production of great ideas for its ad campaigns.
Miller said that attendance at the event met with AICP expectations, and that he was encouraged by the fact that the percentage of attendees from ad agencies had increased over last year's event. The conference drew agency production heads from shops around the country, both as participants as well as attendees.
Pictures from the conference appear below.
The SourceEcreative Client panel: from left, Mark Huffman of P&G, moderator
Anthony Vagnoni of SourceEcreative, Mike Stewart of Anheuser-Busch
and Nick Felder of Coca-Cola.
Brett Alexander (left) and Steve Humble of The Martin Agency.
Director Joe Pytka, the keynote speaker for the "Big Picture" portion
of the conference, with the AICP's Matt Miller.
Tanya LeSieur of Saatchi & Saatchi, L.A., Craig Allen of Venables Bell & Partners,
San Francisco and Joe Calabrese of Deustch, New York.
Nick Felder with Tom Dunlap of RSA USA.
Burke Moody of AICE (left) with Larry Bridges and Mary Knox of Red Car.
Lynn Weatherly of Marc USA (left) and Joanne Ferraro of Spot Welders.
From left, Michael Antonucci of Utopic, Rob Jaeger of Cramer Krasselt
and Craig Leffel of ONE at Optimus.
Bob Nelson of Quiet Man, Melanie Jones of Kodak and Don Block of GARTNER.
Oritte Bendory of GARTNER (left) with Mary Nittolo and Gary Giambalvo of The Studio
at the speakers and sponsors cocktail party, held at the GARTNER loft in SoHo.
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners' Cindy Fluitt (left) and Saatchi's
Tanya LeSieur at the GARNTER bash.
Nate Wilson of New York's Copilot Music & Sound.
Published 28 October, 2011
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