Creative Excellence: It’s Time to Transform Creative Capabilities

As part of a bold new series for LBB, Tag’s experts are set to challenge the tired notion of "creative excellence" – a term too often overused and under-delivered. With the rapid evolution of marketing, commerce, digital production, and localisation, Tag argues that it's time to reimagine creativity, pushing the boundaries of originality and innovation to meet the demands of a dynamic and shifting landscape.

Today is the turn of Rhiannon Lewis, head of production at The Gate Films and the newly launched GATE+. With an extensive career in production and an eye for what great work really looks like, Rhiannon makes the case that the traditional production process is simply not fit to respond to modern brand and market challenges. It’s too slow and prescriptive when agility and flexibility are needed most. That’s why the GATE+ is going to redefine how brands, agencies, and creatives collaborate in the production process though its ‘triage’ approach to deliver work that truly stands above the rest. 

Supercharging Craft Capabilities 

In a sea of content, only the boldest and best crafted ideas stand out. To make this happen among the challenges facing brands today, a different – transformative – approach is needed more than ever. That’s why we’ve launched GATE+ and it’s going to change the old production model, giving brands access to innovative creative capabilities.  

At The Gate Films, we’ve always reimagined traditional processes according to client and market needs. Sometimes this has meant being reactive and letting outside forces guide the change, but more often we’ve been able to foresee what the crucial next step in production success looks like. That’s why we recently launched GATE+ with the aim to bring together Tag’s global capabilities to create a unique and even more holistic and collaborative production process for our clients across their campaigns.

It became obvious that a gap in the market needed to be bridged. Brands and agencies need production partners who don’t just execute ideas but bring creative and production together from day one. GATE+ makes that happen— it’s an offering that’s streamlined, collaborative, and led by a team who knows how to make ambitious ideas shine without the typical roadblocks. 

Right now, brands are under a tonne of pressure to create high-quality, memorable content—and do it fast, often with limited budgets. But speed and budget shouldn’t mean sacrificing creativity or impact. So instead of the usual back-and-forth between creative and production, we’re working together from the get-go. This way, ideas can grow and evolve with production realities in mind, which makes for smoother, faster, and more ambitious projects.

When I was at Little Black Book’s recent ‘Better Together’ event, a lot of clients spoke about what they’re looking for from production partners, and it really resonated with what we’re offering. For example, KFC’s marketing director Kate Wall emphasised the value of everyone having a “shared understanding of why brands are doing what they’re doing.” That’s central to our approach—we work to understand the brand’s goals and context first, so our team can bring the right talent and expertise to the table in a way that aligns with the bigger picture.

Let’s be honest that the old production model is not fit for modern times. It’s a bit like sending snail mail in a TikTok world—too slow, too rigid, and just not keeping up. Traditionally, production only kicked in after creative work wrapped up, which meant good ideas got diluted by the time they made it to the screen. Now, brands need instant, integrated solutions that can roll with the punches, not a clunky process that wastes time and budget.

GATE+ flips that by making production part of the entire creative journey. We’re here from the start, shaping ideas in real-time to make sure they’re not just on-budget but actually as bold and brilliant as they deserve to be.

Central to the GATE+ offering is the concept of ‘triage’ which centres flexibility and precision. Think of it as knowing exactly ‘who can do that’ for every type of creative need. Instead of forcing clients into a one-size-fits-all solution, our triage method lets us assess what’s needed quickly and pull in the right talent at the right moment—whether that’s a niche specialist, a tech innovator, or an expert in creative storytelling.

For clients and agencies, this means less time wrangling resources and more time focusing on what really matters: creating bold, cohesive content that stands out. It also ensures budgets and timelines are managed more effectively because we're only bringing in the skills that are actually needed. It’s a streamlined, on-call network of talent that’s ready to jump in and solve specific challenges without the usual fuss.

As a producer, I’m always focused on maximising the creative output and making work that not only serves business objectives but is the kind of work that everyone feels proud to have their name attached to. To me, that’s work with high production values and bold ideas, and the way to make it happen is to get the best experts and creatives together, no matter where in the world they are, and get cracking. That’s exactly what the GATE+ enables and that’s why I think it’s the right path to the creative excellence we all crave.