The Value of Production: In-housing, Talent and Tech in 2023
How do we measure the value of production? As an industry we like to talk about craft, but what does it actually mean in 2023? Fragmented production pipelines have meant the journey from idea to reality can be a bumpy one. It is down to brand guardians, PR teams, production houses and agencies to work shoulder-to-shoulder to find the ideal transport method for that journey, preserving the creative at all costs.
ReMake is the people-enabling platform that strives to maintain the integrity and value of production efforts by commandeering the painful aspects of content versioning and localization processes. Eager to hear directly from those on the frontline of production in order to adapt systems to meet the needs of the industry, the future-facing tech business partnered with LBB to find out what agency experts make of the the following four questions:
- What are your thoughts on the tech stack – do you prefer working with a single software that simplifies and streamlines workflows or bespoke tools catering to each area of the business?
- What do you look for when searching for a new software to add to your tech stack?
- Has new tech influenced the shape and dynamic of certain teams? If so, how?
- Why are some brands and agencies struggling to drop old systems for new solutions?
Here’s what they had to say…
Rodrigo Spotorno
Marketing manager and creative director of Localiza&Co’s in-house agency, Maloca73
The more streamlined the process, the better – right now we are changing our creative workflow to Figma, with the Adobe package serving as support. We look for software that promotes speedy prototyping and teamwork. We've discovered that the quicker we tackle essential yet low-complexity tasks, the more we can channel our energy into being proactive and assisting the company in achieving its objectives with innovation. Presently, we've chosen to utilise Figma to develop Localiza's marketing campaigns, as it offers online editing features, an intuitive user interface, and a collaborative workspace.
Before we started moving towards a more collaborative workspace, we used to have a lot of problems with file versions, sharing information across the company, and more challenging deadlines. In my opinion, certain brands are hesitant to embrace new technology due to the current steep learning curve. This short-term perspective overlooks the long-term benefits. Often, we are overburdened with pressing deadlines and corporate objectives, causing experimentation to take a backseat.
Jillian Gibbs
Founder and global CEO of APR agency
Talent and tech have a challenging relationship because talent knows they need tech, but tech isn’t so perfect. Since tech isn’t exactly what talent needs, they tend to just stick with what they know until further tech developments are introduced. And, they can’t afford to pilot or introduce a technology solution that doesn’t have an ROI to justify it.
In the advertising and marketing industries, there are a lot of people who are doing the work of many and who don’t have the time to explore and pilot new solutions, so they stick with what they have because it’s convenient and due to lack of time and resources to make any changes happen. In marketing operations, technology is key to improving workflow, data analysis, and to introduce automation in the creative production space. I feel that due to the demands to produce more with less, most companies will begin to prioritise these things in order to create and produce content effectively and efficiently.
Mikhail Pimenov
EVP of creative content at Locaria agency
The relationship between talent and tech is an endless marathon of constant learning and adopting new technologies and new features of the software we use daily. The relationship is always staying alert if we hear of new plug-ins or new platforms that can be helpful to our existing solution. We test and try, learn, and adopt if we find it helpful.
As a business, we complement our client's needs and ecosystems. Or we are sometimes software agnostic when it comes to collaborating with the software clients or partners are using. Apart from the set of software we need internally, we are exposed to different tech solutions that we master to operate to be able to streamline our workflow with a particular client. It can be a campaign management tool, DAM system, content automation platform, translation system, delivery platform, etc. I wouldn't be unique here by saying that finding efficiencies is the main driver for evaluating new software. It's to systemise, to increase speed to market, to ensure quality control, to optimise workflow for our producers.
Sometimes it's the size of the company that creates inertia, sometimes, it is a massive investment that has been made and its hard to drop; sometimes its the reluctance of the teams or individuals to change habits "it's working for me, why change..." I think there should be people inside the organisation (not specifically IT people) who would act as agents of change and early adopters to keep the atmosphere of curiosity.
Julia Arenson
Head of creative operations at The Agency, Specsavers’ in-house agency
As agency leaders, it's our responsibility to rethink how we’ve always done things and enable our teams, the talent we work with and our creative to reach its full potential.
We produce a good chunk of our work in-house, working alongside partner agencies and specialist suppliers. We’ve utilised various systems and software to help us automate where we can. The objective always being to remove the tasks that can be automated and give our talent the time to impact the work. Working smart is our priority.
Our global DAM serves as a one-stop shop for assets used by all our regions, streamlining the process and ensuring everyone knows where to find what they need. Nevertheless, we are always looking to enhance asset usability and ensure that what we create is fit for purpose. Currently we're evaluating methods to better leverage our existing assets and developing adaptable assets that can be utilised by more teams when necessary. Understanding the requirements of our markets is critical to achieve this.
Creating visually appealing assets that cater to our needs is important, but it's equally essential to make sure people can find them when they need them. That’s why we're also honing in on naming conventions, tagging, and accessibility to maximise the impact of our work.
Key factors for optimising the creation and sharing of our assets include:
Communication - to create assets that align with everyone's wants and needs
A clear brief - to develop assets that serve their intended purpose
Flexibility – to anticipate other potential uses
Discoverability - to facilitate easy access to those assets
Usage and specification information - to guarantee we’re using our assets in the right way
One thing that hasn’t changed is our priority is to create work that makes people love Specsavers and be a great place to work for our colleagues. But, what's exciting right now is the shifting landscape of creators, tech and expectations. While our production approach is agile, roles have usually been well-defined. Now, those roles and their boundaries are becoming more fluid. Multi-talented makers who utilise strategy, ideation, and execution and iterate as they go are redefining the production and creative processes.
Our future success lies in providing them with the space and freedom to create work in new ways that tear up how we’ve always done things. A new approach allows us to focus on producing the best work with a varied group of people, utilising new technologies and enriching the outcome of our work.
