One Month, and a Dozen Deep Dives Later…
Movidiam’s Head of Content Georgia Humphrey reflects back on her first month on the job, and what she’s learned in a dozen Deep Dive sessions.
When creatives first sign to Movidiam Talent, we conduct a Deep Dive interview with them. During the hour long session, we go through everything from finance admin to their wildest creative ambitions — so that we know who each of our talent are, and what they need from us.
The first thing you notice is that creatives aren’t used to talking about themselves. They talk about their work with incredible passion, but when we ask someone to tell us who they are as a person, what their other interests are, they tend to be a little surprised.
Although naturally, we are interested in the content our talent make, we’re making a specific effort to understand the people behind this content. We want to know if they’re musicians, or artists, or if they really love Liverpool FC. We want to know what its like juggling being a filmmaker with moving half way across the world, or having your first child. In part, this is about practicality. If a client comes to us with a project that aligns with one of our talents interests, or resonates with their lived experience, that deeper understanding leads to more exciting content.
But pragmatism aside, we’re passionate about connecting with our creative partners as human beings. We want to understand who they are, so we can market them in ways they would like to be marketed, understand what kind content they are proud to work on, and make sure to keep that kind of work coming.
At the end of 2019, ExchangeWire produced a blog in which thought leaders from across the ad tech and martech industries shared their insights into what 2020 might hold. Reading Cavai CEO Steffen Svartberg’s thoughts on ‘emotion-based contextual commerce’, in which he describes the move in innovative tech-based marketing, towards emotionally driven, narrative-based advertising, was eye-opening. In these Deep Dive sessions, almost every one of our signed talent told us that this is the kind of content they want to be making. They want to be able to tell interesting stories through their work, citing brands like Nike, who partnered with TrackMafia to tell the story of the young people in the running collective, as well as advertise Nike products.
While brands are starting to do this, having such techniques flagged up as one of the cornerstones of the future of digital marketing, shows just how innovative the minds of our creative partners are. Svartberg says that in 2020, audiences expect an experience, and so too do the creators. They want to be able to flex their creative talents, and make content that is personally, and societally, meaningful. And, significantly for Movidiam, they want to feel safe and secure while they’re doing it.
I come from a marketing background, not from the world of filmmaking like Movidiam’s founders George and Alex. I’ve learned that, far and away the most important issue for our talent is getting paid on time. The often long, unpredictable wait times for payment means that our 5 day payment guarantee is one of the most attractive things about the Movidiam model. A little bit of common sense tells you that money is going to be an important factor, but I was not prepared for the intensity of the relief that this system provides.
Being involved in these kinds of conversations directly with the talent, is the most valuable tool I have in my arsenal. All the flashy graphics in the world don’t compare to honest, real conversations about what would make the lives of freelance filmmakers easier. It means I know what aspects of our model to market to other potential creative partners, and I can put the message out to clients that we have a happy and satisfied roster who can focus on what’s really important: their craft.
