Post-Pandemic Production
The pandemic is not exactly over, and in many places around the world the virus continues to wreak havoc on communities. In much of Europe and the US however, life has returned to some kind of normal — and so has production.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, we have explored the changing nature of branded content production, from early advertising from home to the resurgence of OOH marketing. Now that the light is somewhere near the end of the tunnel, what’s changed?
Campaign surveyed a selection of the advertising world, 90 agency leaders, on how they’re moving into this new phase of working. The ‘Future of the Office’ survey shows that ‘the 3:2 model is reigning supreme. Of the 91% who said their offices were open, 21% said most employees were coming in three times a week, 50% twice a week, and 16% once a week’. ‘28% of the 90 leaders of agencies surveyed said staff would be able to continue to WFH full time beyond 2022 without changing their employment terms’. This survey covers a range of different attitudes, and Campaign’s focus on the offices behind advertising production — and how to keep the creativity alive with different members of teams working in different ways.
“We’ve invested in technology that supports hybrid meetings — some people in the room, some not,” Jennifer Black, managing director at Havas London, reports “Specifically, we’ve constructed a number of new booth spaces for private calls, added Microsoft Teams-enabled screens in breakout spaces to enable hybrid meetings, and added AV kit into more existing meeting rooms.”
What does this changing attitude mean for the nitty gritty of production then? Technology is certainly very helpful in keeping teams connected even when they are apart, but on set that isn’t always possible.
Jules Sadur, Movidiam’s Talent Partner and our key link to a variety of creatives all over the world, has been at the forefront of changing attitudes.
‘What we’re seeing now is a really keen focus on keeping creative teams remote, or in their main offices — creative directors, producers, etc — and relying on localised teams to get a campaign made. While pre-pandemic, big brands would have shipped their own teams out on location to film, relying on their tried and tested filmmakers, that simply isn’t feasible when it comes to travel restrictions still being in place, and the risk of infection. One extra assistant on set is one extra person who could bring a production to a screeching halt.’
‘This means that for many clients, they’re still looking for out of the box solutions, and partnering with creatives they haven’t worked with before — through services like ours’
Many agencies and brands still have some kind of ban on business travel in place, such as Publicis Media UK, whose CEO Sue Frogley reported to Campaign: ‘We still have a global Group-wide ‘no travel’ policy in place. There are exceptions for specific client meetings or travel connected to a pitch, where it’s essential, but these need prior approval.’
Far from stifling creativity, for Jules this has meant more interesting ideas from a range of people ‘It means finding the perfect photographer in Poland, or the best VFX team in the South of France, who can make the best content possible. And it’s effecting the budgets we’re seeing too — if you don’t have to pay to fly out your go to cameraman, you’re saving a huge amount of the production budget that can then be allocated elsewhere.
It seems then, that the still somewhat uncertain world of post-pandemic production very much hinges on adaptability — on reaching out to new creatives, in new territories. Campaign’s report comes to a similar conclusion, suggesting that in the office too, ‘continued change is the only real certainty’. Being prepared for that change is the most valuable tool in any brand or agency’s belt.
