It's all about the assets

For me, it's an exciting time to be in advertising. There seems to be a shift in the winds, and undercurrent of change bubbling through agencies and seeping it's way through the perceptions and expectations of clients. A new way of working, a new way of thinking. And it's got me wanting to talk about it. 

As a service provider, collaboration and a flexible approach has always been at the heart of how we work in order to realise a brief and ultimately see the client happy with the work produced.

So what exactly is that, then? What are we producing? An animation? Illustration? Something for POS or something for digital? Well, yes and more.

In days gone by we'd get a brief, you would tell us your specs and deliverables and a rough budget. We'd quote, schedule and hopefully have a PPM before work gets under way. We'd produce something lovely, to brief and the client would be happy...

...Then that would be it for what, 6 months, a year?

Then the phone rings, the clients provided a new budget, for a new territory or other output and you need something more. Same concept, new deliverable. What's it going to cost?

And so on and so forth till the campaign has run it's course. Yes- that was exactly what we did and how the story went. Once.

What excites me now is that there are a few challengers out there sat both in and out of agencies, big and small (you know who you are) who realise there is a slightly different approach that, with a subtle shift with clients and internal partners can lead to bigger campaigns with longer lifespans and in the long run, at better cost. 

How? It's simple really. It's all about the assets. For what we really produce are assets. Characters and props and all sorts of visual delights. We design them, we build them and then we use them. We're shifting too, there's a trust building with you, our stakeholders, our partners. It's no longer 'this is the brief, how much will it cost to make it?'

We're finding that you, our challengers and influencers out there are more and more about 'how can we maximise the assets we're producing for the brief?' 'What are your suggestions, Finger Industries, that we can incorporate to maximise this campaign?' And I can bet you, it won't cost as much as you think. 

You're influencing the client, making the most of the budget and pushing for more up front commitment. When we've got the financial commitment to a project, we can plan our studio time, our resources and maximise our production time to be lean. We're not costing retrospectively. It's planned, it's proactive and it costs less. Meaning you get more bang for your clients buck. More deliverables from your assets; online, in store, on the telly...we're in an age where what we produce has so many outputs, so many options that really, the service we provide isn't just about the work we produce, it's about the way we produce it. Optimising the assets for all that they are worth from the start of a brief.

I'm challenging you, to not wait till you've got campaign sign off to call us, call when you're developing the concept, give us that opportunity to partner up with you, to advise, to collaborate; not just creatively but operationally and strategically. Be proactive, a challenger, an influencer and a maximiser and see where it might lead, see where your assets might take you.