Our visit to Deutsch and Steelhead, gave our M4G group a bit of professional perspective on what it's like to work for an agency that also creates its own ideas. While Deutsch is a massively successful ad agency all on its own, Steelhead, is a hidden gem in LA. It also happens to be one of the largest agency-owned production companies in the country.
As you walk in to the Steelhead offices, you are greeted with friendly dogs, a nice wooden set-up and a very LA-esque office set-up. There's a coffee stand where workers come and go. It was amazing to see such talented people all under one roof. While it looked like a normal office space, Steelhead held many surprises. They have they're own filming room with green screens and lights. They have a mixing studio where celebrities come to record voice-overs. And they have amazing creatives who produce and edit the ad spots for perfection.
First off, the tour of the office amazed me. We've visited many ad agencies and have had a look at many successful companies. But Steelhead is a branch of an Ad Agency that gives them a competitive advantage in the market. By producing things in-house, and having the production facilities just across the main Deutsch offices, Deutsch is killing the advertising game.
As a part of our M4G project, we have to craft and execute a video that captures our brand in a convincing, clever, and beautiful way. While we don't have all of the budgets and tools that Steelhead has access to, it was interesting to hear the advice from the employees that have worked on projects very much like ours. Making a video must speak to your consumer. The workers at Steelhead and Deutsch agreed that "story trumps everything". But not only that, throughout the creative process, many people will be able to touch the project. Whether it be producers, creatives, directors, actors, etc. And through this process, a good story can be come great by changing each and every step of the way.
One example was of the Tile commercial that featured a lost panda in the city (which I happened to write about a couple of posts ago). From the music choice to the story line about a lost panda who gets reunited with it's owner at the end, the video moved people without hounding them to buy the product. We definitely learned that while getting our mission and brand out is great, we need to find a way to make a video that will resonate with people. I was honestly amazed by the amount of work and all the moving pieces that go together to create one short ad spot. It was great to hear how different job titles in the company contribute to different steps of the video-making process.
And now the real challenge really begins...
