BMF responds to video content growth forming in-house video-specific production unit
Over the past year BMF has created well over 50 video content pieces, for web and social media across a range of brands.
To meet this growing demand, the agency has set up an in-house video-specific production unit; reporting to Sue Hind (far left), head of TV & art buying.
The new team, led by content producer, Whitney Hawthorn (centre), will include multi-skilled “Preditors” (Producer-Director-Editors) – a role with its roots in TV magazine/reportage programming.
Says ECD Dylan Taylor (above): “The simple fact is ‘real time’ marketing is here. Snacking on video content, rather than just reading it is becoming more and more ubiquitous. The agency has been producing great content for the web for many years, but we have reached a tipping point where bringing a full production team in house makes sense. While we’ll continue to work with our external production partners on our bigger productions, there is an overwhelming opportunity and demand for speed and cost efficiency in video production.
Having a team sitting right in the creative department will help us deliver content in a streamlined way. It’s fantastic to have someone with Whitney’s talent to work with. She has a great pragmatic, can-do attitude, coupled with an eye for what makes a compelling viewing – this made her natural choice to lead the team.”
Says Hawthorn: “This is a great opportunity. BMF is now simply formalising a structure and process that has been in place for a while. BMF has always been an agency that’s evolved to ensue that it delivers the best to our clients and I’m really excited to lead a part of that. My team is already busy and I see demand growing in the future for engaging, cost-effective qualitycontent”.
18 Comments
makes a lot of sense. a smart investment.
its not a service beyond the reach of most agencies to set up, but funny just how few have – and use it.
its not taking way business from the real shops either because this type of work usually drives them mad.
if you need something done fast and don’t have a massive budget, its the way to go.
only downside is you take on all the risk of f@cking it up.
Whitney and Sue are looking hot. Nice work ladies.
Cheap, Fast, or well done . . . pick two.
Am I the only one to notice that the word “Preditor” as an acronym for Producer-Director-Editor leaves out the Director altogether. And what a poignant term for the the individual whose concerns are about cost and time, as opposed to those pesky creative issues.
It will probably do well for BMF’s bottom line, and the word bottom is the one to pay attention to. No doubt a successful strategy, by so many will be hoping that it fails and there is a goditor.
Get used to it ‘Downward Market Forces’.
Advertising is a race to the bottom these days. This is the way of the future and the only way to catch a few more dollars on the way down is this sort of production.
Most agencies of size should be doing this. Just not many will do it well.
Smart move from BMF and Whitney well done on your new role
An in-house video/audio department is real handy. We charge heaps for ours and use outside studios less.
Sure the quality of the work has suffered, especially for radio and soundtrack work we used to go to experts for. But no-one cares or notices except me. Except when they ask why we haven’t won as many radio awards as we used to.
And we now make heaps of little ‘content’ videos that we put on YouTube and Facebook that no-one actually watches because they don’t know that they are there without ads to tell them and in any case there are now millions of videos they could be watching so it was really unlikely they’d watch a cheaply made corporate video anyway.
But we have an in-house video content unit so all is well.
It’s a shame agencies are finding themselves working with budgets that now force them to do this sort of thing. I think it’s one of the major downfalls of todays advertising. Agencies used to specialize in creative and leave the technical to the experts. Everyone was excellent in their particular field and a lot more great work was made.
It seems now they have to try to be everything and that leads to dilution of skills and poorer results. Sure it’s the way it is, but it’s a shame.
Interesting how that goes for them. In my experience I can only make a profit out of low end video content by getting very young and overly keen kids to do it. In the end they earn about $5 per hour as they are putting in 80+ hours a week on a minimum wage. the quality is an issue and they are straight to TV as soon as an opportunity arises. Agency’s are not their career path. You can do the slave labour thing at home in your garage where HR issues are not prevalent but difficult in an agency – especially when the boss arrives in a fancy car!!!
They should make cat videos. Lots and lots of cat videos.
I can’t believe most of the comments here are focused on the ‘quality’ aspect of video making. Got nothing to do with it. It’s about supplying entertainment and fast. It’s not about advertising going down hill (Hilarious). It’s an opportunity to make insanely interesting content.
‘Wise beyond years’ please stick to growing vegetables, fool.
Hey yaipan lips, care to share some examples of this ‘insanely interesting content’?
Because I’d love to see it.
yep loose lips roll out the ‘insanely interesting content’
i guess when you get a DM ECD you get DM quality work. 50 videos and i can’t recall one of em. come on Wazza!
seems bmf are replacing directors with producers in the same way they are replacing creatives with planners. go ahead and keep creating your half baked video ‘snacks’ guys, just know that award juries and quality clients require something way more substantial…
DMF & CRAFT RIP – this really does show how behind the times you are.
Web video is a completely different industry vertical – do you think the “quick response” old spice YouTube clips all used a month worth of Director time and re-shooting from different angles “just in case” to get their client some air time??
Most of you are all Creative and TV staff bitching about the good ol’ days.
A full HD camera, a one man team with past experience in TV and high budget and you have all you need…
The perfect team for this concept, we reckon, with a proven track record of working with content production in precisely the manner described by their mandate.
Your reputations are well established among your peers in the industry, and here’s looking forward to seeing your cheaper, faster solutions out there in the media very soon.
you can’t be serious? the original Old Spice only worked so well because it was a beautifully crafted and directed spot that no in-house cat video crew could have ever possibly created. without the time and expertise gone into that the quick response content could not have existed. btw shooting from ‘different angles’ as you put it is about storytelling, something a director or creative would have pointed out to you in accounts…
Every nIght I sit down and watch some good ole content. Just stuff. Anything. As long as it’s not entertainment. Give me content, colour bars, whatever. Ooooh yummy content.