FREE WEBINAR: “Blurred Lines in Social Video Production: What You Don’t Know”

APR Global Campus Webinar:

Blurred Lines in Social Video Production: What You Don’t Know

Video is increasingly produced for mobile devices and online social channels. The thirty second TV spot may not translate well across these mediums. To solve this challenge, we’ve paired subject matter experts from both traditional video and social production to explore the challenges and nuances found across these new video channels. Join APR’s experts as we review our findings for the most common social video platforms: Vine, Twitter, Tumblr, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook.

The webinar will be help on Wednesday March 2nd at 11am EST. Register Here!

ARE YOU READY TO SHOOT YOUR NEXT AD IN CUBA?

Authored by: Jillian Gibbs, Founder & Global CEO; Pedro Roura, Brand Executive Producer APR LatAm

In light of recently restored diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, and the lifting of travel restrictions, we could expect some U.S. originated productions to take place in Cuba. If you’re a U.S. advertiser and you’re considering shooting in Cuba, there are a few things you should know about the following:

TRAVEL

• Visas: Currently, it is legal for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba. Travel Agencies working this market are purchasing Cuban Visas in bulk, in advance and they can arrange US to Cuba trips almost overnight, if necessary. US crews need two visas (Tourist and Working visa)
• Airlines: Air travel from the USA is managed under Charter Flights. Check in 3- 4 hours in advance as all these Charter services are not as fast and organized as regular airline services.
• Credit Cards: There are no U.S. credit card services in Cuba. Everything needs to be in cash.
• Communication: There is no cell service for U.S. cell phone users receiving inbound calls or making outbound calls. Internet in Cuba is limited and expensive. It’s recommended that producers bring their own materials (binders, docs etc.)
• Security: Cuba is one of the safest places for tourists in Latin America. The authorities are extremely strict when it comes to foreign security and Cubans understand that their future depends on the return of tourists and their reputation as a tourist destination.

INSURANCE

• Production Insurance: Make sure you check with whomever is providing insurance (Holding Company, Wrap-up Policy, Production Company) to verify that their production insurance extends to production in Cuba. There is no Cuban production insurance. Any production insurance needs to be purchased outside of Cuba.
• Equipment Insurance: Rental houses usually charge 8% for insurance that covers very little.
• Health Insurance: When traveling to Cuba there is a mandatory health insurance policy charged when purchasing airfare tickets. This insurance covers 100% of all medical expenses for the extent of the trip.
• Risk Reduction: In order to reduce risk, make sure that you are doing business with a production service company that is associated with the Cuban Film or Cuban TV Institute.

PRODUCTION ADVICE

• Payments: Any production related payment needs to be made under two types of transactions: 3rd party or cash.
• Transparency: Encourage the Production Company and ad agency to be fully transparent with local authorities. Request copy of documents submitted to get permits, etc., when needed.
• Prep Time: Allow as much prep time as possible. Everything takes a little longer to get done in Cuba during pre-production.

CONCLUSION

The good news is that there have recently been a lot of European, Canadian, Asian and other LATAM country productions in Cuba. Be prepared to navigate as needed to make the most of this wonderful location! Our colleague, Paul Papanek, captured some images from a recent trip to Cuba, which you can see here: https://paulpap.exposure.co/cuba

For more information on how best to plan and produce your next ad in Cuba, contact the Subject Matter Experts at APR: info@aprco.com

 

The 2015 Cannes Lions Innovation Festival – Key Takeaways

New data techniques, Internet technologies, and business models were high on the agenda at this year’s Cannes Innovation Festival. But how will these translate into reality for advertisers? And will these changes bring new production efficiencies or provide new challenges?

As a production specialist, I try to learn from the detailed presentations and far-out ideas, and break down what it all means for us now. So let’s look at how advertisers can put innovation to work and adapt their production, stay relevant, and increase impact in the future.

The model is shifting – agencies are looking to nimble startups

In the past advertisers looked to agencies for innovative campaign ideas. But what about digital displays, interactive experiences, wearable devices, and 2nd (computer), 3rd (mobile), and 4th (your car) screen technology? Should advertisers be looking to specialists in all of these areas, or should the agency take on the responsibility and assume this production in-house?

At Cannes, the biggest shift was that agencies and advertisers are now looking directly to start-ups for answers. In fact the audience was filled with acquisition heads from holding companies and venture capitalists following the latest and greatest startups.

The festival included the Foundry 50 – these are 50 of the world’s most exciting and disruptive start-ups. They took turns presenting their technology to the audience. Clearly this is a huge opportunity, but how is this turning into a real business model with advertisers and funding?

It was noted that brands like Visa are setting aside 10% of their worldwide budget for innovation in local markets. China’s “Internet Plus” program recognizes the need for entrepreneurship and innovation within China – the government has infused a reported $40 billion USD into startups this year to revive their economy, and focus on mobile devices.

Tom Bedecarre, the President of WPP Ventures, confirmed that agencies are now identifying startups and asking them to come up with ideas –starting incubators for the big idea that every client craves, and revolving it around technology.

As an advertiser, challenge your agency to find technical solutions that explore all avenues of production. Ask the agency about potential partnerships with startup or licensed technology, and explore how the campaign could be executed more efficiently. The top digital agencies are already in the know about new technology. Use this information for your brand and for a successful, well-produced campaign.

Agencies are using data to redefine a big creative idea and aid storytelling

A big idea does not need to be complex – in fact many of the award winners at Cannes were simplistic, targeted productions that were incredibly successful. Companies like Oracle | BlueKai are reporting unique insights from data that can be used to create compelling, uniquely relevant campaigns and experiences.

How can an advertiser apply this knowledge? Well, most digital agencies now have a digital scientist on staff. As an advertiser, please encourage the data scientist to be present in the briefing process. How can the data scientist influence the creative process with their knowledge of your target audience and past campaigns? Could the agency use data to create impactful, varied and targeted messages? Could they utilize dynamic creative (that’s ads created and served dynamically depending on who/where the consumer is spending their time) to reduce costly production for each variance?

Many of the brands at Cannes used data to influence their campaign. Try this using the techniques above, and most importantly follow through and encourage your agency to optimize over time based upon new information. Ask to understand analytics reports on performance, and challenge optimization strategies to keep your production dollars working harder, longer.

Ask questions, always

Technology will always evolve, and the experts in creative and production must evolve to keep up with trends. The Cannes Innovation festival was a great glimpse at what’s coming in the future. As Shiv Singh from Visa stated “Everyone needs to be innovation centric. It’s not a niche department anymore.” To stay current, ask your agency questions on how to leverage technology and make it work for your brand. Harness technology and innovation and utilize it to your advantage. And of course, please reach out with any questions, and we can learn together.

Amanda Goodspeed

VP, Global Head of Digital Production

London to Nashville: Recapping the APR Annual Conference

Every year, the Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) from APR gather from all over the world for a week-long conference to share with and learn from one another. Luke Beauchamp, a Broadcast SME from London, UK, attended his first conference this year and here are a few of his thoughts on the week’s events.

On the 31st of May 2015 the wagons started rolling into town, 107 weary travelers, having battled the elements, crossed borders from faraway lands pushed on to their final destination…Nashville, Tennessee, USA. This was to be our APR camping ground for the week as we convened to discuss what was happening on the new frontiers of our industry.

As an APR rookie I had little idea of what to expect. I knew the theme of the week, indeed I’d been asked to present to the company, but until I sat in the room and saw the engagement from everyone present I hadn’t really “got it”.

The theme for this year’s APR Conference was Content Creation. This theme had been decided upon as a direct response to advertisers telling APR “I know I need to make more, for less. I know that I need to produce content across more media channels than ever before, so how/where do I start? If I’m not producing content can I still talk to my consumers?”

The feedback came from all directions. There were viewpoints that advertisers who engage their consultants earlier in the process and outline their strategy/annual plan benefit more in terms of efficiencies and opportunities. There were conversations about the important role that media planning and buying play, and that as consultants we should help weave that into the story of the marketing and production plan. There are some advertisers who like to get their audience around the campfire and talk to them in person through experiential and event led campaigns, which is a major growth area for many sectors.

Then we were treated to stories about the renegade advertisers, the brands that tear up the law book and head straight to the frontier in the hopes of finding gold, and in some cases they have. Of course some brands don’t feel the need to rush through change and rely on the traditional route to their audience which is great, and we continue to support them.

All of those in attendance at this year’s conference agreed, that whatever the approach, advertisers need to align themselves internally on “why” they are proposing to produce the planned content and clearly answer some of the most important questions they face, such as: What is the right number of spots, events, digital executions, etc? How do we measure the success of the content that we’re paying for? How hard is the non-working dollar actually working for us? Does the ratio between working and non-working need to change?

As no one has the definitive answer, I guess we’ll need to circle the wagons with our clients and sit and chat it through over a drink or two. That way when we set off again we know we’re all heading in the right direction!

Here’s a few notes from this year’s conference worth sharing in regards to with whom we work and what we do together:

• APR  clients range from the ultra’traditional and conservative to those who are truly innovative and ‘experimenters’.
• We can help our clients understand how they spend their money across the spectrum: from traditional media to all other forms of content platforms.
• Sometimes our clients are looking for process and strategy; and sometimes saving money is not always the primary driver.

Luke Beauchamp, Brand Executive Producer: London, UK
Based in London with over 25 years’ experience in the Industry, Luke has been fortunate to be involved with many of the greatest talents in the worldwide advertising community. The experience of producing award winning commercials, broadcast TV and live events continues to fuel his curiosity into new technologies and processes. This has led him to become one of the few producers in London to have produced Stereoscopic and Holographic content. As a keen supporter of the Advertising Producers Association in the UK he has, for many years, been part of the leadership team devising courses and teaching the Producers of the future through the APA Masterclass programme. Luke has also been invited to speak as a representative of the UK production industry (via the APA) in Japan, China and India. As a people person Luke enjoys nothing more than bringing people together to get the best possible results.

Free APR Global Campus Webinar: Agile Technology

The advertising production process has traditionally been based on the Waterfall methodology. This production methodology has suited advertising for decades because it documents what you will get (deliverables), how much it will cost (budget), and how long it will take (timeframe).

Car makers and software engineers have known for decades that when you develop a product you can’t assume you understand your customer’s exact needs upfront. To ensure the end-product is continually aligned with the customer’s needs as the project evolves, they employ what is called, “The Agile Development Framework”.

As application and platform development becomes more prevalent in advertising we are seeing a rise in Agile-led productions. What is this process, and what does it mean to you as marketers, procurement and/or production specialists?

Join Brit Charlebois, Sr. Digital SME at APR for her exploration of Agile Methodology as it applies to advertising digital production.

APR Global Campus Webinar:

Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls: Know When to Choose Agile for Development

Thursday April 30^th, 11am EST

Register Here

More about Brit:

Brit Charlebois | APR, Sr. Digital SME

Over 15 years of experience in digital advertising and production working with such clients as: GM, Walmart, HP and Verizon. Brit’s background includes digital design and development, advertising production and procurement.

Global Campus Webinar: Decoupling Production in Practice

Client Led Production means Client Owned Results and that can be frightening for some. Decoupling can lead to increased transparency and cost savings but it’s not a one size fits all solution to production. Working outside the traditional agency model poses some risks for today’s advertisers.

Join APR CEO Jillian Gibbs and CIO Alex Blum for this complimentary, 45 minute webinar focusing on the benefits, realities and challenges to consider when planning to decouple all or part of your next production. We’ll include plenty of time for questions to go over how to apply our learnings to your unique production needs.

APR Global Campus Presents The Decoupling Production in Practice Webinar
Tuesday February 24th at 11am EST
Register Here 

Events & Experiential Management

Events and Experiential advertising continue to grow and many advertisers are finding it hard to manage both process and costs with this emerging media type.

We have a dedicated E+E team who help advertisers create processes and optimize spend across all types of experiential efforts. To learn more about how APR can help you manage this eveolving media type:

Download our E+E Service Overview

The Top 6 Most Read APR Blogs of 2014

We’re getting close to the end of the year and we thought it might be interesting to look back through the APR blog archives to see what people were reading! Below is our list of the top 6 most read APR blogs in 2014:

1. Thoughts from the Annual APR Company Meeting (May 30, 2014)

The annual APR company meeting came just as new Managing Director, Fiona McBride, joined the team. This is her fresh perspective on what it’s like when over 100+ production experts gather together!  We, also produced a recap video from that week to show what it was like to be in the room!

2. In Case you Weren’t in the South of France Last Week (June 25, 2014)

If you didn’t get a chance to attend the Cannes Lion festival this summer, you only missed out on the fun and sun because we recapped the biggest stories in this blog post.

3. Introducing the Digital Estimate Template (October, 4, 2012)

An oldie but a goodie! Our digital team helps advertisers compare digital apples to oranges with this universal template for Digital Estimate. Released over 2 years ago, this is still one of our most popular blogs!

4. Is Decoupling Really Worth It? (July 16, 2014)

Whether you call it Decoupling, Unbundling or Client-Led Production, working outside the traditional agency model has been a big trend this last year.

5. Internal Process Case Study (May 22, 2014)

Earlier this year, we released this case study detailing how we work with one of our larger clients across multiple markets, brand divisions and agencies: Creating process continues to be important!

6. What Good is Integrated Production Anyway? (July 22, 2013)

Here’s one way to look at the integrated production model! It can be difficult for advertisers to undertake such a monumental shift in the way they work. Here, we outline the challenges and benefits of bundling and integrating your productions.

 

Have a suggestion for a blog in 2015? Let us know what you’d like to learn more about and we’ll get to work on it! Send your suggestions to APR community Manager CB Barthlow (cbbarthlow@aprco.com)

Introducing APR’s On-Line Production Guidelines

Production Guidelines can sometimes be the most valuable asset in an advertisers arsenal, especially when it comes to change management and supply-chain oversight. Over the years we have worked with many of our clients to develop customized production guidelines and recently we’ve made using those guidelines a lot easier to access and use.

Eric Drury, Managing Director/APR Europe, and our European team have pioneered a tool to host advertising production guidelines online, optimized for web, mobile and tablets.

To learn more about instituting production guidelines in an easy-to-use, web-based format view our APR Online Guidelines At-A-Glance here.

 

Join us in NYC for the ANA Ad Production Seminar

The Optimize Your Ad Production Seminar is November 12 & 13 in New York City.         Join 7 APR Subject Matter Experts, in partnership with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) for an in-depth, two-day seminar covering all aspects of ad production. This year’s seminar takes an integrated approach to supply chain management, leveraging creative and how to develop best practices to ensure you maximize efficiencies.

APR CEO Jillian Gibbs

Register Here: http://www.ana.net/training/show/id/AP-NOV14