When brands decide they need help to craft their marketing idea into a polished video, they basically have two options. They can hire a marketing firm to manage the project, or they can go directly to video production partners.
Lately, we’ve started noticing a trend, at least at our video production company. More brands seem to be coming directly to us rather than working through a marketing agency. Our founder and creative director, William Gadea thinks brands are choosing this route because they get more bang for their buck.
“If they have a solid hold on their branding and strategy, and many do, then going through an agency just builds in another layer of overhead,” Gadea said.
That’s the opinion of one small but dedicated production team, but we reached out to marketing managers and CEOs to test our theory. Were brands really saving time and money while getting better results by working directly with production partners like us?
Why Outbound Went Direct to a Video Production Partner
Aaron White, CEO at Outbound.com, confirmed at least part of our theory. “Working with an external production company allowed us to leverage their expertise and connections for location, gear, and overall production, making the entire process smoother. Their team had everything lined up, which made it quick and easy for us to translate our vision into reality,” White said.
He said the production partner was able to bring clarity to the project. Instead of spending time troubleshooting on their own, they could get help from the experts. Both the clarity and the connections helped them save time.
“And time, as we know, is money. Overall, the collaboration accelerated the process without sacrificing quality,” White said.
So although the sticker price was about the same, Outbound was able to finish their project faster, with less employee time spent managing it.
We think the results were pretty impressive. Outbound’s brand and understanding of their audience really shine through.
The Direct Approach Saves Money And Time
Sabina Brdnik, Marketing and Digital Production Specialist at Tretton37 says she always prefers to work directly with a producer.
“By eliminating the marketing agency, we saved on those additional fees, allowing us to redirect more of our budget towards improving the overall production quality. This created a final product we were even prouder of,” Brdnik said.
They were also able to directly hand-pick their producer to fit the vision they had for the project. “Being more hands-on for the creative process really allowed us to be more “us” – we made sure that our brand identity was visible and clear in the final product.”
And everything moved a little faster too, “The direct relationship really sped up the whole decision-making process. With real-time feedback and no middle person, we could quickly adjust and refine the project, leading to a faster production timeline,” Brdnik said.
All those benefits did come with some trade-offs. Without a marketing agency, Tretton37 had to take on more responsibility for the logistics. It helped that Brdnik has a background in video production and understood the whole process.
How To Make Your Project Successful When Going Direct to Video Production Partners
Jom Jauncey, Head Nerd at Nautilus Marketing offers some advice for brands that are considering going direct to production partners.
“Before opting for a direct-to-production company, consider your group’s level of involvement in managing a video project or your internal video marketing knowledge.” Jauncey said.
Think about whether you have team members with the time and expertise to manage a video production project. They don’t have to be video experts, but they should have organization, communication, and project management skills.
“Companies often work with video production partners directly to optimize their communications and decision-making. Indeed, this approach has the potential to save dollars by avoiding agency markups. And, it can also add up to speedy turnarounds and efficient project management,” Jauncey said.
To take the best advantage of this direct relationship, Jaucey recommends clearly defining communication channels and approval processes. Create a detailed project brief and timeline to keep everyone on track.
Is a Direct Approach Right for Your Brand?
Jaucy said, “Success will be directly related to brand internal resources, video production knowledge, and marketing strategy.”
Even so, Brdnik believes more brands should consider working directly with video production partners. “All in all I think the direct producer-brand relationships are a winning combination not just because of the time efficiency, cost effectiveness, and creative control. It also makes sure that brands can really drive unique production in this world of copy/paste content.”
If your brand is ready to stand out with a unique video made specifically for you and your customers, consider working directly with IdeaRocket. “We love to work directly with brands, because their knowledge of their business is first-hand and instinctual,” said Gadea. This was especially evident in our successful collaboration with CBC Federal Credit Union. We created two animated commercials for digital and OTT distribution for a campaign that achieved 25% organic search lift and 150% lift in net new members.
Brands in Healthcare, SaaS, and many other industries turn to us for explainer videos and animated commercials. Contact us to get started.
