Meet the Newest Addition to the Royle Family: Sarah Marcon
Royle Productions were delighted to recently announce Sarah Marcon as the company’s new Head of Production. We caught up with Sarah to talk about her new role and Costa Coffee’s latest campaign (which just happens to be their biggest yet)…
LBB> Why join Royle Productions?
Sarah> Having worked freelance for a couple of years, which I’d enjoyed, I felt it was time for a new challenge and something more permanent to get my teeth into. Royle Productions felt like the perfect fit for my experience and background.
LBB> What do you hope to achieve as Head of Production?
Sarah> It is already a brilliant company but I’m looking forward to helping build the business, the team, the client base, and of course deliver great creative work for our clients that we can all be proud of.
LBB> What differentiates Royle Productions from your previous roles or companies?
Sarah> Professionalism. Frances is all about professionalism and best-practice. It's a great rigour to maintain in this brave new world where processes sometimes get forgotten or missed, and incredibly important when we work on a project-by-project basis – you never get a second chance to make a first impression!
LBB> You have a really varied background, how has that prepared you for your new role?
Sarah> Every project at Royle Productions is different; different clients, different creatives, different working models, different challenges. Some jobs are in-house productions, for others we commission production companies. We work with many different agencies as well as direct to client – so there are no rules really. Having started out as an account handler, before moving into production both on the production company and agency side, as well as a long stint producing in-house for a client, I'm used to being agile and wearing many hats. It keeps the job interesting.
‘Never a Dull Cup’, part of Costa Coffee's biggest ever campaign
LBB> Do you think that your account handler background benefits you now?
Sarah> Account Handling is a tough job and a thankless task but you are the lynch pin between the various agency departments and you learn your way around the industry fast. You have to know how to read a media plan, judge and have an opinion on creative work, handle clients, run meetings, have uncomfortable conversations, understand and adhere to shoot etiquette, and overall know when to speak up – and more importantly when to shut up! At Royle, we have to build strong working relationships with agency creative directors, account teams and client brand teams quickly so those account handling skills are no doubt invaluable. In fact, I’m not the only producer with an account handling background at Royle so it’s obviously a valued attribute!
LBB> What projects have you been working on recently?
Sarah> We recently worked with 101 on Costa Coffee’s biggest ever campaign, also my biggest project since joining Royle, featuring a cast of just under 200.
LBB> I understand that you shot with real Costa baristas – how did that work?
Sarah> Costa baristas from all 20,000 stores were invited to apply for a role. There was then a process of elimination to whittle it down in a similar process to normal ad casting led by the Creative Director and Director.
LBB> At what point were Royle brought into the project?
Sarah> We were involved at pitch stage, which is something we often do with clients – helping with the budget, shaping the project so that we’re good to go if the pitch is won. Getting involved early can also really help with the creative process, as it did here, as we’re thrilled with the final films.
