Content That Connects: Pat Murphy Highlights Producers as Creative Sparks
Any piece of content for a brand means little if it never connects with its target audience, a statement to ponder in this interview series from Comcast Technology Solutions and Little Black Book.
Over the course of this series, we’ll be speaking to some of advertising’s most respected production leaders to delve into how emerging themes in production, such as data-fuelled production, more lo-fi shooting technology, remote filming, and evolving feelings towards the value of production all feed into creating content that matters to customers and works for brands.
In this interview, LBB speaks to MCA founder and CEO Pat Murphy who reveals how a love for jingles got him into production and shares how he predicts AI will come into its own.
LBB> What first led you into the production industry, and what’s the most enjoyable aspect of your role today?
Pat> When I was growing up, my brother and I used to listen to Radio Luxembourg or the Top 40 on Sunday night on Radio One presented by Tom Browne. I became fascinated by the jingles between the records and in the ads. I started recording them on a Ferrograph Reel-to-Reel machine that was built like a tank. Very soon this collection became huge. Even when I was at film school, my thesis was on the art and structure of successful jingles. So that was my early interest in production and it soon got me into presenting radio programmes for the BBC and commercial radio which I continued to do throughout my advertising career.
When I got my first job after college it was as a runner at a post house called Molinare, I couldn’t believe I was ACTUALLY being paid to be in the business and still to date, that was the best job I ever had. I met so many people and had little responsibility. The most enjoyable aspect of my current role is the satisfaction of being able to solve client problems. It might be a celebrity talent issue or challenge with their agency or music rights nightmare, all of which the team have seen a thousand times so we can easily step up to the plate and solve. The other thing is that the pandemic has proven you can run a business from anywhere so I moved from the UK to Portugal, and I really enjoy sitting on my office balcony in Lisbon watching the sun come up with a coffee and contemplate what direction the day will take, what problems are we going to solve today.
LBB> MCA first started providing production investment expertise to clients in 2006. Before we talk about recent issues and trends, can you tell us what’s stayed the same? Are there any challenges which you’ve found to be re-occurring over the years?
Pat> Yes, the thing that’s stayed the same is that agencies have continued to let go of great, talented and experienced people. And the training for existing or new people has been woeful. It generally is the cause of many of the issues we still encounter every day. There’s also still a troubling amount of ageism and sexism. In my experience, some the best creatives and producers are the more seasoned, but they have a growth mentality and have a hunger to learn new things. When you add that to their experience of traditional advertising skills, they become killer employees.
The other thing is the conversation around D&I. It feels like we have the same conversations every single year, the same topics at conferences, and now we talk about insisting on bids from diverse companies or forcing companies to hire a percentage of their crew from diverse backgrounds. Those companies more often don’t get the jobs anyway but they were included in the process so a box is ticked and they end up putting loads of work in, with the chance of winning being minimal. That’s crazy and I think we have it all wrong. We have to find ways for production houses, agencies and other vendors to WANT to change not be FORCED to change. And then just maybe we will see new diverse blood coming through the ranks through training and mentoring with companies that have CHOSEN to operate differently instead of hiring through mates of mates.
LBB> How are you seeing new technology and processes improve how production connects with its audience?
Pat> Very simply, technology has become much more sophisticated and puts high quality tools in the hands of the audience at a fraction of the cost that it would have been a few years ago.
Audience and influencer generated content is so much easier now and, in addition, it's much more authentic. The challenge with that, of course, is how to keep your content in line with any strategic objectives if needed. Then you have the ability to use technology and automated versioning to use the client owned material to target audiences very specifically, and in the long run ads will be made just for you. We already see this using DCO but I think this is where AI will come into its own, and where it works best is where a client has huge libraries of content that is catalogued and tagged brilliantly so things can be found quickly and reused at a moment’s notice with the upside of keeping the carbon footprint low. Clients will invest more in entertainment such as games, programmes and apps, as the audiences have more control over their avoidance of traditional advertising. It’s a way for brands to connect, add value to the audience in some way and for them to have a deeper relationship.
LBB> In our fluid media environment, with new formats, trends and tech every day, how would you communicate the value of production to a brand?
Pat> Production has never been as highly valued as the creative part of ad development. Now, I think it's more important - and I would say that wouldn’t I? But listen up. Imagine a really skilled producer being at the key discussion meetings with media and creative before any concepts are designed. I know this rarely happens but I am pushing for this to happen more. The producer can be the ‘spark’ for creatives and media to come up with crazy ideas. They know what’s achievable, they know how things can be brought together. Producers are what make the film industry tick, and I think it can be the same for the ad industry. Why would it be different? What I do know is when I find a great tech savvy experienced creative production person with an ‘anything is possible’ mindset, I know that clients can have their socks blown off.
LBB> To what extent can data be leveraged to improve production and the impact of content?
Pat> I did an internal webinar at MCA with Adam Smith (now the director of digital, tech and proposition at GIG Retail) about the power of data and creative together and it was a real eye opener. Martin Sorrell has previously stated that the future of advertising and marketing services belongs to 'Maths Men as much as to Mad Men'. I think creativity will always take first place but it can be supercharged by the power of data with the addition of the right data points to ensure this creative is being served to the right people.
Audience types, geographics, and different verticals can be used to identify what successful campaigns look like. And then by leveraging automation, the resource-heavy and complex task of manually translating large datasets into successful campaigns is alleviated. So, I look at it like putting a rocket underneath your creative, and those who will come out strongest are going to be those who put a focus on quality not just quantity.
LBB> What is one example of a recent project that required the production department to solve a particularly tricky / interesting problem(s)? How did production step up to find and execute the solution?
Pat> Apart from the well documented virtual studios initiative for Reckitt – I also do have a recent challenge that we encountered on another client. It required shoots in 13 different locations around the world with real talent, and filming in their own environments. Each local production needed to have enough material so it could be translated into multiple formats for broadcast, social and other channels, and in huge numbers of length variants. The budget was miniscule, but the driving force for our team recommendation was to reduce the carbon footprint as we are on a journey to production net zero for our clients in 2025 - and this client has strong sustainability credentials.
The answer was to have the production company based in London work alongside our network of consultants in all these locations to train the local crew and design the optimal local logistics without anyone having to travel. In fact, the director could also be viewing remotely. It was a flawless operation that saved money, reduced the carbon footprint massively and most of the budget went into things that were seen on camera. Amazing job.
LBB> Broadly speaking, where should companies be investing in the production process in order to drive the best value and output?
Pat> Training, training, training. Still today, creatives and producers in agencies have an old fashioned mindset and they love to go somewhere exotic on a shoot. Companies should be investing in understanding what virtual production can do, combined with AI, used in an ethical way and not be afraid of trying new tech that’s coming round the corner. It means many jobs will have to change, and the skills required will need to change too. The process required is also different which means that the pre-production process will need to adapt and either agency teams will need to upskill quickly or get left behind. It doesn’t mean that creative will suffer, in fact, it means that creative can actually be liberated..
LBB> From your point of view, what’s the key to crafting content that really connects with people?
Pat> Understanding your audience and telling great stories. That will never change, and no matter what anyone says I do not believe that AI is going to be able to truly replace the ability of outstanding creative and production talent to craft engaging, human, emotional stories. Think of some the greatest ads of all time i.e. my own personal favourite, Hamlet Photo Booth or Cadbury Gorilla which I consulted on. AI cannot do that… Yet!
