Inside Fiverr’s Freelance-Friendly Creative and Handcrafted Halloween Film

Fiverr is an online marketplace platform that connects freelancers to people or businesses looking to hire. Used by many small businesses around the world, the company’s new Halloween campaign highlights a scary - but common - sight: A local high street store location that is constantly changing hands.

In the film, for whatever reason, no one business can make it work there for long - but Fiverr is there to ‘break the curse’. The spooky film, ‘The Retail Graveyard’, was created in-house by Fiverr’s creative team, and directed by ‘True Twins’, Almog Sella and Itamar Toren - who are Fiverr freelancers themselves. With production help from Tiara Films, the filmmakers built a miniature city by hand and crafted an eerie atmosphere that will get you in the spirit of the season.

Fiverr’s Israel-based in-house creative team behind this project is a nimble outfit of copywriters and art directors, led by creative director Ami Alush (former CCO at Leo Burnett Israel), all of whom bring adland experience from the likes of McCann, Grey, Publicis and Google. Every one of the company’s creative campaigns spawns from Ami and his creative partners - Idan Kravitz, Nimrod Maiman, Shiran Romano and Ronen Kornberg - and often involves talent from the Fiverr platform, upholding the brand’s philosophy of collaborating with freelancers.

LBB caught up with creative director Ami to delve into how Fiverr has built its in-house agency, and to discuss their latest creepy campaign for Halloween.

Above: Fiverr's creatives: Ami Alush, Shiran Romano, Nimrod Maiman, Ronen Kornberg and Idan Kravitz.  

LBB> When it comes to in-house setups at brands, there are all sorts of models from small content studios to full-service agencies… How would you describe the set up at Fiverr and why does this work best for you?

Ami> Fiverr’s creative team operates within the brand team. We have four experienced copywriters and art directors who, despite their titles, leave their egos at the door and collaborate as one cohesive and happy creative unit. Rounding out the team are three incredibly talented motion artists who help bring many of our ideas to life, with a strong focus on acquisition campaigns, which we’re constantly generating in an always-on mode

Our creative department is an integral part of Fiverr's larger marketing team. We operate directly under the CMO and VP of Brand, who ensure that we’re always aligned with the company’s broader vision and goals. 

It’s a bit different from the traditional client-agency relationship we used to know. Every function within the marketing team is encouraged to pitch interesting opportunities, share data, and even propose creative ideas. Work is managed and prioritised by several marketing operations managers who have a clear view of cross-company efforts and resources, allowing us to stay coordinated and efficient.

LBB> What should a team consider when figuring out what sort of setup will be best for it?

Ami> In my opinion, there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all setup for an in-house creative team. Each company or brand has a unique structure, needs and processes that must be considered. One thing is certain - you need to be agile and adaptable. Often, you'll find our 20-year-experienced art directors writing scripts, while our motion designers pitch ideas during creative brainstorms for our annual product releases. It’s also essential to be open to hiring 'non-traditional' creative roles and developing new skills within the team - like one of our members, who has become an AI video expert over the past year.

Above: BTS of ‘The Retail Graveyard’

LBB> Some in-house agencies have been created as bolt-ons with the help of an external expert company - has your approach been more ‘building from scratch’?

Ami> Our in-house team was built organically. It’s a small, high-quality creative community where everyone knows each other well and is familiar with each other’s experience and skill set. Many of our team members have worked together at various agencies over the years, such as McCann, Leo Burnett and Grey. So while you could call it building from scratch, it’s more like assembling a puzzle with talented and diverse creatives who complement and elevate one another

LBB> Do you collaborate often with external partners?

Ami> For the past three years, we have operated with a pure in-house model. All campaign ideas and scripts are developed by our in-house creative team. For production, however, we collaborate with various companies in different countries. For example, we work with Sweetshop in Australia, Arts & Sciences in the UK, and Left Productions in the United States.

When it comes to other areas, such as influencer collaborations and creator-led activities, we partner with external teams who play a more significant role in the ideation process.

LBB> Your new Halloween campaign ‘The Retail Graveyard’ was directed by Fiverr freelancers, ‘True Twins’ - how did this collaboration come about? Why was it important to use Fiverr users?

Ami> At Fiverr, one of our core beliefs is that if we want to convince our clients to collaborate with talented freelancers, we need to uphold that standard ourselves. Many of our projects are created with the help of freelancers from Fiverr. True Twins (not actually twins) are young and promising talents, well-known in the creative and design community, and luckily for us, they also offer their services as Fiverr talents.

LBB> Did you give True Twins a brief? How did you develop the creative idea with them?

Ami> The idea was born in-house as part of our ‘Get Ready for the Holiday Season’ brainstorm. Once we developed the insight and creative concept, we started thinking about the creative execution. We realised we needed something different - something more disruptive than another live-action film - that could truly capture the cold and daunting world that business owners often feel they live in. That was the moment we knew we needed a different type of creator for the project.

We shared the initial script with the True Twins, and from that point, we worked together on re-writing, designing, and developing the entire idea, from visual and sound treatment to deciding which material the tunnel would be made from. As end-to-end creators (from directing to editing), they were given complete creative freedom, with only one request: Bring your magic to life!

LBB> What were some of the best moments from the collaboration? Did you get to be on set for the production at all?

Ami> For those of us with many years of experience in traditional and corporate advertising, it was fascinating to watch how their passion and commitment brought this project to life. From discussions about the speed of the model train to a one-hour creative meeting on choosing the right designer from their team to work on the tarot cards, their dedication was evident. We, of course, attended the shoot day, but mostly as observers, captivated by the world they had created.

LBB> What are some of the challenges that you’ve found to be unique to in-housing?

Ami> In an agency, the entire structure is centred around creativity, with every department working to support and push the creative vision forward. In contrast, an in-house creative team is just one part of a larger organisation, meaning creativity must align with broader business objectives like growth, brand positioning and product launches. 

Collaboration is key, as you work closely with various departments, such as marketing, product, and sales - each with its own goals and priorities.

Here, creativity serves a larger purpose, supporting the company’s strategy rather than being the sole focus. This requires balancing high creative standards with the practical needs of other teams, demanding flexibility and a deep understanding of the brand and business. While this setup offers the opportunity for greater influence, it also involves aligning with multiple stakeholders, making creativity a collaborative and strategic effort.

Above: Fiverr - 'AI Took My Job'

LBB> And what are the opportunities and benefits that you’ve found to be unique to this way of working?

Ami> One major benefit is being more connected to results, which allows us to make real-time adjustments and optimisations. This setup also offers a deeper understanding of the challenges we face - unlike working with 20 different clients at an agency, we get to immerse ourselves in one brand, gaining in-depth knowledge and insight. Additionally, it provides opportunities for real-time, proactive initiatives, like launching a Liverpool FC RTM billboard campaign, or our ‘AI Took My Job’ campaign, seizing relevant cultural or market moments as they happen.

It's all about context. When you’re an integral part of the brand and understand its purpose and larger goals, it provides a lot of creative opportunities that you wouldn’t necessarily get as an external partner or agency. Make no mistake - it’s still the same classic, hard creative and strategic work that paves the way, but with much more creative freedom and far less bureaucracy or politics.

LBB> One thing we’ve heard frequently is that there isn’t the same sense of community and knowledge sharing between in-house agencies at different brands, compared with the agency world. Is that the reality for you?

Ami> In Israel, we’re part of a very small creative community. Many of us who grew up together in this industry have, in the past year, found ourselves leading in-house creative departments. We frequently hold creative meetups, participate in community events organised by Meta and Google, and connect at social gatherings. We also feel comfortable picking up the phone to ask a fellow creative director about their latest campaign, recommended partners, or simply to consult with them creatively.