As we step into 2024, and New Year’s resolutions are already showing signs of cracking, for me, this feels more like a ‘damp January’ than a dry one. Navigating the ever-evolving landscape of Creative Production in 2024 will require a delicate balance between consistency, agility, quality, whilst tiptoeing between technology and human creativity.
Should we pursue the next fashionable shiny toy, or should we focus on what works now, building for today to ensure readiness for tomorrow? Businesses have a choice: strategically align their production efforts to achieve their marketing objectives, or wait while others succeed. It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon. Ensuring you have the right partners in place, who ‘get it’ and can help deliver your ambitions, is critical to success in 2024.
Below, we explore five key ingredients to ensure your production strategy New Year’s resolution become a reality and positions you for success in the coming year.
Embrace Agility and Iteration: The marketing landscape is rapidly evolving, with new technologies, in-house agency evolution, and AI-driven models shaping the approach. While brands must recognise the need for agility, starting small with a test-and-learn approach can mitigate against a messy and disruptive process, ensure BAU work is delivered, prioritise simplicity, preserve flexibility, and ultimately deliver better growth. Agility will enable businesses to react, test, learn, and ultimately save time and effort. A strategic and simplified approach to change can make the journey less overwhelming and more achievable.
Define Your Plan for 2024: As businesses take on the challenges of 2024, it’s crucial to establish a sustainable plan. Marketing teams must ask themselves: does the plan align with our long-term goals, and is it adaptable to industry changes? If we implement the new and shiny piece of tech, is it already out of date by the time we roll it out, and does the predicted volume validate its use? This is partly why there is no cookie-cutter approach to new technology. Also, ensuring complete transparency from suppliers and partners is essential for a future-proof and consistently adaptable approach. At SPRING Production, our Danish roots and culture drives our obsession with optimisation, efficiency and transparency, enabling us to guide clients through the process and ensure sustainable strategies are defined and adhered to.
Prioritise Bespoke Solutions Over One-Size-Fits-All: While MarTech has transformed the media and advertising landscape, the idea of a universal solution can fall short in this diverse and complex marketing ecosystem. Bespoke solutions will ensure the best possible outcome. Efficiency, agility, and the careful selection of relevant technologies and partners distinguish our approach – our promise to clients ‘We Make It Work’ reflects our commitment to recommending customized solutions that align with your needs, to get the job done in the best possible way, taking the pain away
Balance Technology and Human Creativity: In the pursuit of future-proofed solutions, it’s vital to strike a balance between new technology and human input. Overreliance on technology can risk diluting the impact of your content or campaigns. Having a more strategic integration of technology is an enabler of, not a replacement for, human creativity. It’s to enhance what we do, not replace it. For 2024, businesses must ask themselves: does our production approach balance the need for speed and increased efficiency through technology, with the timeless power of human creativity and market or cultural nuance?
Keep it Simple:The production process doesn’t need to be overly complex. There is often too much hype surrounding terms like decoupling, recoupling, generative AI, data, automation, and measurement. Start by establishing the key principles right from the beginning, and the rest will follow. Ensure you have the right partners in place who understand your business, brands, objectives, and requirements to help you achieve your goals. There is an over-reliance on technology in the short term, but we may also undervalue its impact in the long term. It’s a delicate balancing act to ultimately solve real problems and support growth. As marketing teams reflect on their production strategies for 2024, these considerations serve as guideposts to ensure success in an industry where adaptability and foresight are paramount. Choose a partner that can be your steady hand, see the direction of travel, and be one or two steps ahead of the competition. Keep it simple, embrace a test-and-learn methodology, and iterate as you go.
As we launch into 2024 with hope and optimism for the year ahead, the strategic imperative for businesses is clear: a production strategy that seamlessly integrates technology with the enduring power of human creativity is critical to getting it right. By addressing these five key considerations, clients can position themselves to thrive in the dynamic landscape of creative production. At SPRING Production, we are dedicated to making this journey less daunting and more rewarding for our clients, ensuring they are well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
This article has also been SPRING Insights
With nearly three decades of expertise, Tom has worked with global brands and agencies. Renowned for his strategic approach and deep understanding of client needs, his influence spans from campaign development to creative production across the globe. Tom excels in optimising performance and remuneration models, driving efficiency across client and agency teams. His career stands as a testament to the transformative power of strategic thinking and unwavering dedication in the dynamic global business landscape
