Advertising production advisers: How to pick one worth paying for

There has never been a bigger need for production advisers. And there have never been so many of them.  

The advertising production industry is crossing the streams in a big way, and many of the people steering those moves have never done it before. 

I came up through production, runner to MD, across production companies, agencies, in-house and post. Now, as a production headhunter, I hear what’s really going on behind the scenes. 

A valuable adviser will be a shoulder to cry on, then shake you by the shoulders and push you back into the ring with your big person pants on. 

In July, Nikki Weiss-Goldstein wrote in shots that a call-out for freelance producers brought her more than 300 emails from producers who wanted out. The production leaders I speak to are frankly over it too, and many are going it alone. Open LinkedIn any week: “Congratulations to X on their new role.” Click through and the new employer is themselves. Consultant. Adviser. Founder of a company called “Me”. 

But who’s buying these consultants? Buy wisely and a fractional production adviser is a secret weapon. Buy badly and you’ve paid for what you already know, plus more questions. 

Your team won’t risk their careers disagreeing with you, and your clients are paying you to be right; this is where a good production adviser comes in.

What kind of production outfit needs an adviser?  

Whatever the structure, every production arm risks evolving in an echo chamber: the expertise in the building, a few recommended podcasts, and not much else. The production company going direct, which finds it has no rate card it understands and no defined target client, then meets procurement, the acronyms and 90-day payment terms. An award-winning, director-based business has to grow up fast, or it’ll be bust in three months.  

The agency that has sold its in-house production function to a client as its USP and now has to deliver it, with hardly anyone in the building who has run a production company. The brand that is building a creative studio, often with top-dollar creatives at the helm but little production expertise. When production gets treated as another form of procurement, someone still has to advocate for the idea and get it over the line.  

The snake oil is easy to spot: it’s articulated as “strategic support”, “unlocking growth” and a story about a shoot in 2009.

What a decent production adviser brings 

It’s lonely at the top. Your team won’t risk their careers disagreeing with you, and your clients are paying you to be right; you can’t ask them! A valuable adviser will be a shoulder to cry on, then shake you by the shoulders and push you back into the ring with your big person pants on. 

The best one I worked with came from high-end finance and energy and knew nothing about making ads. Two or three days a month of his commercial rigour was a mini MBA on the job. Priceless, except it wasn’t: we had a monthly retainer and he told me when I was taking the p*ss!

The good ones have a list of boundaries. They’ll tell you where their expertise stops and who to call instead.

How to spot the snake oil 

“Twenty-five years in production” alone doesn’t make someone a useful adviser, and I say that with 25 years of my own. I still speak to people with the title of adviser who haven’t worked out what their concept is. 

So as a potential client, you can test it for them. Take three headaches likely to land on your shoulders this year. A valuable adviser gives you something to act on. The snake oil is easy to spot: it’s articulated as “strategic support”, “unlocking growth” and a story about a shoot in 2009. 

Then ask what they don’t do. The good ones have a list of boundaries. They’ll tell you where their expertise stops and who to call instead. And they’ll leave all the decisions with you, because it’s your business, your job, your neck. 

Pick someone’s brains and hope a silver bullet appears for the price of the set menu. It never does, because nobody owns the outcome. 

How to buy well 

Don’t engage an adviser on vibes and nice chats. Corporate boards have been getting this right for decades with non-executive directors, who are appointed with a letter setting out expectations. If the value can’t be stated in a paragraph your FD would sign off without context, I’m afraid it’s a nice-to-have and not worth the investment. Start with a three-month trial and a proper fee. 

Final tip: don’t hire an adviser for their contact book. A good one works with several companies, so they can’t be a sales channel for all of them. If contacts are what you want, offer them head of business development on the payroll. I doubt they’ll accept.