An Englishwoman in New York: How does producing differ across the pond?

Last summer, I got asked the question all women long to hear…

 “Would you move to New York City?” 

I took a moment to look over Manhattan’s iconic skyline and thought how deliciously unhinged my decision to up sticks was.

It took me approximately 3.5 seconds to reply: a resounding YES. In that heartbeat, I totally flipped my life upside down. What wasn’t to love about the ask? I’d spent the best part of a decade working across studios in London, navigating the pandemic, homeschooling, and this brave new world of ‘hybrid’ working. I was, quite honestly, ready for a change. Not only geographically, but intrinsically. I was craving that start-up energy and the launch of Electric Theatre Collective NYC was serendipitous.

With her life packed into three suitcases, Polly left London for the start-up energy she'd been craving with the launch of ETC NYC.

So, with my life wrestled into three oversized suitcases and armed with only the reflexive politeness of someone who says sorry to inanimate objects, I traded gentle (read: constant) drizzle for vertical ambition and moved myself stateside.  Schlepping over the Brooklyn Bridge on my very first jet-lagged morning in the city, I took a moment to look over Manhattan’s iconic skyline and thought how deliciously unhinged my decision to up sticks was. It felt less like your typical relocation and more like pressing a big red button labeled ‘Plot Twist’ before watching the next chapter burst into glorious technicolor. 

 Briefs are typically more direct. The American audience wants to feel something quickly, with a supporting call to action.

And glorious it has been – but it’s also been different. There’s a shift in Adland priorities here. Super Bowl mania came around fast, as we grappled with Christmas no longer being the pinnacle of the advertising year. Say WHAT?! I spent the best part of four months on a multimillion-dollar campaign for the end of the tax year: HMRC could never. Pharma campaigns are a BIG deal, and sports campaigns span multi-sport, multi-celebrity, and multi-shoot productions. In terms of humour? It’s often more on the nose. Briefs are typically more direct. The American audience wants to feel something quickly, with a supporting call to action – so campaigns communicate instantly across screens, states, and attention spans. That doesn’t mean the work lacks sophistication. It just expresses itself differently, unapologetically.

Schlepping over the Brooklyn Bridge on her first first jet-lagged morning in the city, Polly took a moment to look over Manhattan’s iconic skyline. 

The opening gambit for pitching and budgeting is usually more forthright, too. There is something of an apologetically British air that sometimes accompanies budget conversations in the UK, but in the US, generally there’s more up front comfort around numbers. 

In fact, communication itself is vastly different. In London, the pace is softer. Meetings begin with a warm-up lap and a comment about the weather. There are still pleasantries here, but New York adopts a more caffeinated pace, so they’re kept short and sweet, with calls starting on time and running to a timeline. Momentum and the constant push onwards and upwards is treated like oxygen. 

Then there are the obvious nuanced spelling and naming conventions. Colour becomes color. Online becomes finishing. ‘That’s interesting’ in the UK requires careful monitoring of eye contact, silence, and follow-up emails, whereas in the US there’s more decisiveness, you might receive an immediate ‘We love it’. Enthusiasm exists loudly in a room. Without any irony.*NB Check out Lost in Translation: A Producer’s Post Dictionary at the bottom of this article.

I’ve learnt, somewhere between the two countries, that the best producing happens when you borrow shamelessly. 

And I can’t possibly talk about UK/US contrasts without talking about the market. It’s undoubtedly more buoyant. There are infinitely more agencies spanning East and West and the sheer scale definitely takes some adjusting. In London, everyone knows everyone. If you haven’t met someone in the smoking area of the British Arrows you may well have outside The Spaniard in Kinsale. Here though, it’s easy to meet everyone and truly know very few.

My move to NYC has afforded me lots of new things. A new apartment, new friends, a new bounce in my step…  But it’s also afforded me clarity. I’ve learnt, somewhere between the two countries, that the best producing happens when you borrow shamelessly. Weaving British sensitivity with American momentum and combining dry humour with clear intent. All the while, craft and confidence share the same seat.