Keeping the Spark Alive

They say that you’ll know when you meet ‘the one’. In business terms, you will hopefully meet quite a few.

It’s all about the way you connect. You might feel that there is already common ground between you. You want them to like you, to like your outlook and ideas. You might feel that tingle of excitement about future prospects.

If you take it further - though please don’t jump the gun too far here; you have only just met - you and they will begin to feel more secure in each others company. A trust will develop, an understanding of needs and wants. You’ll begin the learn more about what they like and dislike. What makes them tick. How they like to communicate, how they see the world and what’s important to them.

Yes – you’ll know. We certainly did. But once the honeymoon period is over, what is it that keeps you together?

There are certain fundamentals in our business relationships that should be givens. As production companies, we should be able to consistently come up with creative ideas and strategic solutions for our clients, adding real value to any project.

We should be able to produce innovative and engaging films, across media platforms, that communicate clients’ key messages effectively. And we should be able to deliver these films on time and to realistic budgets. After all, this is how we ensure that our clients’ visual communications exceed their expectations and why they work with us. Otherwise, they could just grab a camera and shoot films for themselves.

But there are other things that are less tangible. Do we have a connection with them? Do they like us? Do they feel that we truly understand their business needs, the way they like to work, their expectations and the kind of pressures they’re under?

Quite simply do we offer them an exceptional level of service? It isn’t rocket science. It’s about working as hard as we can to make any project as enjoyable as possible. It’s about being willing to re-budget as many times as necessary to get the film a client wants at a price they can work with. It’s about openness and straight talking, so clients know we are genuinely working with their interests at heart.

It’s about finding solutions to any problem that may be thrown at us using all our skill and experience to make issues disappear and to overcome challenges with minimum stress.

When we set up Vanilla Film Productions, we knew we could produce the films. But our overriding ethos from the very start was to be open and honest with clients. To listen to them. To do whatever we could to ensure that any project, however big or small, ran as smoothly as possible.

And here’s the controversial bit for us as creatives at Vanilla Films. We’ve recognised that there are times when we shouldn’t encourage clients to take certain risks because we have understood they are looking for the tried and tested.

We’ve also seen that there are moments in projects that we must leave our own creative agendas to the side and seek to understand why clients might want a film to look a certain way or why that one particular shot is so important to them, when it wouldn’t necessarily have made our cut.

But we also know when we can and positively should push creative boundaries, suggest alternative ideas and strategies and encourage clients to be brave.

In these recessionary times, clients are keener than ever to get the same high quality films that continue to deliver a return on their investment, despite more limited marketing budgets.  So us creatives are having to get more creative. Not only with our ideas but with our finances too.

But offering exceptional service as a key part of any project doesn’t always cost money. In fact, it is essential.  Going the extra mile keeps us connected with our business partners and keeps that spark alive.

Debra Sobel & Karen Benveniste,
Co –Managing Directors, Vanilla Film Productions www.vanillafilms.co.uk