Dear Art Producer

Today on the podcast, we welcome superstar agent Kelly Montez, CEO of Apostrophe reps. She’s been an agent for 18 years and has been a first-hand witness to the many changes affecting our industry.   Tune in for our first in-depth conversation with a rep on the importance of community, exciting industry changes, and the need for law degrees!   Key Takeaways [:32] Heather introduces Kelly and asks her to share the story of how she made her way into the advertising industry and the people and businesses that shaped her path and propelled her forward. [6:18] Find out what advice Heather gave Kelly when she was starting out that she still finds worth sharing in both professional and personal settings! [9:40] Kelly shares how motion and brand direct conversations are the most exciting changes she is currently fielding in the industry. She touches on how it affects working relationships, the photographers and the entire creative process. [11:44] 80% of the bids that come in have some motion aspect to them, and as a

Mike Bilbrey has been with Leo Burnett for 28 years; he comes on the show today to share an enormous wealth of experience and share his tips and advice on subjects ranging from bidding to ideal website maintenance. Tune in for an in-depth discussion with Mike, the unflappable industry veteran!   Key Takeaways [:32] Heather introduces Michael Bilbrey and asks him to share the story of how he made his way into the advertising industry. [7:02] Leo Burnett was taken over by a holding company; Mike shares how it affected the company — knowing that once you’re a Burnetter you’re always a Burnetter! [8:43] Mike shares something surprising about himself, and what it taught him that he uses in his career, he also touches on what it takes to be a good producer. [14:17] Leo Burnett wrote the book on bidding — and they wrote it well — Mike and Heather dive into the details of the firm bid process. [26:17] Email blasts are a great way to keep in touch with Mike, and he explains how to time them appropriately. He speaks to

Sandra loves partnering with creatives to weave visual stories. She is energetic, insightful, and generous and comes on the show today to shares her experience as well as a heap of invaluable tips. Tune in for a very dynamic episode!   Key Takeaways [:32] Heather introduces Sandra Sanchez and asks her to share how she made her way into art production from studying journalism and PR. She shares a surprising fact about herself. [7:45] Having worked under a decade in the industry is still enough time for Sandra to have seen changes. [10:37] It seems to be more difficult for broadcast producers to learn art production than the other way around, Heather and Sandra share their thoughts on why that may be. [15:20] Motion is a frequent ask, and more of it comes with bigger productions. Sandra speaks to how she chooses trustworthy people for her larger projects. [18:40] Sandra Shares a bunch of tips for photographers’ websites and talks about what makes a good site for an art producer. [20:39] On getting Sandra’s atte

Today’s episode is an expansion on the Dear Art Producer format! Monica Zaffarano, Photoshoot Producer and Founder of Trybe Production Collective comes on the podcast to share her experience on the importance of relationships, the growing prevalence of motion, and how to stay relevant in a changing industry.   Key Takeaways [:32] Heather introduces Monica Zaffarano and asks her to share how she made her way into production from ballet, musical theater, and acting. [5:45] Monica speaks about how Trybe Production Collective came about, the constantly evolving industry and why she ended up having to also do some freelance art buying! [11:15] Heather touches on a public collaboration idea she has been toying with regards to producers — but she has her hands full! [12:39] Monica and Heather speak to having a second person. [14:44] How does Monica keep it all together? Balance and boundaries are important, don’t say yes to too many things. [18:47] Most jobs have motion in them now, Monica details what that means op

Melanie Trombly shares a healthy dose of energy and experience, both production and agency side; tune in for an interesting discussion covering the creative call, snail-mail, and serendipitous dogs on Instagram!   Key Takeaways [:55] Heather introduces Melanie Trombly and asks her to share how she made her way into art production from touring and selling t-shirts to catalog houses — Melanie includes some tidbits about her stint in New Zealand working in a warehouse and as a tiler! [6:04] Melanie touches on the changes she has been seeing in the industry starting with the introduction of CGI, which leads to a conversation on the benefits of knowing the many facets of production in your agency. [11:42] Melanie speaks to the importance of communication when it comes to bids; she shares the process at her agency and touches on the client education she has to do. [17:30] The creative call is so important, Melanie shares her experience of a bad one as well as how she tries to make sure everyone has the right inform

Jamie Zimmermann is new to art producing; she joins the show to give a fresh perspective. Having been a rep, she shares how having seen both sides of the fence impacts how she tackles the job.   Key Takeaways [:55] Heather introduces Jamie Zimmerman and asks her to share the path that took her from studying photography in college, production, and repping, to where she is today. [4:45] Having been a rep, Jamie shares how she chooses to handle letting people know when they haven’t made the cut. Heather and Jamie also discuss what to do with large bid discrepancies. [8:13] Jamie touches on the budget differences she sees working with younger photographers as well as how social shoots manage to work with scrappier budgets. [11:44] Finding photographers for Jamie primarily goes through reps, because of the support system. [12:29] What advice does Jamie have for unrepped photographers looking to get hired? [14:27] Jamie will check a photographer’s Instagram to get a feel for their personality, but the creative call

Dawn comes on the show today and dives into a multitude of subjects ranging from photography not being the only option anymore, to where she picks photographers from, to the paramount importance of relationships — she shares what you should never hesitate to do if you’re looking to get yourself out there.   Key Takeaways [2:05] Heather introduces Dawn and invites her to talk about how she built her career at FCB Health, grew within the organization starting as a creative assistant straight out of college, and who some key people were in shaping the path that took her to where she is today. [9:23] In an industry that has seen so much change, Dawn touches on the increased workload that is required of people in a day thanks to technology, but also on the incredible variety of artistic visions we get to see because of it! [12:20] Dawn shares the crazy process of getting to the final three photographer choices starting with concepting — and the months and months of back and forth with the clients to hone in on wha

Kimber Leigh Nussbaum went from the theater to art production and grew up in the Golden Age of advertising. She shares her thoughts on the hustle of freelancing, social platforms, their usefulness and what photographers don’t know is shared about them behind the scenes.   Key Takeaways [2:05] Heather introduces Kimber and invites her to share the path that took her from a theater actress and singer to being Dave Jordano’s studio manager to where she is today. [6:12] Having “grown up” in the Golden Age of advertising photography, Kimber Leigh touches on the changes she has seen — starting with Dave Jordano’s beginnings with digital photography — and how digital has impacted workloads and schedules. [8:10] Kimber touches on how the 2008 depression impacted the client/agency/photographer relationships — after having bent over backward and compromised to keep accounts with skeleton budgets and crews in a depressionary economy, clients got savvy and expected more for less. [9:33] The best way Kimber has found to t

[:31] Heather introduces Kathleen Candelaria and invites her to share the path that took her from studying accounting to realizing she needed an art outlet to where she is today. [5:05] Kathleen talks about the key skills that some of her mentors taught her: keep a cool head, negotiate with your team, and people will ask for the impossible. When things get tense, Kathleen just puts all her chips in transparency [7:20] Kathleen and Heather discuss how experience begets confidence and trust and how important these are in a changing industry. [9:42] Social media was a huge game-changer for the industry and meant that everyone had to adjust quickly, Kathleen touches on how it has affected her teams and work and how she chose to work differently as she gained experience with new technologies. [13:24] Getting Kathleen’s attention starts with the work itself, it has to speak to her, regardless of the medium you choose to communicate with her. Don’t gimmick it up, make it all about the work and if you can get a meeti

Today, Julie Maxham comes to the show and shares the incredibly varied experience she gathered at the side of some amazing mentors.   She and Heather talk about best practices and today’s episode is full, full, full of hands-on tips on what to do with your online presence, how to have the best website and the type of information to put out there.   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Julie Maxham and invites her to share the path that took her from art school to saving Annie Leibovitz’s work from mini storage in New York, to where she is today. [12:45] Julie has benefited from a long list of amazing mentors, she explains how she developed her own art producer style while rubbing shoulders with the industry’s greatest. [14:32] Heather asks what Julie’s teams say about her! [15:49] Having a rep to work with — and then a good producer — just guarantees someone has your back, Julie explains how you can both help each other make sure no balls are dropped. [16:53] Julie shares what she feels have been the bigges

Jodi Miller has been in the industry since she was 19 years old. This breadth of experience has been serving her with Pharmaceutical contracts and now she uses her skills to produce shopper marketing.   In this episode, she shares actionable tips for photographers without reps, what to do with SAG projects and what the most important thing she teaches to her mentees.   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Jodi Miller and invites her to explain what shopper marketing is and to touch on what her career path has been like. [3:15] Jodi and Heather exchange on the importance of mentoring in this field. [5:25] Jodi shares what the biggest thing is that she tries to teach in this business — and why everyone needs to fail at it to understand truly. [9:25] When it comes to change, the most obvious one to Jodi has been the reduction of budgets coupled with bigger asks in smaller time frames. She also touches on how to handle clients who have too small budgets and too little timing. [14:52] Jodi’s a little bit old sch

Today’s episode marks a first in the coming expansion of the Dear Art Producer podcast’s format to include different roles in the creative process.   Jim Carlton joins the show to share his experience on a breadth of subjects from his perspective on the changes the industry has seen, to how to establish company culture, as well as some interesting tips and what he’s currently involved in.   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Jim Carlton and shares how they met years ago. [2:25] Jim is the perfect person to talk to about the creative process, but before diving into that, Heather asks where he finds his inspiration daily. [7:09] What is the one thing Jim does that surprises people? He shares the story of one lunch he shared with colleagues who floored him with their own surprising secrets! [10:29] Perseverance, self-knowledge, and fear of unhappiness drove Jim to forego one path and jump on the one that took him to his first job in advertising. [17:21] Jim and Heather touch on the changes they’ve seen since

Shari Goetz comes on the podcast today to talk about what being a freelance Art Producer means in today’s advertising market and she shares important tips on how to be hired back by an agency. Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Shari and asks her guest to talk about who she is, where she is from, how she found her way into art production, and how much technological evolution and industry changes have shaped the way we work and the kind of work she does today. [6:13] Shari shares that the relationship with the client today is very different: there is a lot more client contact and they want a lot of assets and material for all sorts of usages with more and more limited budgets. So, an important part of her job today is communication to establish priorities. [8:05] Heather and Shari touch on greay areas in terms of roles and responsibilities that were created by this new client proximity which the client accounts people used to take on. [12:34] Heather emphasizes the importance of communication and prioritiz

Liz Miller Gershfeld brings 20 years of experience to the conversation; she started in journalism and caught the production bug. Today, she shares a treasure trove of tips and best practices.   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Liz and asks her guest to talk about who she is, where she is from, how she found her way into art production, and what important skills are required for this line of work. [7:36] Art production includes so much more production than it did at the time it was called art buying, Liz touches on the paramount importance of flexibility in an industry where change is the norm. [9:25] There used to be a quantity minded media model that had a digital cadence — daily, weekly, or monthly social media updates for which content is required — but this is changing and some studies suggest that consumer attention is more focused on quality assets rather than quantity: we may see a return to the hero image! But all of this requires a lot of buyer education. [13:12] Some clients think in terms of

Ilona started as a receptionist and worked her way up to art production — a position she has now worked in for 17 years. She shares quite a few practical tips and a lot of insights on her experience.   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Elena and asks her guest to talk about who she is, where she is from, how she found her way into art production, and what important skills are required for this line of work. [7:43] The biggest change Ilona has seen on the agency side of the industry is that the amount of work and assets that are produced has increased exponentially over the course of the last 10 years. [9:37] Shooting print only simply does not exist anymore, and Ilona understands the client’s side of things in terms of getting more for your money and time — especially on shoots abroad — but it does require everyone to be a little more knowledgeable. [11:08] Broadcast is separate in the way that they create the ad spots, but in terms of social media videos, that is more integrated into Ilona’s shoots. [12

Lisa brings numerous years of experience to the table; she is an industry veteran and has worked as an Art Producer for the likes of Frankel and Leo Burnett. Not only that, she owes her own graphic design studio which honed her eye for artistic vision.   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Lisa and asks her guest to talk about who she is, where she is from, how she found her way into art production, and what important skills she learned along the way. [5:41]Lisa finds her photographers through resource websites, Workbook, AdEdge, LE BOOK, as well as her own massive digital files of photographers! [7:58] To catch Lisa’s attention, display your personal projects in a way that helps showcase your artistic voice and passion, have a website and Instagram — even if it’s a secondary resource for her. [10:31] Lisa recommends your website be really easy to navigate: organize your content in categories and use thumbnails. Don’t forget your contact information, including your phone number and address! [14:30] The est

After working for agencies, Marc Pakulski went freelance and now works with Nike. But before his 15 years of Art Production experience, he used to work with Prince! Tune in for an enlightening chat on what it takes to work in this industry and what working brand-side means.   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Marc and asks her guest to talk about who he is, where he is from, how he found his way into art production and what important skills he learned along the way, but first: how did Marc end up working on Prince’s music videos?! [7:08] Marc touches on how Nike keeps their image relevant through up-and-coming artists as well as influencers, but the combination of motion and stills has been the driving change in the industry as he has seen it. [11:20] Marc has an interest in new points of view and tries to keep current on unique styles and trends in photography, but a huge part of how a photographer is chosen is creative partnership. [15:43] Reps and agents are Marc’s primary source for finding photograp

Today’s episode is one of the few ones Heather has tackled with an art producer on the client’s side of things!   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Jody and asks her guest to talk about who she is, where she is from, and how she found her way into art production. [7:50] Jodi dives in deeper into her role at Starbucks and highlights the differences between working for a brand and working in an agency. [11:27] Starbucks does use advertising agencies and a lot of the work that shows up outside of the stores come from partner agencies. [13:16] Jodi does find that work flows freakishly fast on the in-house side, but it does lead to expectations becoming more and more intense. [16:26] The main way of grabbing Jodi’s attention is through her network — the agents and reps she knows, but she does recommend that the bulk of a photographer’s focus be on digital presence: Instagram, website, emails, and links, etc. [22:31] In terms of motion, some education still needs to occur internally with regard to photographer

Angela shares her breadth of experience, her love of the creative process, the shifting landscape of the industry, and the paramount importance of building trusting relationships and building for the long term.   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Angela Harken and asks her guest to talk about who she is, where she is from, and how she found her way into art production. [5:17] Angela talks about being a connector, hiring hybrids and the changing landscape of the industry and its impact on the role of art producer, which requires a wide set of skills. [8:59] In terms of client expectation, Angela has seen their need for cost efficiencies… ask about bundling and streamlining processes. But more and more, she sees clients coming in with their own photographer recommendations! [10:22] Heather asks how it is that Angela believes those clients come to hear about photographers they recommend? [12:35] Angela explains what the days of usage were and how it has been changing. [17:04] Getting an estimate approved fo

Hannah brings a decade of experience to the table and shares some really interesting insights, a few nuggets of cool information on working with pharmaceutical companies as well as the importance of treatments: they are read and they are valued!   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Hannah Wolfert and asks her guest to talk about who she is, where she is from, how she found her way into art production, the precious mentors that have helped her along the way and about Morty the new Catahoula puppy! [8:30] Smaller and smaller budgets is one of the most noticeable changes Hannah has seen in the last decade, along with an increase in the scope of the projects! Paperwork has also become cumbersome before a job is awarded. [9:40] Heather explains ‘Firm Bid’ process for the audience as well as the heft of paperwork required for pre-bidding in that kind of setting. [11:20] Dotting the ‘I’s and crossing the ‘T’s for getting a job approved in Hannah’s agency. [13:47] Hannah explains why it is that in most cases, pha