DDB's global production platform hopes will deliver a more effective, consistent and transparent advertising supply chain

Matt Davis professes to feeling a certain amount of surprise. The production director for print and studio at DDB in Chicago has just taken part in a debate about how technology can help the creative process in advertising, and he’s a little puzzled.

“People were confused and there should be no confusion,” he begins, speaking to PMM immediately after a debate at mediaPro 09 in November. “It’s very clear what agencies and production and procurement should be doing. There were comments about standards and R&D investment, and that surprised me. We know where we have to go. Technology is an enabler, and we are only filling in the last 30% of gaps with technology now. We have got most of it. People seem to be scared of moving to a platform, but I feel we are there.”

The direction that agencies and clients should be looking at is that of the global production solution. Davis says that working as production silos didn’t work, because “we did a pretty bad job of supporting creatives”. Getting processes right across the organisation will enable the whole supply chain to work more effectively and with more consistency and transparency.

“The plan moving forward is that, as these 60-year-old agency organisations find out more about what production is, they will start to see the big picture of where they can go with it,” Davis continues. “If we can get the production right, we can get back to having great creative. We want to make production a moot point, allowing more time to craft the product. That’s how I see the challenges of the future.”

DDB’s own progress has been substantial, and benefits from agency management having a clear idea of what the objective is. “We’ve spent five years talking to them, writing papers, proving certain tests, and applying it to certain customers with great success. We’ve spent a lot of time planning for it, and we’re 95% there now. Now it’s about slowly bringing these methods together,” Davis stresses.

The global production solution will have to be an allchannel solution, incorporating print, broadcast, online, outdoor and mobile. Clients will need an end-to-end solution encompassing all of these channels; and it goes even further, into warehousing and distribution also – an often forgotten aspect of the service, says Davis.

DDB’s global production and procurement network is called Gutenberg Networks, and has been active in Europe since June 2009. Jonathan Goulding, CEO of Gutenberg Networks London, joined with Davis to speak to PMM. Goulding’s view is that the three-year-old Magic and Logic debate is now slightly dated.

“It’s now more about the Magic in the Logic,” he begins. “How you can make the Logic just leap forward. If you can do that, you are laughing.”

Goulding says that 2009 has seen a “tidal wave” of clients asking for the global production solution, and digital production – as opposed to print media or TV – is going to be a massive factor. He sees it as a golden opportunity for agencies. “Digital is absolutely coming down the track,” he continues. “There’s been very little consideration given to workflow technologies that actually deal with that. I don’t know how you can talk about Magic and Logic without talking about digital.”

Furthermore: “There are two things that separate digital from TV and print: it’s far easier to remove cost from digital; and it’s a delivery disaster area. Probably more than 50% of campaigns are a mess, which means that procurement can save buckets of money. I would love that to be debated.”

It follows that the application of technology such as Adstream’s, alongside a more professional, rigorous approach, could produce some quick and easy wins in the digital media production sphere. “The trick for Adstream will be to combine workflow with the visible production frameworks and more rigorous checkpoints, so you know that what you’re looking at will work,” says Goulding. “If you get that right for digital, you will be sitting on a reasonable-sized gold mine.”

Clear thinking and detailed planning have guided DDB’s strategy towards a global production network. Proof of concept is in the process of being delivered.