Advertising Agency and Process Structure!! 13Lisa: If it is a good experienced producer who has a good track
record with the agency and specifically with the creatives, the
producer might have a great relationship with the creative direc-
tor or just with the art director on the team. If that is all in place,
I would say my input is pretty well accepted and important, and
I would say anywhere between 50 and 75 percent in my particu-
lar case. The norm is that the producer is not part of the creative
team. The more unusual situation is when the producer is
brought in to offer creative solutions. I have been asked to devise
storyboards based on how it will affect production.
MZ: I have worked with producers who have no creative input. Is
that unusual?
Lisa: I would say it’s common. I’d say it’s 50-50. For example, it
depends upon how strongly a copywriter or an art director feels
about an area of expertise in a commercial. In the area of music,
the copywriter or the art director more often than not have a spe-
cific point of view. I would say music is the area in which—for
myself—my opinion might be less taken. In the area of music,
I’d say the creative teams really rule.
MZ: Do producers specialize in certain types of productions?
Lisa: Absolutely. I am beauty [production]. There are producers
who just work on cars. Retail is an area, knowing how to tag
[change endings] hundreds and hundreds of versions a year...
that’s a specialty, and there are many nuances involved with that
... in just cranking out and knowing how to get the best prices.
MZ: Do freelance producers usually market themselves in one
area?
Lisa: No, they shouldn’t. It’s too limiting. There are so few jobs out
there, and if you are lucky, you are going to be able to be work-
ing on many different things, so that you can have a number of
different types of works on your reel and you can keep selling
yourself in any area.
MZ: How often does the style of the final music end up being what
the creatives first envisioned?
Lisa: I’d say 25 percent of the time the original style of music, as
directed, is accepted in the end.
MZ: What advice can you give to composers who want to compose
advertising music?
Lisa: Versatility is really great or just being really fabulous doing
one particular style of music. That way you can freelance and
work for a number of different music companies, with them
knowing that you are an expert in one particular style of music.
If you want to have your own music company, you do need to
be versatile. Work for someone for a number of years is the best
advice because it’s really hard.