No Place Like Home

Anne Ganguzza and Mark Sevi

Question:  With all the video production (and Voiceover!) talent here in Orange County why would an Orange County ad agency go to Los Angeles for their production needs?

Answer:  We don’t know.  Let’s ask them.

That simple and brilliant premise posited as a result of an MAOC board of directors meeting one afternoon drove the event and the evening at the glorious Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach on August 17, 2011.

The Media Alliance of Orange County (MAOC), in cooperation with the Orange County branch of the Advertising Federation, gathered companies who hire video producers for their ad campaigns, and video producers who normally don’t get a chance to compete in that production arena because the ad agencies go to L.A. for their needs.  The convergence created, by design, a conversation that would help illuminate the process of why that doesn’t happen and what could be done to change that paradigm.

Fabulous Food!

The evening began right with one of the more amazing free finger-food spreads seen in recent memory. Rei Strand, media director of the Fairmont, is to be congratulated for hosting the event for the Fairmont.  Her and her impeccable staff made the evening really work.  The food and setting was, in a word, spectacular, and set the tone for a fantastic open and honest dialogue about the whys and why nots of ad agencies hiring locally rather than continuing to take their business to agencies not situated in Orange County - more specifically Los Angeles, the undisputed champ of film production in the world.

Current MAOC president Gregory DePetro (CVFStudios.com) himself a local and highly-successful video producer, moderated a panel of notable O.C. video producers and ad people.  The panel included:

Panelists from Video Production/Post-Production side:
    Jonathan Fackler, The Narnia Group
    Brad Hagen, Video Resources  
    Robb Hart, An Ideal World
    Tim Keenan, Creative Media Recording

Panelists from Ad Agency side:
    Joe Burke from Denizen USA
    Jonathan Gasteiger from OC Media Works
    Lisa Marie Smith from Sprint

MAOC President Greg DePetro leads the animated discussion

The panelists were asked to give brief introductions, and then DePetro led the discussion with a few prepared questions followed by questions from the audience.

“Would the ad agencies represented here tonight take unsolicited demos?” an attendee asked.

All panel members agreed that they would be more than happy to take unsolicited demos but they challenged the audience to "wow" them; show them something different; a unique perspective as to why they’d want to hire someone new (and from the O.C.) when they’ve been successfully using other video production companies elsewhere.

In response to a question of why ad agencies tend to look outside of Orange County for services and talent:  “Most (of us) are simply not aware of what is available in Orange County, as well as the more ‘global’ aspect of the industry where we can find resources and talent quickly online.”

Panelists Joe Burke, Lisa Marie Smith, Jonathan Gasteiger

It was agreed that all panelists routinely utilize online resources in their day-to-day tasks in doing their job quicker and more efficiently with their existing clients, as well as looking for new ideas.

Tim Keenan, an MAOC board member and panelist from the production side mentioned as part of the response that he worked all around the world to emphasize that the O.C. label is only geography and not a measure of quality or skill.

Discussion and questions regarding savings cost by staying local and working within Orange County were presented.  In response it was agreed by panelists that they would rather stay local if they could get the same quality services and talent within Orange County.

Video Production/Post Production Panel:
Tim Keenan, Jonathan Fackler, Brad Hagen, Robb Hart

Ad panelist Joe Burke mentioned that he moved from Santa Monica to Orange County for better "living" - and loves it here - but also stated that there was an impression that O.C. people close their doors at 5:00 pm.  This is a perception problem and one that needs to addressed industry-wide he said.

Also mentioned as still lacking in Orange County are major stages where a huge set could be built.   Implicit in that comment was that L.A. has a myriad of stages large and small.  This, again, is an O.C. industry-wide problem and perhaps not one that will be resolved any time soon.

One of the panelists toward the end of the evening mentioned that people in L.A. “burn the blue flame” for this business.  He said that they do it to obsession and do whatever it takes, and will do a demo to get work.

MAOC Board Members Art Kirsch and Anne Ganguzza

When the floor was opened to comments, Rick Sherman (Sherman Sound Suite) took slight exception to that statement and spoke passionately to invalidate it.  “I am willing to do anything it takes, and I'm willing to work 24/7 at my job, just like the L.A. people you mentioned,” he said.  “And I know, from working with a lot of the industry pros present in the audience tonight, that media professionals here in Orange County feel that way too.”  Many heads nodded in agreement especially those who knew of and shared Sherman’s excellent and uncompromising work ethic.

Anne Ganguzza (V.O. Peeps/annespeak.com) mentioned that becoming aware of the jobs the ad agencies do on a daily basis increased her level of understanding as to how to compete in the market more effectively.  All who were polled after the event seemed to be in agreement with this.

By evening’s end, in the balmy Newport Beach night, there was more than a glimmering of hope that there were many more opportunities in Orange County than were once thought of, and that a dialogue had begun that would help foster those opportunities.  There was agreement that there really isn’t anything separating the sides, or reasons why an ad agency, at certain levels, would seek to go somewhere else, as opposed to staying local, to get video production and post-production services, voice talent or actors.  "Los Angeles may have more but they don’t necessarily have better", was the consensus.

Nanci Washburn, from Artist Management Agency wrote to say: "The August event at the Fairmont was outstanding.  As the new "kid" on the block, I was warmly received by the members, introduced to those I didn't know, found the panel members most interesting, informative and the hospitality was most gracious.  The martini's weren't bad either.  I look forward to seeing everyone at the next event."


The MAOC has committed to having similar events in the future.