Undervalued and Overlooked, Producers are the Linchpin of Great Creative

The Producer Landscape Study validated what Pascal and Pines knew to be true, but also uncovered opportunities for agencies and producers.

Highly experienced but underutilized

One stat that leaped out to Pascal and Pines highlighted how experienced the producer discipline is. 75% of producers are experts in the craft, meaning they’re mentors, leaders, and executives, while 80% have been practicing for over eight years.

Unfortunately, that level of seniority is often stymied by a lack of central or retained roles. 63% of respondents have been in their current role for three years or less, and 23% are freelance, which leads to these experienced practitioners being underutilized.

The data found, however, that the more producers own client relationships, make decisions in scoping, and directly contribute to the work, clients are more satisfied and projects are more successful.

“There is a connection between how you situate and empower the role and the outcomes with clients and in the work,” said Pascal.

Advice for agencies

As the creative industry continues to evolve, agencies must recognize the critical role producers play in the process. But old, siloed ways of working, in which creatives take top billing and the lead on work, might be working against elevating the producer, Pines said.

“Everything is about creative—it’s the creative director, it’s the designer, it’s the writer, it’s the idea behind it—and everything else around it is invisible. As a result, people don’t actually connect what producers do to the creative and innovative outcome,” said Pines.

Pines added that producers at agencies can remove the kinds of blockers that trip up excellent work, but since it’s not a hard skill, like designing or writing, it can be undervalued and misunderstood. With AOR designations less common today, more agencies need the guidance of a producer to see projects through to the end.

Pascal hopes that the study illuminates the role producers play while creating an industry-wide benchmark for evaluating success in the role, and also building a pipeline for the discipline.

“The number of people who are junior in this discipline is negligible, with only 4% between zero to three years of experience,” said Pines.