Who I work with · 02
From what you make to the problems you solve
I help creative studios and production companies define the problems they solve for clients, and turn that into a proposition that wins work.
Most studios describe themselves by what they make or who makes it: the roster, the craft, the technology. That worked when agencies were the buyer and the brief was already written. It works far less well with clients who care less about how something is made and more about what it will do for them.
A strong proposition starts on the client's side of the table. It names the outcomes you create, gives your team a story they can sell, and makes you the obvious choice for a particular kind of problem. I've run a studio myself, so I know the commercial pressure behind the question.
Proposition development
Usually not with yourselves. The answer is rarely in the showreel. It's in the problems clients brought you, the reasons they came back, and the work you're proudest of for what it achieved rather than how it looked.
I work with leadership to draw that out, test it against the market and land it as a clear proposition: what you solve, for whom, and why you're better placed than anyone else to solve it.
Sales narrative and credentials
A proposition only matters if the people selling can use it. Too many end up as a strapline on the website while the sales team carries on pitching the same credentials deck.
I turn the proposition into tools your team will actually use: the narrative, the credentials, the case studies, and a way of talking about outcomes rather than capabilities.
Go-to-market and rollout
A new proposition changes who you talk to and how. Done well, it lands with clients and your own people at the same time.
I plan the rollout across your website, sales, PR and channels, so the proposition is visible everywhere a client meets you and starts showing up in the pipeline.
Case study · Pixel Artworks
Pixel Artworks, global experience studio
Pixel Artworks' positioning, "Magical and measurable: shared immersive experiences", was showing its age. "Immersive" had become one of the most overused words in the industry, and "measurable" was a promise the studio found hard to live up to in practice.
Going back to first principles about what experiences are for. People are surrounded by screens and brand experiences around the clock, and being seen isn't the same as being felt. Many experiences impress in the moment; the ones that matter change something that lasts. That became the studio's core belief, with change defined in three ways: emotional (how people feel), cognitive (how they think or understand) and behavioural (what they do differently).
Starting with the human shift, not the format
A position that gives the team a sharper way to open every client conversation, with the outcome the client wants rather than the technology. It also replaces a hard-to-keep promise of measurability with a more honest one: success measured by what carries forward.
Thinking
For many studios, selling straight to brands is the obvious route to growth. It can be, but it needs a different proposition from the one that works with agencies. Brands buy outcomes, not rosters.
What changes when a production company goes direct to brands
Coming soon
Selected clients
