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‘This business needed to modernise itself, and we’ve done a brilliant job of that’: MADE THIS bosses reflect on year one
Clemenger BBDO’s MADE THIS has just turned one, and has had a hugely successful twelve months, despite the various pressures facing the creative industry.
Mumbrella's Lauren McNamara sat down with the production division's managing director Vinne Schifferstein and Clemenger BBDO’s chief executive officer, Dani Bassil to chat all about it - the opportunities, the obstacles, and the accomplishments.
Launched in November last year, Clemenger BBDO’s specialist production company, MADE THIS, has had a stellar twelve months.
Described as a year of “transformation” for Clemenger BBDO and the wider Clemenger Group, the addition of MADE THIS was a necessary one, according to chief executive officer Dani Bassil.
Having spent the last 20 years overseas before returning to Australia to run the agency, she says her time abroad taught her that production has become a key differentiator for agencies, especially in the new business process.
So when it was clear to her that Clemenger BBDO needed to rejuvenate, the most obvious solution was building out its production capabilities.
“I knew how important it was to the group that this business needed to modernise and build out that capability, and I think they’ve done such a brilliant job of that,” she reflects.
Bassil and Schifferstein
While Clemenger BBDO had an existing production offering, eg+, a complete overhaul was necessary to move forward. The eg+ team was therefore folded into the new offering, MADE THIS, with a new focus of blending craft and innovation.
“It’s been transformational,” managing director, Vinne Schifferstein, tells Mumbrella. “The rebrand was a massive sigh of relief in the team, but also with our clients – it was this collective celebration of doing something new now.”
The team of 60 were given a “breath of fresh air” and were given opportunities to extend their own learning journeys as the capabilities were built out across film, tech, creative, and more, Schifferstein explains.
“They’d been working on a specific type of work for a very long time, but now they can tap into much more.”
Schifferstein and Bassil also started building an offshore hub for all the “hands-on-keyboards” type of work, which has pushed clients to be more cost effective, which, in turn, has given MADE THIS the chance to stretch to lower-cost markets too.
Starting with such a strong foundation was crucial as Schifferstein reminds Mumbrella MADE THIS isn’t “just another startup production company”.
“We have to deliver from the get-go to the level of Clems, Colenso, Traffik,” she says. “We not only had to convince the world that we have met those levels, but we also had to convince our colleagues within Clemenger Group.”
The production company’s vision — of combining craft and innovation — has manifested itself throughout the last year greatly, starting with the addition of Ainslee Littlemore as head of content production.
“Her film team can be compared to any really good production company out there, so to lift off with that artistry, that craft, has been incredible,” Schifferstein says. “Clems has really high standards when it comes to the quality of the work, and we’re delivering on that level of craft.”
Alongside the artistry, the production company’s adoption of AI and technology has allowed it to push the boundaries.
Schifferstein describes MADE THIS’ proposition as unique in the way it engages with AI, which has allowed it to deliver at scale – but still with the aforementioned quality of craft. And its success came from the appointment of Marie-Celine ‘MC’ Merret.
Merret and Schifferstein
“We really needed someone to push our limits, and we couldn’t have done that without MC on board.”
Bassil agrees, and says the quality is a key differentiator for the agency. Despite the old adage of ‘if it’s fast and it’s cheap, it won’t be good’, Bassil says it doesn’t work like that anymore. MADE THIS, she says simply, is fast, is cheap, and is good.
“The reason we continue to build this is because we are in fact the custodians of the brand in every way, shape, or however it manifests,” she explains. “We’re at every touch point now, and we’ve got that high bar, and we’re hitting it.”
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing though. In the past twelve months, MADE THIS has faced the pressures of the industry much like anyone else.
“The market has been slower with regards to pitches in general, and probably even more so in the production space, so that’s one thing we probably didn’t see coming,” Schifferstein reflects.
Bassil jokes: “Yeah, we couldn’t quite predict the recession that we’re in.
“We’re doing alright despite the economic pressures out in the marketplace,” she adds.
With the unstable market having an impact on teams, Schifferstein says she is also making sure to really nurture the talent at MADE THIS.
Despite this, and despite being around for only twelve months, MADE THIS has really kicked off with a bang, creating some incredible work with leading local and global brands.
It played in the out-of-home space with a technologically-advanced billboard experience for L’Oréal’s Kérastase Premiére range, it collaborated with Team X Australia to develop campaigns for Mercedes-Benz, it has new clients including Movember and Amazon, and – a personal favourite of Bassil and Schifferstein – it developed a content series for Carlton & United Breweries’ Great Northern Beer, just to name a few.
While this past year has, again, been transformational for Clemenger BBDO and MADE THIS, the next twelve months will be even bigger. Bassil and Schifferstein plan to continue building, continue transforming, and continuing leading in the craft and innovation production space.
“Clients are demanding more innovation and automation in whatever we do, but also really want that lift in artistry,” Schifferstein concludes.
“So we’re continuing what we’re doing because we’ve got a winning formula here, but also really continuing to build and push our limits.”
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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Clemenger BBDOClemenger GroupDani BassilMADE THISVinne SchiffersteinVinne Schifferstein Vidal
So it’s EG+, just with a different name?
Plus in a ‘recession’, wouldn’t you expect a fast, cheap and good content production offering to kill it?
If not now, when?
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