You Don’t Have a Creative Problem—You Have a Production One

Great ideas are everywhere. From groundbreaking experiences to bold campaigns, most creative teams aren’t short on vision–they’re short on support.

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Talking to brand and agency leaders, the pattern is clear:

-> The idea is there.

-> The energy is there.

But somewhere between the brainstorm and the budget meeting, momentum fades. 

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Not because the idea lacks potential. But because the road to bringing it to life feels too risky, too costly, or too unclear.

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Creativity deserves better. Because the truth is, the biggest roadblock to bold ideas isn’t imagination.

It’s production.

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Production is often treated as an afterthought. That’s the problem.

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It’s tacked on at the end, once the idea is fully baked and signed off. But by then, the window of opportunity for real impact has already passed. At that point, producers are trying to figure out how to retrofit that ambitious concept into a too-tight timeline, a shrinking budget, or a preset format. 

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The result? Watered down work that falls short of its original intent. And a frustrated team wondering what went wrong.

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The reality is, the best production doesn’t just make ideas happen. It elevates them.

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In today’s climate, bold thinking isn’t optional–it’s the only way to stand out.

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Marketing budgets are under more scrutiny than ever, attention spans are shrinking, and creativity is forced to do more with less. That’s where production can actually become a huge creative asset. If you rethink how and when you use it.

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Smart production isn’t about checking boxes. It’s proactive, adaptive, and strategic. It’s just as much about creativity as it is about logistics. Nowadays, that often means using technology to work smarter, faster and more globally–from AI-assisted workflows to cloud-based collaboration.

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This mindset shift leads to something really important: 

Instead of asking “What’s the safest way to get this done?”

Start asking “What’s the smartest way to bring this idea to life? In the best way possible? Maybe even better?”

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How leading creative teams are changing their approach.

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We’re seeing a shift in how the most successful in-house and agency teams work. Here’s what’s starting to become the new norm:

• Involving production partners earlier in the ideation process. Not just to check feasibility and cost, but to explore better ways of executing the core idea.
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• Building a bench of trusted external collaborators. To supplement internal bandwidth and bring fresh, execution-first thinking to the table.
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• Using production strategy to drive innovation. Reimagining timelines, formats, tools, partnerships and future needs from the start.
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• Leveraging emerging tech. Like AI to streamline repetitive tasks, improve versioning and unlock real-time collaboration, freeing teams up to focus on higher-value creative thinking.

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The result? Ideas that feel bold and achievable. 

Teams that move faster. 

Budgets that go further. 

And creative work that actually gets made–without compromising.

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In many cases, tech-enabled production is what makes all this possible—automating the grunt work and speeding up the good stuff.

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A challenge for creative leaders: Reframe what production means.

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Production shouldn’t be the step you dread. It should be the moment your idea accelerates. If your team’s always scaling back at the eleventh hour, it’s not a creativity issue. It’s a process issue. 

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Take a step back and rethink how production fits into your workflow. Reevaluate the partners you rely on. And think about what’s possible if production wasn’t the obstacle–but the thing that unblocks it all.

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Your team already has the vision. Make sure your production process is built to support it

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Sometimes that means rethinking the production plan. Sometimes it means jumping in early to make sure everything stays on track. Every time, it’s about protecting the best ideas and bringing them to life with collaboration, not compromise.

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How Early Production Involvement Can Change the Game:

Here’s an example of how early involvement and creative thinking can completely flip the script.

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We recently worked with Pepsi on their Global Brand Debut, where they were unveiling their first new logo in 14 years. The stakes were high. The idea was bold. But like many teams, they were concerned about the timeline, wondering if it could really come together under the constraints. We didn’t just look at the budget or feasibility, we focused on how to shape the entire production process in the smartest way possible, ensuring the idea could come to life the way it was intended. 

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Instead of sticking with traditional analog shoots that would have required multiple physical set builds and weeks added to the timeline, we introduced LED volume walls and 3D-printed custom rigs which cut 24 days off the production schedule. We also used AI technology during post-production to streamline the process, improving both efficiency and the final creative output.

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The lesson here? Early involvement in production doesn’t just solve problems–it elevates the idea. Pepsi was initially prepared to scale back or rethink the project completely, but we showed them a better path forward. We didn’t just suggest different suppliers. We gave them the confidence to take a leap and make bold choices, ultimately delivering something that was even better than expected.

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Let’s Solve This Together

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If you’re finding that big ideas are getting stuck or slowed down because production wasn’t part of the plan from the start, you’re not alone. We work with in-house teams at Pepsi, Sephora and Kohler to help them figure out how to get production involved earlier, so they don’t hit those roadblocks later.

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Talk to us about what’s working, what’s not, and maybe we can help you find a smoother way to get things done.

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📩 Reach out at newclient@makers.to

🔍 Or take a look at how we support teams through strategic production planning