From the start
If you have an allocated budget, then you should be able to get your share of production time. If not, then the agreement probably wasn’t specific enough up front in terms of the order of the shot list and time per shot.
By contrast, if you’re invited to come along and pick up some online assets, then you may have to be a bit more diplomatic. These days, I can’t imagine even the most indifferent offline creative person not caring about having an interactive campaign idea. And if you need a good starting point for your negotiations, I’d focus on issues like delivering a more integrated creative effort. Most creatives should get this point, and if they don’t, their creative director probably will.
You can also demonstrate that there are things that make online commercial production different from offline spots. I’ve listed a number of these in my first article. YouTube also has a great section on their site called Video Toolbox that features video production tips.
Lastly, pull out some metrics on the expanding impact of in-stream video ads. Let them know that internet video has a relationship to TV ads-- sort of like what meteors have to dinosaurs. They’ll need to figure this stuff out at some point. Might as well start now.
Get in at the creative brief level
By reviewing the traditional agency's creative brief -- if it's not the same as yours -- you'll help make sure that your conceptual thinking is on the same page as everyone else's. It's first on this list because it's the most important step in an integrated process.
Attend the creative presentations or pre-production meetings
The creative presentations and pre-pro meetings will give you a needed understanding of everything that will be at your disposal at the shoot. The sets or locations, the type of talent, props, camera angles-- these are all good to know, whatever your level of involvement. If you’re highly-limited in the shot list for your own spot, then leveraging as many of the TV shoots’ assets as possible will improve the production quality of your own spot.
The more you know about their spot, the better you’ll be able to adapt assets to yours.
