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Harris: What do you feel is the key to creating a good working relationship between agencies and the studios or other clients they work with? How would you advise other marketers to develop such strong client relationships?
Scott: Respect the client. As cliché as it may sound, make the client a part of YOUR team. Then, they are not your evil taskmaster, they are your teammate.
Be transparent. Always be honest with them. Let them know where you're at -- ahead of schedule, a little behind, right on target. In the entertainment industry, the studios all have their own internal politics and headaches. They don't need more from you. Your agency has to maintain a sense of stability and order amidst the chaos of Hollywood drama. And hit those deadlines.
The best way to create problems is to NOT be transparent with a client.
Harris: How early in the process do you recommend studios bring their digital agencies into the marketing process? How can agencies work around being brought in late in the game?
Scott: With few exceptions, the earlier the better. An agency can begin to formulate ideas and have time to evolve them as the production evolves. Assets are always an issue. If you're on the project before -- or at least during -- production, you can ask for assets and special request photography, video, et cetera.
There is no workaround for coming in late. You have to be creative, which is in your job description anyway. Often, a studio will acquire a completed film with nominal assets. You just deal with it as creatively as possible. Sometimes we surprise ourselves by going in a completely different direction. Necessity is the mother of invention after all. We often use ourselves as body doubles to get angles for game assets or transitions. In fact, for the Sign This game on the "Talledega Nights" site, the entire Nascar grandstand crowd is composed of Jetset employees.
Harris: In general, how would you characterize your strategy for creating engaging digital marketing content? Are there rules that you feel agencies have to follow that don't apply to the traditional marketing industry?
Scott: We have always utilized the most basic operating procedure, which has served us well, and that is the rule of resonance. For something to click, to engage, to connect, it must resonate. We look for resonant themes in the source material and then build from there. The storylines, the characters, all of these things become key components of what ultimately will resonate with an audience.
There are no rules that I am aware of except the guidelines established by the MPAA, which is why the Age Gate was created.
Harris: In addition to websites, you've done a lot of work with viral videos, and emerging platforms like video games. Is there any medium that you are particularly fond of working with right now? Any predictions on emerging platforms that are poised to make your job easier or more successful in the near future?
Scott: As a writer, I enjoy the freedom of original video content. We did a viral piece for "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" called BeMyEx, and it was one of the most rewarding projects we have ever had the pleasure of producing. The site and the viral video were Webby Honorees, so our fun was obviously contagious.
I cannot predict the future, but it looks like the iPhone is going to make us all rethink mobile content, and desktop applications are going to move a lot of marketing activity offline and onto our PCs.
Harris: Who else in the business do you feel is doing a great job at developing engaging and well integrated digital campaigns? Any examples you can point to of your favorite entertainment marketing campaigns?
Scott: I have always enjoyed Big Spaceship's work. I loved the "Grindhouse" campaign. Deep Focus did beautiful work on "Pan's Labyrinth." Ted Perez + Associates are also very, very talented.
Harris: What's next for Jetset?
Scott: We're excited about "Superbad" for Sony. "Hot Rod" and "Bee Movie" (Paramount), though wildly different, are both amazing. "Veggie Tales" for Universal is a blast, and we are very excited to work with Overture on "Mad Money." We also have a great big project that is very hush-hush, but we'll tell you all about it as soon as we can… and I'm hard at work on my debut novel.
Harris: Anything else I missed?
Scott: Yes. My favorite movie of all time is "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
Jodi Harris is managing editor of iMedia Connection's Entertainment Spot. Read full bio.
