Utilizing an agnostic approach to new partnerships, Brooks Jones, Director of Enterprise Accounts at Hayden5, explains the unique strategy that helps them meet client's video content goals.
When searching for growth opportunities, how do you determine what is the right fit for the agency?
Hayden5 has seen the world of video evolve exponentially over its last 14 years in business. During that time, we’ve come to know firsthand that everybody has a need for video content, though the budget and plan of execution can obviously run the gamut.
We consider ourselves agnostic when it comes to the kinds of clients and partnerships we take on – meaning we work direct to brand, and also collaborate with publishers and agencies. Hayden5 is unique in that we can cater to the needs of just about any client that needs high-end video production and post support. Our approach involves identifying the clients we have had the most success with and then working to replicate those results with other similar companies.
All of that is to say, the right fit for us is an organization that has a need for consistent and scalable content – brands like Salesforce, Well+Good, and Meta, which call for both internal and external content. We come to the table thinking of ourselves as an extension of an organization’s in-house team, in a position where they can lean on us to help ensure they meet their video content goals.
What does exponential growth look like for your agency? For example, project work vs AOR pitches, geographic, interdisciplinary, etc.
In the last few years, Hayden5 has continued to grow its revenue and expanded to a team of more than 50 FTEs spread across three separate U.S. offices in New York City, LA, and Florida. We plan to soon expand further into London to serve the EMEA markets. We work with hundreds of brands, agencies and publishers, which make up collaborations split between retainers and project-based jobs.
Our strategy in generating that expansion has always come from a balanced approach marked by maintaining the health and growth of the relationships we currently have, while also sustaining a team dedicated to shoring up new business. We have to assume that some business will fade each year, so we have to supplement that turnover with sustained efforts to bring in new conversations and opportunities whether that be one off projects, or longer term retainers. We also prioritize technology to create efficiencies in our workflow and help us productize our offerings so that we can continuously sell within the organizations we already work with.
What are the key challenges and / or opportunities for brands in today’s marketing economy?
From my perspective, one of the biggest challenges that brands have is being able to constantly reinvent themselves to not just appeal to but speak the language of the next generation. In the past few years alone, we’ve seen a massive shift in how Millennials and Gen Z get their news and content, and I think that’s forced a lot of the clients we’ve worked with to reassess how they engage with new potential clientele. A few years ago, the focus was on Facebook video, either in live or short form snackable content, and now brands have shifted their attention to TikTok.
Today, there’s obviously been a significant increase in spend and strategy devoted to TikTok, both as a means to generate brand awareness and shopping all together. And it’s important for brands to recognize that if they want their voices to be heard, they need to speak the right language.
Given the uncertainty of the past couple of years, are there any trend predictions you have about where the ad and media industries are headed?
I think the ad and media industries will be increasingly interested in turning to companies like Hayden5 for a means to create cost efficient, and highly curated, scalable content. In looking at the current state of the economy and its widespread contractions, we know that we can play a bigger part in helping brands and agencies continue to drive their content forward. And the continual advancement of technology will also likely dovetail the desire for more video content. I think new technologies will serve as bridges for new mediums to house that content.
Along with that, there will continue to be a persistent demand for brands with authenticity that care about inclusion and making a positive impact on the world. Millennials and Gen Z audiences will remain increasingly interested in seeing brands show a diverse range of voices, a commitment to sustainability, and corporate responsibility.