Interview: Managing the Producers – Kate Umfreville
Posted by
Last month we announced in our news the appointment of Kate Umfreville as Managing Partner of The Producers, an agency that seems to have threaded the needle of COVID restrictions in 2020 and come through 2021 with a series of successful activations.
We decided to welcome Kate to the new role with 3 questions about the agency and its direction.
What does it mean to you to become MP of The Producers?
The Producers is an extension of my British family, so it means the world to me to be its new Managing Partner. Having been part of the wider PrettyGreen group for seven years and shaping the proposition of The Producers for its birth in 2019, which also coincided with my first daughter’s birth, the agency has always been a part of me. Pushing the boundaries of what is possible is at the heart of what we do. We are driven to deliver Less Ordinary creative experiences that meaningfully bring brands to life whether that’s being provocative by bringing to life female folklore with Audible, innovating by testing the boundaries of technology with Three’s Central Saint Martin’s Virtual Catwalk or delivering a Lego immersive experience last Christmas when no-one thought it possible due to Covid regulations.
Do you think that the Producers weathered COVID better than some brand experience agencies? Why?
The experience industry hit two major challenges in 2020. Covid and Brexit. Each intertwined to create the perfect storm for us all, which made delivering live experiences extremely challenging. It’s been devastating for some as they were set up in a way which meant their focus was on the production of live events. However, The Producers was set up to deliver creative experiences, and while this has largely been live events, it’s also taken many other forms from PR stunts, the production of unique content or engaging with consumers in the digital space. We spent 2020 pivoting face-to-face experiential campaigns to deliver hybrid virtual experiences as our brand clients still needed to deliver real emotional connection with their consumers. To help solutions be ‘risk-free’ we delivered content-led experiences using incredible advances in technology. We also worked closely with experts across health and safety and legal, to ensure everything we delivered, whether that’s direct to consumer or content production, was delivered safely. I’m extremely proud that throughout the Pandemic, we have kept all our staff on the payroll.
What excites you about the next 12 months ahead?
As an industry, we have a responsibility to minimise our impact on the climate crisis, so I am excited about driving the agency to deliver net zero carbon experiences as part of our commitment to be a net zero business next year. This will impact every aspect of the way we deliver experiences, so it’s going to be a challenge, but one we are ready to tackle.
