The founder of a ※secret weapon§ for in-house agencies recounts how she transformed her production expertise into a new business model: the embedded production partner.
The last question I asked Ellen Utrecht was actually the first question I wanted to ask her 每 which was about her surname. ※Utrecht§ is of course a city in the Netherlands (pop. 376,435). Ellen is Dutch 每 that＊s your first clue. But stand by, because it gets better.
※It＊s actually an interesting story,§ she says. ※My grandfather＊s Indonesian, and I＊m not sure if you know this, but most Indonesian people, when they came to the Netherlands, chose their own surname 每 and a lot of them chose the names of cities. There are people called ＆Leeuwarden＊ for example. There＊s never any ＆van＊, though. So if someone has the name of a city, without the ＆van＊, they＊re usually of Indonesian descent.§
Cool, no? And that＊s the thing about speaking to Ellen. She＊s a very international person, so you＊re always on a journey. For instance, she＊s currently based in Venice, California. But her career began in Sydney, Australia. ※I arrived there as a backpacker, and I immediately thought, ＆If this is winter, I＊m in.＊ Because I was raised as a child in Portugal with Dutch parents, and I felt that Sydney was very much a combination of Amsterdam and Portugal: the lifestyle and living quality of Portugal, with the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam. The perfect city.§
She managed to get a job in the graphic design department of Saatchi & Saatchi, which gave her a grounding in the advertising world. After five years, though, she decided to head back to Amsterdam. ※This was in 2000, when a whole advertising scene began to explode there: you had Strawberry Frog, Wieden, 72 and Sunny, KesselsKramer＃§
With her Saatchi experience under her belt, she knocked on the door of KesselsKramer 每 and they let her in. ※But when I started working there, I realised I was a very mediocre creative. And I really didn＊t want to be mediocre. So I thought I＊d be a much better producer, because I＊m good at getting things done. I have a mixture of a creative and business brain. And I was very lucky that I was able to make that switch.§
She started out in print production, later moved into TV, and ended up as the agency＊s head of TV production. Interestingly, the agency didn＊t have account managers, so Ellen worked far more closely with clients than a traditional producer would do. That＊s when the idea for her own business formed.
An opportunity in a disconnect
※Social media was on the rise and I could see that there was already an irritation or a disconnect between brands wanting to create content at speed and agencies that couldn＊t keep up because it wasn＊t their billings model. Their structure slowed them down.§
As brands began to take creative in-house, Ellen spied a gap for production. What if she could position herself as a creative production partner? A white label extension for in-house teams that didn＊t have the resources to do the craft? That＊s how MikeTeevee was born. Roald Dahl fans will have spotted the reference to the TV-obsessed kid in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
※The character was addicted to content, which felt like the right tagline for us at the time,§ Ellen explains.
The company now has 34 full-time employees 每 with recourse to many freelancers 每 working out of London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Los Angeles, where Ellen is based. She saw an opportunity in the States when she was constantly flying to the US at the behest of an early client, Booking.com, which was working with the agency Deutsch there.
※I spent a lot of time in New York, but I knew it wasn＊t for me. After Portugal and Sydney, L.A. had more that kind of feel about it. So we set up here.§
Brands wanted to create content at speed and agencies couldn't keep up.
Not "if", but "when"
While keeping a low profile as the brands＊ ※embedded production company§, MikeTeevee has worked for clients such as Doordash, Lyft, Lidl and Zara, to name a few. The outfit may have been something of an outlier at first, but the in-housing trend has evolved into a significant industry shift.
※When I first came to the US eight years ago, it was quite hard for me to explain to brands what we were doing. Some in-house teams were doing in-store campaigns or below-the-line work, but not big above-the-line campaigns.§
However, Experian, the business services company 每 which is still a client 每 saw the potential of MikeTeevee and integrated it with a small in-house creative team. Many others have followed suit. ※I think today it＊s no longer a case of: ＆Will they take the creative in-house?＊ But ＆When 每 and at what pace?＊ I＊d say almost every big brand in the US now has an in-house team.§
Creativity begins at home
She even suggests that the in-house Chief Creative Officer could soon become the most influential person within a brand, at least on a par with the CMO. ※And our job is to execute on that CCO＊s vision. The best ideas come from within, but we can elevate those ideas with brilliant talent and the highest level of craft. That＊s always been our focus.§
To showcase and develop its craft skills, MikeTeevee also creates its own projects, for example a VR game called Shores of Loci, which won a prize at the Venice Film Festival a couple of years ago; the movie Killing Faith, starring Guy Pearce; and a series about the equestrian world, which promises to be Drive To Survive with horses, leading up to the 2028 Olympics.
A lot of its output is targeted at a female audience 每 and Ellen is a strong promoter of female talent. ※First of all, we＊re majority women here. Our leadership is all women. Our VR game was created by women for women. We champion female directors, female writers＃In general, when it comes to diversity, I＊d say we manage to keep a good balance.§
This includes recruiting young people. ※I feel it＊s getting more difficult for them with the emergence of AI. I mean, how are they going to get a foot in the door if all the jobs that used to be given to young people are done by AI? I think we have a duty as producers, as creatives, and as brands, to nurture talent.§
Plus, she adds with a smile, she doesn＊t want them to miss out. ※This is one of the best jobs there is.§
