Hasta La Creative!

This is a guest post by Paul Muratore, president and CEO of production support services firm Talent Partners.

In today’s economy, agencies are graded not only by how far they can stretch their imagination to make truly buzzworthy and impactful advertising, but also by how well they can stretch a dollar.  Advertising budgets are tighter than ever today; this at a time marked by the advent of new digital platforms where brands also have to make their mark, as the dollars available to achieve these expanded aims largely remain unchanged.

To meet this challenge, it is incumbent that agencies take maximum advantage of every possible way to return money to their clients, to make non-working production and talent dollars go further.

One opportunity agencies and in-house units may not be making the most of is Production Incentives.  This is the rich and ever-changing array of rebates, grants, tax credits and discounts that more and more U.S. states and municipalities, and their foreign counterparts, are offering to attract a slice of the massive amounts spent annually producing commercials. Why? Because commercial production, like film, can be deeply lucrative for where it takes place – with the monies spent on hotels, restaurants, local crews, local talent, equipment rental and transportation, etc.

Here’s a quick primer on what you need to know to begin maxing out the many benefits from Commercial Production Incentives:

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