Learn more about how our Business Affairs team can help you get it right when it comes to rights management, SAG-AFTRA signatory, and more.
In the latest episode of Master Your Craft, Rori Floyd, SVP of Global Business Affairs and Talent Payroll, and Mark Egmon, VP of Business Development, dive deep into the evolving challenges impacting today’s advertising ecosystem, including AI in commercial advertising, global rights management, and the growing decentralization of production.
One major shift they identify: the increasing role of AI in commercial advertising. “I would say that one of the main trends is AI. And how—and whether or not—it can be used in commercial advertising,” says Floyd. “As we all know, that was the catalyst for the strike that occurred between WGA and SAG-AFTRA determining what fair compensation would be for these individuals as they would be utilized.”
Another mounting challenge is rights management—especially as global advertisers create more content across more platforms than ever before. Egmon notes, “There’s so much production going offshore right now, so that’s impacting the average worker, whether it’s a crew member or an actor… it ripples all the way into support businesses, the caterers, the equipment rental houses, payroll.”
Advertisers have also moved away from centralized agencies with built-in business affairs support. As Egmon explains, “Now they’ve gone to a whole cadre of creative partners. Many of those partners don’t have the internal business construct to really manage these rights correctly.” And as Floyd points out, that often leads to content being used without the proper rights or clear documentation in place. “We find ourselves stepping in to support advertisers and agencies when there’s unauthorized usage of content… and covering off on things that I think the advertiser assumed was covered in their production agencies staff support.”
While tech tools can help manage these processes, Egmon stresses that they only work when built on the right foundation. “There’s always people out there with technology solutions… but a lot of times people try to leapfrog and put the technology first, and that’s when you see it sort of fail. They don’t have the experts, they don’t have the process, but they have the tool.”
Catch the full episode above or listen on your favorite podcast platform to learn more about how business affairs is adapting, and why getting it right is more important than ever. And learn more about how we can help you get it right.
