Simian, the industry-leading production asset management service, has underscored its support for helping production and post companies win more jobs by signing on as the first sponsor of the Alliance of Independent Representatives (AIR). The announcement was made jointly by AIR President Veronica Lombardo of VLM, Vice President Ann Asprodites of Asprodites Reps and Simian’s Head of Sales, Kellie Atton.
As part of the agreement, AIR has designated Simian as its exclusive video sharing and reel building partner with Simian becoming the preferred platform for showreels among its members.
In addition, Simian will extend its popular and successful series of virtual roundtables to the repping community, hosting a regular series of Rep Roundtables to discuss best practices and innovations in reel building, tracking and analytics aimed at getting work seen and in turn winning more jobs. The goal of this outreach is twofold as it helps reps connect with their peers in meaningful ways while providing Simian with deeper insights as to what reps need to address a rapidly-changing marketplace.
“As everyone knows, asset management tools like Simian are what reps use to not only present their talent for job opportunities but also to promote and share new work,” says Lombardo. “We live and die by the way the asset management tool looks and by its ease of use, its analytics and its overall performance. It’s likely the most important piece of technology we rely on day-to-day so entering into this agreement with a company like Simian is a huge advantage for AIR.”
“Having been in this business awhile, you realize that confidence comes not only from the platforms that work but also from the people behind the curtain,” adds Asprodites. “I was thrilled that Kellie and her team were so supportive and proactive.”
“We’ve been committed to helping creative companies work smarter and win more jobs since day one,” says Atton. “It drives so much of our ongoing updates and upgrades and serves as the motivation for things like our Heads of Production roundtables, our investment in deep analytics and our Reel Insights research into what makes for the most effective reels. So when we learned about the launch of AIR, it seemed like the perfect match for us.”
The sponsorship deal will provide Simian with the opportunity to present updates in its platform technology to an open forum of AIR members and by extension to their respective roster companies. The move comes at a time when the importance of presentation media and showreels has taken on a new light now that in-person screenings of new work and new talent have become more difficult. Simian’s efforts to enhance its presentation offerings are geared to help reps bridge the gap the pandemic has created.
“Covid has changed the way reps introduce talent to their buyers,” Lombardo says. “We can’t simply stand in front of a room of producers and creatives and tell them how fabulous someone is or share an anecdote or story that illustrates their cleverness or on-the-spot creative thinking. That all has to be wrapped up in our email submissions. I’ve found that being able to integrate additional information like a directors’ bio with a headshot, for example, has been very valuable.
“We’re talking with Simian about developing features that would include added content beyond video files or a simple PDF,” Lombardo continues. “This sponsorship will make it easier for us to share those ideas and collaborate on ways to enhance the content of reels.”
“More and more we have to think a step ahead to keep our own audience – those viewing the reels – interested and engaged,” notes Asprodites, “and Simian is truly a partner in that regard.”
For Lombardo, Simian’s interest in AIR demonstrates that “they understand our needs and are listening to the rep community to enhance the features that ultimately help the marketing process in significant ways. This benefits both our members and Simian users.” Adds Asprodites, “The respect that’s inherent in Simian’s commitment to AIR shows not just in their technology but also in their responsiveness and ability to provide support. This very human side sets Simian apart from their competitors.”
AIR officially launched last fall as the industry’s first trade association for the representation community. It grew out of an organic and ad hoc coming-together by a group of like-minded reps who saw at the start of the pandemic a need to create a sense of community among their colleagues.
With a growing list of members that includes reps in Canada and Europe, AIR is developing industry standards and best practices, mounting informational seminars and presentations; addressing pressing topics and issues; and partnering with counterpart associations in the production, post, agency and advertiser arenas to advance common interests. It also offers a full membership directory that can be filtered by region and under its ‘Looking for Representation’ feature provides a means to assist production, post, VFX, and music & sound companies in finding representation that meets key criteria such as category expertise.
