Hi. I’m Andy Baker, the Senior Vice President and Group Creative Director for National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD, managing a talented in-house team of designers, producers and writers. We do a lot of work ourselves, and we also hire many people to help us with our print, TV and digital campaign materials. Which means that I am inevitably referred to as “THE CLIENT.” I’ve never relished the role of being ‘The Client’, since I’ve written, produced, designed and directed thousands of TV commercials, trailers, print ads, billboards, and digital ads for National Geographic and FOX, ABC, & NBC for the last 19 years. “Clients” traditionally are seen as commissioners, approvers, and financers of creative work, but rarely the authors of it. Many creatives are intimidated by clients, annoyed by them, resent them, or most often simply confused by them.
And that’s where this blog comes in. I realized that there was something missing in the blogosphere, and in our industry. And that’s the Client perspective. I hire and work with creatives all of the time, but I have begun to feel that a more appropriate term for what I am is a ‘Client-Collaborator.’ I prefer to work with creative people and work together to make cool shit, so this blog will be all about not only the Client perspective, but also about the sorts of qualities in creative partners “we” are looking for. I’d also like to give a little peek behind the curtain at what goes on over on this side of the table – to give the unvarnished truth about what makes (some) clients tick.
Thanks for your comments and support, and please share the blog with others in our industry if you enjoyed reading it.
THE MUSIC BED RECENTLY DID A VERY NICE ARTICLE ON MY CAREER:
http://www.themusicbed.com/community/conversation-nat-geo-tvs-creative-director-andy-baker/
FSTOPPERS BLOG POST/ARTICLE ABOUT THE CLIENT BLOG:
http://fstoppers.com/the-client-blog-a-look-into-the-mind-of-clients
MASTERS IN MOTION SPEAKER PROFILE:
http://shooteditlearn.com/andy-baker/
RECENT PROMO EXAMPLES (SEE ALL CREDITS ON VIMEO PAGE):
BTS CONTENT FROM SHOOTS:
KEY ART:
Photography by Joey L. Layout and Design by BPG.
Artwork by Arsonal.
the client blog 