Too many cooks spoil the broth. It’s a well known proverb in the English language. It basically implies that if too many people work on a single task, there will be too many opinions and techniques that won’t gel together. As a video marketing agency, we’ve got specialised members of staff in every area of video production. And as such, they are basically our cooks in the video marketing kitchen. And instead of serving amazing dishes from the pass, we deliver cinematic video marketing. So let’s explore the importance of teamwork in video marketing.
A few weeks ago, during the edit of a new project, our team ended up in a big discussion about how to colour grade a certain video. More and more people got involved and every the conversation grew and extended to epic proportions. At that point we realised that there might be too many cooks involved. Too many opinions and thoughts flung across the table without moving the argument further.
Ask the expert
So in order to solve this, we asked an expert about how to deal with the amount of cooks in the kitchen. And who better to ask than someone who spends most of his time in a kitchen. Check out what Jamie Desogus, owner and headchef of Harborne Kitchen has to say about the topic:
Jamie makes three interesting points in this interview. Let’s go through them and see how we can apply these to a teamwork in video marketing context:
1. It’s not my name on the door
Running a restaurant is no one-man task. From the cooks in the kitchen to the waiters in front on house, every team member has a specific task. All these people working together with one focus: the dining experience of a guest. There is a great parallel between a restaurant kitchen and a video marketing agency. Instead of cooking, our producers focus on different stages like concept development, camera work or editing. A one-man operation just doesn’t work in video production. The combined skill set of our producers covers everything needed to create video marketing content. As such, Jamie is 100% right that it’s not his name on the door, just like Film Division isn’t called Kevin Pfeil productions. We’re a team.
2. Many cooks approve the broth
Developing a brand new dish is a creative process that is quite similar to concept development in Video Marketing. It is important to check and validate your ideas before serving it to the public. Constructive feedback in the early stages of concept development help to shape an idea and transform it into a viable concept. It’s a prime example of teamwork in video marketing. However, this is also the moment where too many cooks can actually spoil the broth. That brings us to the next point in Jamie’s story:
3. There only is one Chef
A head chef has the final say. It basically is his reputation on the line with every dish that leaves the pass. The chef is the face of the restaurant and as such has to live up the the guests’ expectations. From a teamwork in video marketing perspective, this responsibility lands on the shoulder of the designated client managing producer. His primary focus should always be his clients interest. This producer has to ensure that nothing leaves the editing suite that is not perfect.
Back to the teamwork in video marketing
We started this blog with the colour grading anecdote. After meeting with Jamie, these conversations have stopped. The image has to meet the clients needs. That’s what it’s all about. Constructive criticism is always welcome and needed, but know how and when to say stop. Run your video marketing campaign, and your team, like a restaurant.
