August, 2026.- Moving from the agency side to production happened naturally for Igor Pellegrini. At the agency, he was heavily involved in concept and strategy, but his focus was always going toward hands-on execution—seeing the idea actually come to life. The biggest difference he felt in the day-to-day was the pace. At an agency, the process tends to be longer, with multiple approval stages and a focus on brand vision. At a production house, things are much more direct and dynamic: the goal is clear, and the challenge is solving the technical and logistical issues to make it happen on time and with quality.
In this interview, Pellegrini discusses what he wishes agencies understood about production. It is common to see a gap between creative vision and technical feasibility. The agency falls in love with an idea, but sometimes there is a disconnect between what was sold to the client and what is realistically doable within the actual budget and production timeline. If there is one thing he strongly believes, it is that the earlier the production team is brought into the technical conversation, the more the creative idea is protected. The job is not to cut down creativity, but to find smart technical solutions to bring that vision to life without blowing the deadline.
Pellegrini also reflects on how his client services approach differs across sectors. In finance, the process requires more rigor and compliance. In beauty, the focus shifts to visual detail and protecting brand identity. In retail, it is all about pace and agility. But at the end of the day, what every brand expects is a solid delivery—with strong visual polish, great execution, and an emotional tone that lands right with the end customer.
- From M&C Saatchi FQ to Produka: You spent 15 years at M&C Saatchi FQ as an Account Director. What made you move from the agency side to the production side, and what’s the biggest difference you’ve discovered?
[Igor] – Moving from the agency side to production actually happened pretty naturally for me. At the agency, I was heavily involved in the concept and strategy side, but I realized my focus was always going toward the hands-on execution—seeing the idea actually come to life.
And the biggest difference I felt in the day-to-day was definitely the pace. At an agency, the process tends to be longer, with multiple approval stages and a focus on brand vision. At a production house, things are much more direct and dynamic: the goal is clear, and the challenge is solving the technical and logistical issues to make it happen on time and with quality.
In the end, having that agency background helps me a lot today because I understand the client’s side and the agency’s pain points, but with the grounded perspective of someone who knows how the execution actually works.
- Creative Excellence + Operational Agility: You said the market values partners that combine “creative excellence with operational agility.” Where do production companies most often fall short on agility, and how do you plan to fix that?
[Igor] – From my perspective, production houses don’t usually struggle with filming or editing speed. The bigger issue in our market is communication and anticipating problems. Most of the time, delays happen during that constant back-and-forth for approvals.
Since I come from the agency side, my approach to solving this is focusing on prevention and alignment right at the kickoff. My goal is to look at the agency’s concept, spot right away what might bottleneck the schedule or the budget, and proactively offer alternative solutions before it becomes a problem.
When you align technical expectations with agencies and clients right from the start—keeping communication direct and transparent—you eliminate unnecessary revision loops and gain a lot of speed in the final delivery.
- Managing the Agency-Production Relationship: You’ve sat on both sides now. What’s the most common point of friction between agencies and production companies, and what’s the one thing you wish agencies understood about production that they don’t?
[Igor] – In line with what I believe, it’s pretty common to see a gap between creative vision and technical feasibility. The agency falls in love with an idea—and rightly so—but sometimes there’s a disconnect between what was sold to the client and what’s realistically doable within the actual budget and production timeline.
If there’s one thing I strongly believe, it’s that the earlier the production team is brought into the technical conversation, the more the creative idea is protected. Our job isn’t to cut down creativity, but rather to find smart technical solutions to bring that vision to life without blowing the deadline or causing painful revisions down the road.
- Brands You’ve Worked With: You’ve managed accounts for L’Oréal, Bradesco, Carrefour, and Serasa Experian. How does your client services approach differ when you’re handling a massive financial institution versus a beauty brand or a retailer?
[Igor] – My approach changes because each sector’s main priority is different, even though deep down everyone is looking for the same thing: communication that truly connects with the audience and delivers results.
Each market has its own reality. In finance, like with Bradesco, the process requires more rigor and compliance because of the multiple approval layers. With beauty, the focus shifts to visual detail, aesthetics, and protecting brand identity. And with retail, it’s all about pace and agility—cycles move much faster, so you have to be super responsive.
But at the end of the day, what every brand expects from a production company is a solid delivery—with strong visual polish, great execution, and an emotional tone that lands right with the end customer.
- Client Services in Production vs. Agency: How does client services differ at a production company compared to a full-service agency? What do you have to do differently, and what carries over?
[Igor] – The core foundation is the same: active listening, empathy, and building trust. Anticipating issues and understanding what the client truly needs remains essential on both sides.
What changes is the nature of the delivery. At an agency, the focus is long-term account management, brand strategy, and media planning. At a production house, it’s all about physical and technical feasibility: set logistics, crew, post-production timelines, and execution budgets.
At an agency you manage the brand strategy; at a production company, you manage bringing the idea to life.
- Produka’s Growth Ambition: Anderson Lima said you’re joining at “a very important moment” for Produka. What’s the biggest opportunity you see for the company’s growth, and what’s the biggest risk?
[Igor] – The biggest opportunity I see is consolidating Produka as a strategic execution partner for agencies and new clients. The market is constantly demanding more speed and technical quality within budget, so a production company that truly speaks the agency’s language stands out very quickly.
Since I’m just starting this journey, rather than predicting specific risks, I see a natural growth challenge: making sure that as project volume grows, we maintain the exact same agility and standard of delivery.
My focus will be to work closely with leadership as things evolve, fine-tuning processes to proactively prevent issues before they arise.
