With the launch of Rogers Productions and the company’s new mandate to service external agency clients, a number of questions have arisen within the commercial production community. Overall, producers seem a little confused by the Rogers Communications’ effort, but have little or no fear that it will provide any real competition.

‘I think they have their own challenge,’ says Sarah Ker-Hornell of Angel Films. ‘They have an advertising agency they deal with called MacLaren McCann. And I think other agencies may be leery of using a company that is tied in with their competitor,’ she speculates.

Ker-Hornell also questions Rogers Productions’ decision to use a team of freelance directors instead of creating a roster of its own. ‘I don’t understand how they can compete with me if they don’t represent their own directors,’ she says.

Radke Films’ head of sales Jamie Phair is also unfazed by the mega corporation’s foray into the commercial production market.

Says Phair: ‘It’s actually a tough time right now to start a production company. There’s a lot of competition. The u.s. is struggling. So there are a lot of directors in front of you who are well qualified to do the work. But the way I look at it is, it’s just another production company that’s out there.’

Responding to concerns over the possibility of rp pushing Rogers post-shop Mag North, Charles Crosbie, head of external client relations for rp says, ‘we wouldn’t be encouraging it by any means. It’s there as an option. Mag North does enough business on their own that they don’t need our help.’

Avion Films’ Michael Schwartz echoes Ker-Hornell’s concern when he asks: ‘Why would any agency want to give them the business unless they thought they could get the [Rogers Communications] account?’ He also believes rp’s freelance director route may leave the production company with ‘middle-of-the-road guys who aren’t that busy.’ Oftentimes, he says, ‘the ones that are freelance are only freelance because no one would pick them up.’

Schwartz goes on to say he believes Rogers Productions ‘seems like a waste of their [Rogers Communications’] executives time for not much in return.’

At MacLaren McCann, John Serafini, group business director for the agency, doesn’t expect Rogers Productions to create any headaches for the company.

‘I don’t think it really presents a problem to us. They’re a good company and we’ll use them when we feel appropriate. If we were to do something for one of the products that we promote, and they came in with the right kind of bid and the right kind of director, then we would use them,’ Serafini explains. ‘Our creative people here have obviously checked on the organization, and they say it’s quite good.’

As for getting work from any other agencies, Serafini thinks ‘it depends on how reputable they can make themselves. They’ve got to provide the right kinds of directors, and if they can do that, it shouldn’t matter whether we’re the aor with them or not.’