This industry, like every other, is trying to fathom the impact of Sept. 11.

None of the producers On The Spot spoke to could predict what the state of the industry is going to be moving forward, however, several provided glimpses of possible ramifications.

Like the majority of businesses out there, Canadian and U.S. spot producers lost work in the aftermath. ‘It is natural for people to want to withhold work at a time like this,’ says one producer who lost four spots in three days. ‘When you put all the pieces together, you start to wonder where it is all going.’ Another producer reports that sensitivities are at an all-time high amongst clients, citing a job being pulled back so that the creative team could change the content. Advertising is going to have to be on its best behavior for awhile.

Before that Tuesday, agencies and producers here were already trying to adapt to the scaled-back commercial market. Now, the economy has tanked even further, and the Canadian spot market has new issues to deal with. As retaliation measures ensue, how willing will American agencies be to travel here? Tighter restrictions at the border have everyone worried about how difficult bringing U.S. directors to shoot in Canada will be.

On the flip side, one producer whose shop boasts a roster of strong U.S. directorial talent says much of their talent has expressed an interest in moving to Canada. They spend much of their professional lives here already, and more importantly, they want to keep families out of harm’s way should things escalate. In another development, one producer fielded three calls expressing strong interest in moving U.S. productions to Canada since the attack, jobs originally intended to shoot in Europe or the U.S.

Despite U.S. agencies’ feelings of patriotism, industry pundits think this shift to Canada could be a trend. ‘People want to show solidarity right now, so the concept of runaway production makes them feel like they are letting down their country,’ says one producer. ‘On the other hand, they are looking at it from a security point of view and saying, yeah, but here is the reality.’

Whatever the new reality is, while individual industry members can do little to soften the economic blows, more collaboration across the industry as a whole can help everyone get through it. There hasn’t been a better time for the industry to band together.

An anti-racism spot recently produced by U.S. agency GSD&M – for which a number of stateside production houses chipped in services – is an example of the spot community coming together in the immediate aftermath.

In the weeks to come, as the economic impact threatens to wreak further havoc on already-slim marketing budgets, hopefully this spirit of solidarity can translate into unified efforts to shore up the industry as well.

P.S.: Feel free to contact OTS with ideas as to how Canadian ad folks can pull together. We will post any industry initiatives on our website (www.playbackmag.com) so those interested in lending a hand can hook up.