How to get Tencent Games as a client – the story of MAMA Production
Our game dev community is really rich with outsourcing studios that work with AAA clients. Among them, MAMA Production shined in particular recently, when it published two videos made for the world giant Tencent Games and their new game Arena Breakout.
The team that births creative video ads is available to clients from the ideation stage, and their expertise is primarily in animation and live action. We decided it was high time you got to know them, so we talked to Ivana Dimitrijević, the mama (and every mom is a founder in a sense, some more literally than others) of MAMA Production.
SGA: Tell us a little about MAMA Production – what do you do and what sets you apart from the competition?
Ivana: MAMA Production is a creative studio that produces advertisements for digital. These are mostly ads for video games and mobile apps. We deal with production from beginning to end, and what sets us apart is precisely such an approach. Essentially, we also do agency work, because we come up with concepts and ideas from the very beginning, develop them with the client, after which we move to the production phase, whether it’s animation or filming. We release commercials as a final product ready for the outside world, including sound and required formats. Therefore, the client can get everything done with us. 🙂
SGA: How many people and in what positions does your team make up and what are your responsibilities?
Ivana: We are a small team, there are only 4-5 of us who are here permanently. We have a lot of freelancers with whom we collaborate as needed and depending on the nature of the project. The internal team consists of animators and a producer, and our responsibilities are quite broad. Animators are, as I like to say, in hybrid positions. They think out of the box, come up with concepts and ideas, do editing, VFX, animation, design, draw, record, write copy, do sound, formats… Over time, we really got used to it so it works without problems. At the beginning, when someone just joins us, they come a little confused, wonder how they will achieve everything, whether they even can and know how… But, really, after a while it settles down nicely and people realize that this kind of dynamic is right for them. We bounce from one project to another, face new challenges, come up with concepts and look at briefs to concisely present ideas. People find out that they are much more creative than their formal positions before this job allowed them to be.
SGA: You moved from film to gaming. What do you think are your strengths in the video game industry because of your previous background?
Ivana: I think my main advantage is a colorful experience. I was involved in the organization of concerts and events, film, commercials, animation, I went through various aspects of production and cooperated with different people, survived many drills, prepared complex projects…. The film helped me get to know the real process of shooting and that’s the most important segment I brought to MAMA.
Gaming is a new medium that is stand-alone but based on storytelling. At university, at work and through life, we learned to tell stories and translate stories into pictures. Although we are in the business of producing advertisements, they are not typical in gaming. Advertisements are creative and sometimes look more like a movie scene than an advertisement that treats its product.
SGA: You recently did two phenomenal videos for Tencent Games! What was the cooperation with them like?
Ivana: It was really a special experience! I think it is one of the most beautiful projects and one of the best collaborations we have ever had with a client. I’m sure that’s the secret ingredient that makes the videos turn out so well. You can always feel the energy and cooperation during the project in the final product.
I must admit that the beginning of working with them was not easy – there was a lot of reticence, mistrust… First of all, in terms of cultural differences. They are very demanding, precise, persistent but extremely professional so I never had a problem with that. It just took a little time to get to know each other and understand the level of detail and commitment they were looking for. When they also realized that we are fully committed to the task and when they began to trust us, real teamwork took place. They are extremely cultured, reasonable, pleasant, hard-working and it was a pleasure for us to work with a team that knows its brand to perfection and its audience completely, and respects its associates.
SGA: How do you even get giant clients like Tencent Games? What’s your secret?
Ivana: That’s what we ask ourselves to this day! At first we didn’t even realize who the client was because it was a new game. That was really funny. We have already written the explanation, elaboration, prepared the whole deck with locations, costume and everything needed, and then we just received information that it was Tencent. Then we were like: “Oh, well, as hard as we tried, there’s no way we’re going to get this, it’s so much bigger than us!” However, we were obviously on the right track, we listened to our instincts, worked hard, we were quick to complete everything they asked for and – well… I think it’s a combination of various circumstances that happened. Maybe it’s fate. 😃 In the end, what is most important, we made videos that the client was satisfied with and we justified the trust and the opportunity provided!
SGA: What other projects have you worked on for the gaming industry so far?
Ivana: We had the opportunity to work on really diverse gaming projects. My favorites are Angry Birds 2, Dream Blast, Dragon City, Score Hero, Happy Color, but also some smaller ones, such as Super Play, Golf Clash, Niantic and many others. Rovio was our client for about three years, and the cooperation with them was great – they always knew what they wanted, they respected the deadlines and everything went well. That is what is always best for the project itself. It is never a problem for us when something is demanding, complicated, “difficult” – it is important that the cooperation and communication are smooth, that there is mutual respect and then everything can be achieved. It’s not always like that, of course. Sometimes even the smallest project becomes a nightmare because the start is not well defined and the requirements and expectations are not clear. But, well, it’s all normal, we are professionals who are there to guide the client in the creative process, not just to nod their heads. 😀
SGA: Are you working on any interesting projects in gaming right now?
Ivana: At the moment we have various plans, we will see what will come of them. It seems to me that this year was a big change globally and it certainly was for us. The market is changing a lot, budgets are being redirected, clients are trying out AI, mass layoffs are causing panic, data control is changing user data… All of this has affected ad performance and client demands. All sorts of things are happening.
And I can’t tell you yet what we are working on now. 😀 If everything goes according to plan, you will have something cool to see in 2024!
SGA: Thank you very much for the answers! We hope for many more videos like these!
Ivana: Thank you! I am glad that I got the opportunity to present us to the domestic market as well! We look forward to joining the Association and seeing you at the next gathering!