The agency world has a problem: speed or quality, pick one. Choose traditional production houses, and it’ll take months to deliver TV-worthy spots audiences will forget in minutes. Or go for social content that hits feeds by EOD but leaves brand managers sweating. That's why Artemis Ward and social-first production upstart Lantana are teaming up to offer something neither can deliver alone.
This partnership isn't just another agency-production handshake deal — it's a deliberate move to blow up how branded content gets made. By joining forces, Artemis Ward and Lantana are betting that brands don't actually need bloated production teams or million-dollar budgets to create quality content that moves at the speed of social. They've just never had the right option before.
“A lot of people don't understand that you don't need a full crew to film what you need,” says Wallen Augustin, Lantana's founder. “It's such a waste to spend $50,000 every time you need to make a video.” This stripped-down philosophy caught Artemis Ward's attention as clients increasingly demanded faster turnarounds without sacrificing quality.
The secret sauce? A distinction that most of the industry misses completely: the difference between makers and creators.
“Makers can be anybody from any walk of life,” explains Augustin. "We work with DPs and directors that come from traditional spaces but have growing portfolios on TikTok and Instagram.” Unlike typical influencers, who bring audiences but might lack technical chops, makers bring production expertise — without the overhead.
Colin Moffett, CEO of Artemis Ward, saw immediate potential in the model. “Audiences are out in front of this. It's the brands that are catching up,” he says. “The flexibility to pull in the right people quickly for the right moment and pulling people that understand how to create social-first content in hours instead of weeks — that's the demand.”
The Artemis Ward and Lantana partnership also expands both companies' reach. “We have people in Japan, people in the UK, and people all over the US,” says Augustin. “There are no boundaries or borders. We can go wherever we need to and find the right maker for the job.”
In an industry that's still pitching expensive TV directors to shoot your TikTok, Artemis Ward and Lantana aren't trying to revolutionize content production — they're just acknowledging what everyone with a smartphone already knows: when everybody's carrying a camera that puts old broadcast gear to shame, it's not about how big your crew is — it's about how creative your ideas are.