u/Icy_Helicopter3866

Hi, I'm trying to understand the current market and my position in it, as I've been losing my mind a bit lately.

I (mid 30’s) have been doing footage/reference research (pre-viz) for the gtm strategy & campaign development of a top sportswear brand. This is through freelancing at an outsourced agency making internal brand films and social media content for the client.

My service: 

• I get briefed to find footage such as like “an establishing shot of a Korean male playing with his friends in this regional part of a country”, “videos of a subculture that uses sports in a way that is creative” or “a drone shot of this Norwegian neighbourhood that will unlock the brand film”. 
• I find them through video-hosting platforms, archive sources, and regional media — wouldn't say it's a specialised workflow, just an understanding of the brand direction/values, research methodology and platform logic, basically knowing where specific material could be.

The Problem:

My work is valued in this context but for several years now I haven’t been able to expand on other projects, clients through warm leads. I suspect most agencies absorb this into other roles, but this project requires enough volume of real-world material that it became its own thing.

I'm at a crosspoint, trying to either double down on this market, or look how can I further evolve into strategy or creative thinking roles.

• Is this service useful or an anomaly in the current marketing landscape?
• CD's: is this something that you see as a valuable add-on, or too specific to exist as a stand-alone service?

My argument is that it could be a counter point to homogenised reference material and AI visual ID in the future. [Providing unindexed or hard-to-find video material for references]

Some further context: 

- I have a Master's in visual ethnography and also do videography/editing too.

- I came into this work sideways, so I don’t have a clear sense of where this role formally lives & where it could develop.

Thank you in advance!

Hi, I'm trying to understand the current market and my position in it, as I've been losing my mind a bit lately.

I (mid 30’s) have been doing footage/reference research (pre-viz) for the gtm strategy & campaign development of a top sportswear brand. This is through freelancing at an outsourced agency making internal brand films and social media content for the client.

My service: 

• I get briefed to find footage such as like “an establishing shot of a Korean male playing with his friends in this regional part of a country”, “videos of a subculture that uses sports in a way that is creative” or “a drone shot of this Norwegian neighbourhood that will unlock the brand film”. 
• I find them through video-hosting platforms, archive sources, and regional media — wouldn't say it's a specialised workflow, just an understanding of the brand direction/values, research methodology and platform logic, basically knowing where specific material could be.

The Problem:

My work is valued in this context but for several years now I haven’t been able to expand on other projects, clients through warm leads. I suspect most agencies absorb this into other roles, but this project requires enough volume of real-world material that it became its own thing.

I'm at a crosspoint, trying to either double down on this market, or look how can I further evolve into strategy or creative thinking roles.

• Is this service useful or an anomaly in the current marketing landscape?
• CD's: is this something that you see as a valuable add-on, or too specific to exist as a stand-alone service?

My argument is that it could be a counter point to homogenised reference material and AI visual ID in the future. [Providing unindexed or hard-to-find video material for references]

Some further context: 

- I have a Master's in visual ethnography and also do videography/editing too.

- I came into this work sideways, so I don’t have a clear sense of where this role formally lives & where it could develop.

Thank you in advance!