Episode 99
Video Strategy and Retainers (ft. Innovate Media)
Most video producers start behind the camera. Ben Amos started at the front of a classroom. A former high school media teacher, he went on to build Innovate Media on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, launch the Engage Video Marketing Podcast, write a book on video strategy, and coach producers around the world. His whole philosophy comes down to one shift: lead with strategy, not with the shoot.
In this episode, Ben sits down with Dario and Kyrill to unpack what that actually looks like in a video business: his seven-element strategy framework, how to bring strategic thinking into sales conversations, why he runs paid strategy workshops, how he handles B2B versus B2C clients, and what makes a retainer model genuinely work. If you have ever felt like an order-taker, this one is about becoming a partner instead.
Key Takeaways
- Lead with strategy, not the camera. The shift from order-taker to strategic partner starts with asking better questions about goals, audience, and distribution before talking about the shoot.
- Learn the seven elements. Ben’s framework runs audience, goals, content, distribution, optimization, metrics, and production, in that order. Production comes last, on purpose.
- Turn delivery into partnership. Post-delivery strategy calls and ongoing advice show clients you care about results, not just handing over a file.
- Sell strategy as its own product. Paid strategy workshops uncover gaps in a client’s marketing, set direction, and add value before a single frame is shot.
- Bring strategy into the sales call. Strategic questions during the pitch reframe you as an advisor and justify a higher-value engagement.
- B2B and B2C are not the same. Tailor content, messaging, and distribution to whether the client sells to businesses or consumers, they need different approaches.
- Coach the gaps, do not just fill them. When a client lacks answers, guide them through the discovery rather than guessing, and you become the trusted advisor.
- Retainers must fit the client. A retainer only works with the right client type and leadership mindset, tied to strategic goals and genuine recurring content needs.
- Stay in your lane. Innovate Media deliberately avoids managing paid ad accounts, focusing on what it does best rather than trying to do everything.
Timestamps
From Media Teacher to Agency Owner
Ben’s path is unusual: he taught high school media before turning his love of video into a business. That teaching instinct never left, and it shapes how Innovate Media works with clients today, explaining, guiding, and educating rather than just delivering. Over time he layered on the Engage Video Marketing Podcast, a book, and a coaching practice, becoming as known for teaching strategy as for producing video.
It is a great example of building a video business that lasts by leaning into a genuine strength. If you are earlier in that journey, our guide to corporate video production is a good map of the landscape he grew up in.
Strategy First: From Order-Taker to Partner
The heart of the episode is a mindset shift. Most producers wait for a client to describe the video they want, then build it. Ben argues that is how you stay an order-taker. The pivotal moment in his own career was realizing that leading with strategy, asking about the audience, the goal, and where the video will actually live, is what turns a vendor into a partner.
That reframing changes everything downstream, from the pitch to the price. It is closely tied to how to pitch as a producer and to treating video as a strategic service rather than a commodity deliverable.
“The moment you lead with strategy instead of the camera, you stop being an order-taker and start being a partner.”
Ben Amos, Innovate Media (thematic paraphrase)The Seven Elements of Video Strategy
Ben’s signature framework gives producers a repeatable way to think before they shoot. The seven elements are audience, goals, content, distribution, optimization, metrics, and production. The order is the lesson: production sits at the end, after you have decided who the video is for, what it needs to achieve, and how it will be distributed and measured.
Distribution and optimization are where a lot of great videos quietly fail, which is why optimizing video to rank and get found matters as much as the shoot. Matching the format to the goal also means understanding the different types of corporate video and where each one fits.
Strategy, Production, and Management: Where the Work Lives
Ben maps the business as a Venn diagram of strategy, production, and management, and is candid that you cannot be world-class at everything. Notably, Innovate Media deliberately avoids managing clients’ paid ad accounts. That is a focus decision: stay in the lane where you add the most value instead of stretching into services you cannot own.
It is a discipline that echoes the power of niching down and knowing what to say no to. Pricing your core work with confidence, rather than padding it with services you do not love, connects directly to what a video should cost.
Selling Strategy: Workshops, Sales Calls, and B2B vs B2C
One of Ben’s most practical ideas is productizing strategy itself. He runs paid strategy workshops that uncover gaps in a client’s marketing and set direction before any production begins. It reframes the first conversation from a quote request into a value-adding engagement, and it naturally filters for clients who take video seriously.
He also stresses that B2B and B2C clients need different playbooks, from messaging to distribution. A B2B finance client and a consumer brand are solving different problems, so the strategy, and the kind of video that serves it, should differ too. Getting this right early also helps you spot red flags in new leads.
Making the Retainer Model Work
Retainers are the dream for predictable revenue, but Ben is honest that they are not for every client. They work when there is a genuine, recurring content need and leadership that values strategy, and when the agreement is tied to strategic goals rather than a flat quota of videos per month. With the wrong client, a retainer becomes a treadmill.
Done right, it is one of the strongest ways to diversify and stabilize your income and build the kind of ongoing relationship that generates referrals and repeat work.
“A retainer only works when it is built around a strategy, not just a set number of videos a month.”
Ben Amos, Innovate Media (thematic paraphrase)Coaching, Mentorship, and Giving Back
Given his teaching roots, it is no surprise that Ben now coaches other video producers through Engage Video Marketing, helping them adopt the same strategy-first approach. The closing stretch turns to mentorship and his future goals, and the throughline is generosity: the more he teaches, the stronger his own brand and business become.
It is a reminder that investing in people, whether your team or your peers, compounds. You can explore Ben’s coaching and book at engagevideomarketing.com, and if you want a Toronto team that thinks strategy-first, that is exactly how we approach our video services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ben Amos?
Ben Amos is the founder and creative director of Innovate Media, a video strategy and production agency on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. He hosts the Engage Video Marketing Podcast, wrote the book Engage, and coaches video producers on strategy. He started his career as a high school media teacher.
What are Ben Amos's seven elements of video strategy?
Audience, goals, content, distribution, optimization, metrics, and production. The order is the point: production comes last, after the strategic thinking that makes a video actually achieve a result.
What does 'strategy first' mean for a video producer?
It means shifting from order-taker to strategic partner. Instead of starting with the shoot, you ask about the client’s audience, goals, and distribution first, so the video is built to get results, not just to look good.
How does a video retainer model work?
It works best with the right client, one with recurring content needs and leadership that values strategy. Tied to strategic goals rather than a flat number of videos, a retainer creates predictable, ongoing work for both sides.
Why does Innovate Media avoid paid ad management?
Ben chooses to focus on strategy and production rather than running clients’ ad accounts. It is a deliberate decision to stay in the lane where the business adds the most value instead of trying to do everything.
The Hosts
Dario Nouri and Kyrill Lazarov are the co-founders of Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company, and the hosts of Creatives Grab Coffee, a weekly show about the business of video production.
About
Creatives Grab Coffee is a podcast about the business behind video production: sales, strategy, pricing, team building, and everything that happens off camera. New episodes every week on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Lapse Productions is a Toronto-based video production company serving tech, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing clients with corporate, promotional, testimonial, event, and training video. Curious what strategy-led video costs? See our guide on how much a video costs.
Innovate Media is a video strategy and production agency on the Sunshine Coast, Australia, founded by Ben Amos. Ben also hosts the Engage Video Marketing Podcast and wrote Engage, a guide to video strategy for business. Learn more at innovatemedia.com.au and engagevideomarketing.com.
