[Fully Managed] Phillip Howe from Explainify Ep. 89

Intro: Welcome to Fully Managed

Shannon Donnelly (SD): All righty. Hello everyone and welcome to the Fully Managed Podcast, the podcast where we discuss marketing and business tips to help assist you on your business journey. I’m your host, Shannon, Penji’s partnership coordinator, and I’m joined here today with a very special guest, Phillip Howe, from Explainify. Thank you so much for joining me.

Phillip Howe (PH): Yeah, I appreciate it. Thank you for having me.

SD: Thank you. Could you start by introducing yourself? I know I just introduced you, but you might want to do it differently. And can you also tell us a little bit about how you got to this point in your career and anything that you think is relevant in between?

Phillip’s Creative Journey

PH: Sure. I always joke and say that my title changes every day depending on what’s needed. But essentially, I’m responsible for all things creative that come out of our company at Explainify. At the core, we make animated videos like explainers, and most of my time is usually dedicated to that and all the content we put out.

I’ve been with this company for over three and a half years now. I love it. Being at a creative agency is life-changing. It’s one of the best things in the world. We talked about this offline a little bit—having the freedom to do things that you wouldn’t in a normal company setting, like taking time off at the end of the year when things slow down.

I came from another agency before this where we did branding and a lot of promotional products, and that was fun too. My educational background is in television production, so being here feels a little more like home. Designers in branding and product design are amazing, but I’m more passionate about video—putting out content to help businesses share what they’re doing.

I did live sports broadcasts for a long time—camera work, replay, whatever I could touch, I learned it. That developed relationships that brought me into the agency world. It wasn’t about being hired for one position—it was about all the contacts and skills I picked up. I moved from associate project manager to lead, and now I oversee all the creative work that gets done. I love it.

SD: I’m really happy that you enjoy it. That makes me excited to hear. I love talking to people that enjoy what they’re doing. Sometimes you can tell that they don’t—or that they’re not as excited as you are about it. So what’s your favorite part of the creative process?

What Sparks Phillip’s Creativity

PH: Oh, what a tough question. All of it. Some parts are less enjoyable than others, but I think once the ideas are on paper and you can start visualizing things, that’s one of my favorite parts. When you start bringing it to life—it’s amazing. Even before animation, seeing the script come together, the designs, storyboards, sketches—that collaboration with the client to form the final product is probably my favorite part.

At that point, the world’s your oyster. You can change anything. And more often than not, you’re tweaking just a few parts, and the creative juices start flowing. It also gives the client more skin in the game. It makes their journey with us more enjoyable, and it’s a truly collaborative process.

SD: So what would you say is the most challenging part to streamline in the process without stifling creativity?

Balancing Creativity and Structure

PH: Any creative studio needs to have limits—ceiling caps on complexity depending on the package the client purchases. That sets initial expectations and helps frame ideas. For example, if we can’t do characters in a package, we won’t base the story around one.

We go over these limits in the kickoff call with the client. It sets the tone. That structure allows for creativity within bounds. The best work often comes when you’re just knocking on the door of the next package tier—figuring out how to achieve something amazing while staying within scope.

SD: That makes sense. I love how you can sometimes inspire clients to go a little further. What about the opposite? What kind of situations make creative work more difficult, especially with clients?

Difficult Client Scenarios

PH: I’m thinking of one particularly difficult project. The final product wasn’t complex—but navigating the client was. We were working on the visual script. They wanted a meeting instead of doing it asynchronously, which is great—we love that. But in the meeting, there were too many cooks in the kitchen.

We spent 30 minutes on one visual script box. Ideas were flying from every direction, and internal disagreements surfaced right on the call. As the producer, I tried to control the situation but had to eventually say, “Let’s pause here and regroup.”

Every deliverable from that client was like pulling teeth. It was chaotic. We always ask to work with one point person for approvals. Otherwise, you end up trying to please too many people and doing everything wrong. The project turned out fine—but it could have been better without all the internal conflict.

SD: That’s such a good example. And I think that’s even harder than vague direction. Too many voices make it difficult to find a clear path. Do you think it’s better for a client to say what they don’t want?

Feedback and Clarity

PH: Yes and no. We always ask clients what they don’t want—that helps. But if they don’t tell us what they do want, and then dislike what we deliver, it creates problems.

If they’re truly open, it’s wonderful. But if they’re vague and later show it to others who pick it apart, that first revision round becomes wasted. That’s why we emphasize: if you fill out the visual script, you help us get closer to your vision. Even if it takes a few more days, it saves time down the line.

SD: That makes sense. Do you have any specific processes for collecting feedback after a project wraps?

Gathering Post-Project Feedback

PH: Yes. Internally, producers do a debrief. Then, we send a simple form to the client—star rating and a box to share thoughts. We want that feedback. We can only improve to our standards unless we hear from clients.

On some projects, the marketing team also reaches out to learn about the project’s impact—what it helped them accomplish, whether it saved time, and so on. Not just production experience, but real-world use cases.

SD: That’s great. I think that’s where some agencies fall short—they don’t ask. I’m sure you’ve run into situations where you thought things went well, but the client actually had a different perspective?

PH: Exactly. We recently had a case like that. The producer thought everything was perfect. Then marketing reached out and learned about a few small but important pain points. They weren’t dramatic, but they were valuable insights that helped us improve.

Client Relationships and Agency Growth

SD: Feedback is crucial. Without it, you’re in a bubble. And even small tweaks can make future client experiences better. I think a lot of successful agencies treat clients as an extension of the agency.

PH: That’s a great way to look at it. Clients are like secret shoppers in retail. In our case, every client is a secret shopper—they all have insight. We don’t have the luxury of only learning from a few; we learn from everyone. That helps us grow long-term.

SD: And it helps humanize the relationship. Not just treating the client like a one-off sale, but someone you’d want to work with again.

PH: Right. Long-term clients are the ones who help you scale. New business is great, but repeat business gives you sustainability.

Staying Ahead of Trends

SD: Last question before we wrap. How do you stay ahead of trends in video, storytelling, and animation without getting overwhelmed by all the content out there?

PH: Great question. It’s not easy. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But I stay plugged into webinars—they’re surprisingly helpful. Adobe, for example, always releases useful updates. One in Illustrator recently lets you resize illustrations automatically. Huge time saver.

You also have to study what other people are doing. I follow animators on LinkedIn who work on billboards and sports graphics. Their weekly content inspires me. We’re not in the same niche, but seeing how they animate is valuable.

Also, I have monthly conversations with peers to talk shop. How did you do this? What tool are you using? Even if we compete, there’s mutual respect, and it’s more about growing together.

SD: That’s smart—setting designated time to learn. A lot of people fall into the trap of over-consuming content via social media. But you have a structure.

PH: I’m lucky. I’m not a big social media person. I need clear learning time—specific webinars or meetings. That keeps things healthy and manageable. If you’re not intentional about learning, you get lost.

Closing Thoughts

SD: I think that structure is really helpful. It avoids the problem of no time versus too much time for content. You’ve offered a lot of insight today. Thank you so much for coming on. I think our audience will learn a lot from this episode.

PH: Absolutely. I appreciate you stopping me from talking too much. I could’ve gone on for six more hours.

SD: Same here! Thank you again for sharing your process and stories with us.

PH: Thank you.

SD: And thank you everyone for watching or listening. I hope you learned something today and continue tuning in to the Fully Managed Podcast for more. Have a lovely day.