Before we start

The creative industry is in the middle of a major shift, but it is not being driven by flashy new cameras or trendy editing plugins. The real transformation is happening behind the scenes, inside the workflows creative teams rely on every day. Production managers, editors, designers, and marketing leads are being buried under the weight of disconnected tools and scattered communication.

Amid industry giants built for enterprise and generalized workflows, a new approach is emerging. Kreatli, a media-native production management platform, was created to simplify creative operations and replace tool sprawl with one unified production environment.

In a market long dominated by systems that only solve half the workflow, creative teams are asking a simple question: Why should media review happen in one place and production management in another?

Kreatli’s answer: It shouldn’t.

The Two-Tool Problem: Why Creative Operations Became Fragmented

Today’s average creative workflow can involve 5–10 separate tools: task managers, messaging apps, media review systems, cloud drives, spreadsheets, email, and sometimes more. Each tool was designed for a narrow function. The result:

• Communication is scattered across channels.

• Files and versions multiply without structure.

• Status visibility disappears.

• Teams lose hours coordinating instead of creating.

Media review platforms like Frame.io excel at asset playback and approvals, but they lack structured project execution. In contrast, platforms like Asana and ClickUp were engineered around software development methodologies, not fluid creative timelines or iterative production cycles.

Creative teams have been forced to stitch these systems together manually. And the effort required to maintain the workflow has become a job in itself.

Designed From the Ground Up for Media-Native Production

Kreatli takes a different approach: make the media the operational center of production.

Instead of attaching videos as files in a task, the asset becomes a living element of the workflow. Videos, images, design files, and proxies sit directly beside timelines, schedules, responsibilities, feedback, and approvals.

Creative and operational work happens together, not in separate silos.

This enables:

• Automatic version tracking

• Feedback directly on timelines and frames

• Stage-based management built around real creative phases

• Dependencies and due dates that update dynamically

• A single system of truth for every deliverable

As founder Heorhi Talochka put it:

Read more on that here: From Brief to Publish: How Asset Management Software Streamlines Creative Workflows

Solving Tool Sprawl: Less Switching, More Creating

The increase in content volume across social, paid, publishing, television, and brand channels has made workflows more complex. With each new requirement, another tool tends to be added.

But every additional tool has a hidden cost:

• Licensing fees stack up

• Fragmented workflows slow delivery

• Knowledge gaps grow inside teams

• Admin work replaces production work

Kreatli challenges this norm by enabling planning, collaboration, review, and delivery in one platform. Teams reduce operational drag and reclaim focus and time.

What once required:
Task manager + Messaging + Cloud storage + Review tool + Spreadsheets + File transfer...

Now happens within a single environment built specifically for creative production.

Read more on that here: Top File Management Online Platforms & How They Compare

Not Built for Everyone, Built for Production Teams

This industry has seen decades of innovation around software development, but not around creative production. Agile boards, sprints, tickets, and burndown charts have been force-fit into environments they were never intended for.

Kreatli rejects the idea that creative workflows must adapt to rigid frameworks. Instead, it offers structure that supports how creative teams actually work:

• Iterative

• Collaborative

• Version-driven

• Deadline-critical

• Media-intensive

Rather than bending creativity into a shape it was not designed for, Kreatli flexes to match the real-world process.

Read more on that here: Best Creative Project Management Software: 2026 Comparison & Scorecard

The Underdog Advantage

Big tech platforms must serve multiple sectors at once. Their roadmaps are filled with competing priorities from industries outside entertainment and content creation.

Kreatli is laser-focused:

Serve creative and production teams, and serve them well.

That dedication allows for:

• Faster product updates

• Responsive feature evolution

• Direct attention to operational challenges studios face daily

Early adopters consistently highlight:

• Fewer tools to manage

• Clear visibility from kickoff to delivery

• Better cross-team communication

• More time spent producing work, not organizing it

These gains come not from a new plugin or integration, but from a fundamentally different architecture.

A Better Way Forward for Creative Production

The demand for speed and quality grows each year. Brands want more content, across more formats and platforms, with faster turnarounds. The old approach of duct-taped tools cannot sustain the pressure.

A unified platform built for media-native workflows is no longer a perk. It is becoming the new baseline expectation.

Kreatli represents this next chapter for creative operations. A system that brings order without rigidity. Structure without sacrificing creativity. A single platform that supports the full arc of production.

Creative teams deserve tools tailored to their craft, not borrowed from adjacent industries.

Read more on that here: How to Design a Post-Production Workflow That Actually Scales

Take the Next Step: Reclaim Creative Production

Kreatli is currently actively onboarding new teams. If your organization is looking to reduce tool fatigue and operational clutter, now is the time to explore what an end-to-end production system can unlock.

Learn more at kreatli.com.