Media & Creative Agencies
12 client projects. 4 creatives. Who's doing what right now?
Agencies always run multiple projects in parallel. Client requests change, deadlines approach, and nobody knows if the team still has capacity. Merlin Project shows you, at a glance.
Agency life
Challenges that creative agencies and media houses know all too well
Everything Is Urgent at the Same Time
Five client projects in the hot phase, two pitches in preparation. Without a multi-project overview, you lose track of who's working on what and what's burning next.
Brief Changed, Plan Obsolete
The client changes the scope after the second review. Your spreadsheet plan is instantly worthless. You rebuild from scratch instead of just shifting dependencies.
Team Workload in the Fog
Is the designer free next week or still stuck on the relaunch project? Without a resource view, you're guessing, and overloading your best people.
Deadline Missed, Client Unhappy
The print date was fixed. Internal approval came too late. Nobody had the dependency between internal review and final artwork on their radar.
How Merlin Project helps in the agency
Multi-Project Overview
Open multiple projects simultaneously and see in the resource view who is working on what and at what capacity. Spot bottlenecks before they become problems.
Scope Changes Built In
Move a milestone and all dependent tasks shift automatically. No rebuilding, no manual recalculation. The Gantt reacts to reality.
Kanban for Creative Workflows
Use the Kanban board for creative phases (concept, draft, final artwork, approval) and switch seamlessly to the Gantt when the client wants a timeline.
Say “No” With Numbers
Last-minute requests from the client? The workload view shows in real time that the team is already booked 120%. A gut feeling of “we're full” becomes a defensible number. The basis for honest prioritization conversations with account and client. Less burnout, better work, realistic deadlines.
Agency features in Merlin Project
Kanban Board
Visually manage creative workflows, from idea to approval.
Resource Workload
Track team capacity across all running projects.
Gantt Chart
Client milestones and internal deadlines on one timeline.
PDF Export
Professional project plans for client presentations.
MindMap View
Develop brainstorming and project structure visually.
iPad App
Show projects in client meetings and update on the spot.
MagicSync
PM, creative and account work on the same plan in parallel, no conflict files.
Project Budget Tracking
Client budgets per project always visible. Spot overruns before the controller calls.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I see which team member is scheduled where right now?
Open multiple projects at once. The resource view shows cumulative workload per person across all active projects. You'll see instantly whether the designer has capacity next week or whether the senior copywriter is overloaded. The basis for honest resource commitments.
What happens when a client changes scope after the second round?
You move the affected milestone. All dependent tasks (final artwork, internal approval, print deadline) shift automatically. No rebuilding in Excel. The Gantt reacts to reality.
Can we use Kanban and Gantt on the same project?
Yes. The creative team works in Kanban (concept → draft → final artwork → approval), the account manager shows the client the Gantt, the PM checks the critical path. One data source, three views, no parallel maintenance.
Is Merlin Project usable in client meetings?
Yes. On the iPad you present the plan directly in the meeting. Type changes in instantly on the iPad, MagicSync handles the sync. No laptop unfolding, no screen sharing.
