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22nd Jan 2023

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Brand Funded Entertainment

We recently attended the Royal Television Society's event on Branded Entertainment.

 

The panel was chaired by the excellent Sam Glynne, Head of EMEA, Entertainment and Culture Marketing, United Talent Agency and comprised of: 

⦁    David Granger, Content Director, Cinch 
⦁    Adam Puchalsky, Global Head of Content, Wavemaker 
⦁    Helle Jabiri Falck, Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Biites
⦁    Richard Wilson, CEO at CLICKON 
⦁    Katherine Marlow, Senior Linear Branded Entertainment Lead, Channel 4

 

What I found really interesting was that many of the participants found the concept of joining the experience across linear television, social media channels and other online marketing platforms quite challenging.

 

David Granger was formerly director of content at Red Bull, what I consider to be the benchmark in customer lifestyle experience-based marketing, delivering true multi-channel content across media platforms.  Despite the above-the-line direct marketing being fairly low-key (remember the line animations), the soapbox events that appear regularly on television, along with corresponding streaming and online content, make it a properly joined-up and compelling customer proposition.

 

Marketing departments frequently struggle to understand how to create a fully holistic experience, or shy away from doing so, due to cost constraints or fear of spreading "outside the box".  In addition, the ad-hoc nature in which marketing penetration is achieved through multichannel content providers, and lack of standardised KPIs - as raised in a brilliant question by Fran Cassidy - results in many organisations missing the importance of creating holistic multichannel content.

 

The movement away from linear television to user-chosen content, such as YouTube, Livestreams, Podcasts and TikTok Reels, creates a much more diverse set of platform options for audience reach. These multi-platform, multi-format channels often outperform linear television in terms of consumer impressions.

 

Marketing is undergoing revolutionary change, it is obvious that those who understand the multichannel nature of content, such as Red Bull, will lead the way in brand development and penetration in the coming few years.

 

Back at TC16, we have started to establish relationships with local and global brands who want an authentic and engaging story that matches their corporate values and ethos.

 

If you want help in promoting your brand, contact us today.

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9th Jan 2023

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New TV Production Facilities

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Last November, whilst I was in Hollywood, a friend and I were discussing the media industry after I mentioned how Amazon and Netflix were pouring so much money into the UK, building new television and film studios.

 

One studio near me was being built over three years at a cost of about £250m. Whilst we discussed how to get a slice of that very large pie, I rather flippantly suggested that I could build a broadcast quality television studio, for a tiny fraction of that amount, and have it up and running in three months!

 

Soon after my return from Hollywood I began my project. And just over three months after signing a lease for new premises, and costing just a fraction of the Shinfield facilities just up the road. The project is complete.

 

It’s been a rollercoaster ride, punctuated by some poor health for me, has soaked every last penny of my investments and savings, but my team and I have achieved what was considered to be impossible!

 

I am proud to say my vision has been realised. Studio TC16 is now “live” and available to book for broadcast quality TV productions and live stream corporate video events from today.

 

I must mention two key members of the project team: Daniel Condurache who managed all the construction and fit-out, without whom there would be no studio; and Clive Foster, my fantastic Technical Director, without whom none of the studio would work.

 

The business concept was simple: create a television studio near major business centres in the UK, with broadcast quality technology and production values, utilising standard office space, and innovating to find more cost-effective solutions to meet broadcast requirements.

 

Studio TC16 provides an ideal venue for small studio-based TV productions and corporate livestreaming events such as discussion panels, product launches and corporate marketing, with the same high broadcast values as major live-to-air television, and at very competitive prices.

 

Our aim is to be “best in market” of the smaller studios with a cost-effective entry point. We have proven the concept works, having successfully delivered our first studio in Maidenhead - the centre of Britain’s Hollywood.

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I’m immensely proud to launch Studio TC16 today and thank my entire team for their efforts in getting us up and running. I look forward to talking to you about your production requirements and showing you around our facilities here at Studio TC16.

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Stuart Robb
CEO & Executive Director
Television Centre Ltd

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