Brand Funded Programming in Spending and Finance

July 2021 K7.Media Brand Funded Programming in Spending and Finance K7 MEDIA

Brand Funded Programming in Spending and Finance

1. Introduction 3 2. Making Finance 'Sexy'… and Comprehensible 5 Attracting the Young 5 Jargon-lite… 9 Through a Modern Lens 10 3. Demonstrating Purpose 14 Helping the Individual 14 Helping Businesses 16 Helping Society 20 4. Challenges to Overcome 26 It’s pretty dry… 26 Financial reputation and compliance 26 Industry processes 27 5. Interviewees 28 Brendan Dahill 28 Pete Fergusson 28 Samantha Glynne 29 Graham Hayday 29 Vicky Kell 29 Anthony Ng 30 Karen Ngui 30 Amanda Murphy 31 Lasse Nikkari 31 Nick Parnes 32 Paul Tremain 32 Simon Wells 32 Roberta Zamboni 33 About K7 Media 34

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1. Introduction

Earlier this year we published an in-depth look at the world of Brand Funded Programming (Brand Funded Programming: Why It Matters Now), examining the combination of factors which are coming together to beneft this area currently.

A timely convergence of Covid-induced fnancial pressures, alongside the diminishing impact of traditional advertising spots in a world of proliferating VOD platforms, has led both broadcasters and brands to put renewed effort into fnding new ways to co-fund and co-develop original, entertaining programming, and we spoke to industry experts across the globe to fnd put more about the rewards and challenges of BFP in different territories.

We’ll be updating that global overview in due course, but in the meantime we’re issuing some shorter spotlight reports looking at a series of different themes in this area.

Our frst examines the brand category of Spending and Finance - from banking and personal fnance brands, to small business support and ethical investment. While the brands in this sector have a long track record in content sponsorship, what’s changing is their growing interest in using longer-form programming to tell their stories.

At the same time their ever-present need to woo the next generation of spenders and savers is being met with increasing interest by a young audience whose fnancial aspirations now encompass everything from entrepreneurship to cryptocurrency trading and investment advice on TikTok.

Once again we’ve talked to those involved in BFP around the world, with insights and a few select case studies from the UK, Australia, Russia, Asia, Finland and Italy. In the interests of examining the key drivers, trends and challenges in this category, our examples include some sponsorship partnerships and digital branded content, as well as pure broadcast BFP.

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Authors

CLARE THOMPSON - Non-executive Director

Clare is Non-Exec Director at K7 Media, regularly writing and presenting on global content trends for their international broadcast and production clients, and at festivals around the world.

Alongside this she runs development and pitching workshops, team training sessions and channel/ commissioning strategy projects for clients including the BBC, Channel 4, ITV Studios (UK & US), Endemol Shine, All3Media and MTV, and for all the major Chinese broadcasters through the University of Westminster’s China Media Centre. She consults on the development slates of several indies in France, Ireland, and London; and in Scotland via the Screen Scotland Focus scheme.

Clare’s background is in entertainment and factual entertainment development: in-house at ITV from 2000 - 2008, she headed up their Entertainment Development team, steering work on international formats and returners like Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, before moving over to run internal innovation unit Imagine. In recent years she has also Exec Produced documentaries including Girls With Autism (ITV) and Traffcked in Suburbia (YouTube’s Real Stories channel).

VICTORIA DE KERDREL - Asia Pacifc Consultant

Victoria has spent the past 10 years in Asia working on numerous co-production projects with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, the Asia-Pacifc Broadcasting Union and the National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (FINAS). Previously, she worked for BBC Studios for 10 years in a number of key European roles including a stint in the Paris offce where she ran the factual co-production business in France. She currently represents K7 Media in Singapore.

HANNAH BARNES - Australasian Consultant

Hannah joined K7 in June 2020 from Australian channel group Foxtel, where she was the Group General Manager for Foxtel's Lifestyle Group linear, SVOD, BVOD and digital platforms. With over 20 years’ industry experience, Barnes has enjoyed an extensive career working across the UK, US, and Australian media markets, including time spent working for Sky and Channel 5 in London.

Alongside her main gig working for K7 Media Hannah's hands-on approach consulting with various production and media companies in Australia and NZ gives her an intimate perspective on the markets.

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2. Making Finance 'Sexy'… and Comprehensible

For most brands operating in the world of fnance, the biggest challenges are how to make quite dry fnancial products ‘sexy’, and also comprehensible, particularly to younger audiences.

ATTRACTING THE YOUNG For this reason, in the past, many banks have looked to align themselves with content from which they borrow these youthful, more glamorous values. As Samantha Glynne, Global Senior Vice President of Branded Entertainment at Fremantle, says, “Finance brands have always been attracted to BFP and sponsorship of entertainment content. Credit card companies in particular work well, with brand pillars around things like ‘living life to the max’.” Samantha Glynne Global SVP Branded Entertainment In Italy Fremantle had bank Intesa Sanpaolo sponsoring X Factor for four Fremantle years as a headline partner, until the sponsorship was taken over by Axa Insurance last year.

Intesa Sanpaolo wanted to target millennials and developed specifc fnancial products for them. They had a strong presence on air, associating their logo with the X Factor contestants and this increased their brand awareness from the frst year onwards. Another huge element of their sponsorship was ticketing for B2B and B2C customers, with hundreds of tickets made available for each X Factor show through contests and their Rewards App. Additionally they had concerts in bank branches every Friday with the eliminated contestant, plus friends, family and audience members booking online to attend.

At the end of the series a huge event, promoted all over Italy, took place in Intesa’s headquarters in downtown Milan, with original songs performed by the show’s stars, and compered by its main host. All of the extra content and the concerts were produced by Fremantle as part of the sponsorship package.

Says Roberta Zamboni, the Fremantle Italy Branded Entertainment Director responsible for the partnership “It’s defnitely the case that institutional brands like banks and insurance are most interested in music and talent series, they need the glamour, and ways to engage with those younger audiences, but also families with children who view.”

Roberta Zamboni Wavemaker (part of WPP) is Intesa’s media agency, and carefully tracked the Branded Entertainment Director bank’s return on their investment - including brand awareness, brand equity, Fremantle Italy and how many people were opening accounts (apparently 5000 a week during

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the show’s run). By all accounts the partnership delivered what they wanted, but after four years Intesa decided to switch to supporting charities and sustainability causes when Covid hit (there’s more on this type of funding migration later in our report).

“Axa Insurance then came in wanting more or less the same package, if a little smaller, with a desire to motivate their staf with tickets as incentives, and also to engage that same, younger customer base. Previously they had sponsored The Voice in Italy, so it was a natural switch for them” explained Zamboni.

But these are still straight sponsorship packages around existing formats in the entertainment genre. Other banks have been more daring in creating bespoke BFP content to ‘sex up’ their brand and fnancial products. One example was Beyond Money for Santander (2017), created by Ogilvy - a 17 minute, Pedro Almodóvar-esque flm, set in a near future where you can sell and buy experiences stored in your memory, and focusing on a woman who trades her most signifcant moments, including her frst kiss and wedding day, for money.

Beyond Santander put a lot into the flm, with a top director (Kike Maillo), one of Money Almodóvar’s favourite actresses (Adriana Ugarte) starring, a red carpet premiere, posters in the banks, and a campaign where they gave away amazing experiences as rewards. The flm won the 2017 Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Entertainment and helped make the brand attractive, as they’d hoped, with 12,426 attendees on the frst day of the flm’s cinematic release, 7.5 million online views during the frst week, and the fastest product sign-up rate (for its 1/2/3 Smart Account) in Santander’s 160-year history.

But what’s also changing is how much more willing brands in the fnance

Vicky Kell category are to actually invest in shows which get into the 'nitty gritty' of money. BFP Consultant As BFP consultant Vicky Kell puts it “For me what's evolving in this category is

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the move from sport and music, in which these brands were traditionally active (shows like Barclaycard Share The Stage in 2020, and many more in the past) into more product or fnancial themed content like Save Well Spend Better, and The Money Maker.”

The Money Both of these examples are from Channel 4 in the UK (and there’s more on Maker both later in our report), and for Kell this is part of a wider trend, in the UK especially, “happening across branded entertainment - a move into more diverse areas from afro hair to small businesses to climbing Everest.”

At the same time, there is a realisation that young audiences today aren’t only interested in traditionally youth-skewing genres like music and talent, but can be very engaged by the right kind of business and money programming.

Says Paul Tremain, Head of Branded Entertainment at MediaCom, "What is intriguing is how our current, highly entrepreneurial culture is making an impression on younger audiences. We looked at The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den, and they skew quite young. The fascination with bitcoin, trading and fnancial advice on TikTok reinforces that fact. Young audiences Paul Tremain Head of Branded are interested, the challenge is how to make it entertaining.” Entertainment MediaCom It’s also becoming increasingly clear that educating younger audiences about fnance is a valuable mission in itself - and one that brands, broadcasters and even governments can get behind in terms of useful TV content.

In Australia the New South Wales government has this month rolled out a new fnancial literacy challenge across schools, using the Australian Securities & Investment Commission’s ‘MoneySmart’ teaching resources to teach Australian children essential money skills.

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It’s fronted by fnance expert and author Scott Pape - aka the Barefoot Investor - and a three- part observational series for Foxtel’s LifeStyle channel, Scott Pape’s Money Movement, is following the pilot program in a series of schools across NSW. Along the way, Scott tackles the big banks’ existing school money programs, and calls on politicians in his ultimate goal of having fnancial literacy added to Australia’s school curriculum.

This one is NOT funded by a brand, as Pape maintains his objectivity by not associating with specific brands, but it has assistance from Screen Australia. In classic Jamie Oliver campaign TV style, it’s a genuine personal mission for Pape, as well as for Executive Producer Brendan Dahill at makers EQ Media. Dahill cites Jamie’s School Dinners as a huge influence on him, leading to jobs producing

Brendan Dahill other campaign TV like the Australian adaptation of the BBC’s War on Waste, General Manager and then to a desire to make a show about the debt crisis and financial literacy in EQ Media Australia when he read Scott Pape’s book The Barefoot Investor.

In mid-2019, concerned by the lack of fnancial literacy being taught in schools and the country’s credit card debt, Pape had an idea to create a new money education program for students, and teamed up with Dahill to make the TV show around it. Based on his best-selling books, the Barefoot Money Movement was launched and demand was so huge that one in fve Australian schools applied to be part of his pilot program. Scott is now urging the other state governments to follow NSW’s lead and make the program national.

Scott Pape’s Says Dahill “At the moment we have banks teaching our kids about savings Money Movement and credit - and that’s not right. As Scott often says "that’s like letting Ronald McDonald teach your kids about nutrition”. Teaching our kids how to spend and how to save responsibly is a vital life skill.”

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Part of the problem that Pape has identifed in relation to young people’s fnancial security, is the rapid growth of the Buy Now Pay Later services - brands like Afterpay and Zip in Australia, Klarna in Sweden, the UK and elsewhere.

Without a full understanding of how interest works, and the pitfalls of these attractive, seemingly painless credit offerings in particular, it’s all too easy for young spenders to be seduced by their slick and now omnipresent marketing.

Writing in The Observer magazine this month, columnist Eva Wiseman has also identifed how the messaging of these BNPL companies is particularly targeted at young women, “A press release I received this morning from another BNPL company, Laybuy, was promoting a new campaign, ‘to get women talking more openly about their money worries and adopt better fnancial habits for the future’. We have long become accustomed to brands promising women that empowerment will come with the purchase of a jazzy new stiletto or lipstick, but this is new. This is the promise of empowerment through debt. Empowerment through buying whatever you want, whenever you want it. The object you buy is not important, it’s the buying itself that’s transformative. Empowerment through postponing the tricky businesses of securing money, until a later date when the thirst for scented candles has lessened.”

With its bright pastel colours and youthful marketing events (“a pink ice cream van parked in Shoreditch [handing] mermaid-themed treats to young people”) she observes how they “ofer a generation for whom saving seems pointless the chance to spend thoughtlessly, and they market it as self-care.”

It’s here that it becomes clear how complicated it can be for fnance brands to try to seem sexy, entertaining or purposeful, while at the same staying the right side of the line when it comes to making their products ethical and clearly understood by the average consumer - particularly the young. If that is the case in standard advertising messaging, it becomes even more diffcult in longer form funded content.

JARGON-LITE… Because there’s still the undisputed challenge that programming which gets TOO granular about business or fnance can be a turn-off to audiences of all ages, as can the real nitty gritty of money itself.

A recent Channel 4 brief from Barclays, put out to a select group of TV producers pitching for digital BFP commissions, reads:

“Money and money management are traditionally considered “dry” compared to other lifestyle and entertainment content consumers love to engage with. In fact, this is a topic consumers are extremely interested in (as demonstrated by the rise in independent fnance- focused infuencers, media content and websites), with many having questions about money but few credible places to turn for an open and honest conversation. Barclays believe they

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can be a source of trusted, relatable and engaging money help and advice, but we need to change perceptions of the kind of content they ofer consumers.”

“Last month Barclays set of two of their creative agencies to come up with bingeworthy ideas, and the winning idea for the frst content piece is based on banking acronyms & jargon – titled ‘WTH Does That Mean’. APRs, IBANs, CHAPS, and IMOs are all confusing, and very few people know what they actually mean.”

“Our role as Channel 4 is to bring this thinking to life through social-frst content. We need a format that feels entertaining but still informative and breaks down those acronyms and fnancial jargon. How can we do this in a way that is accessible to all?”

It’s a clever move to both demystify fnancial jargon, but also to highlight that these kinds of acronyms come as naturally as breathing to that very audience they are trying to engage. Pitches for BFP digital shorts for this brief are currently under consideration.

There is also the challenge that traditional business and fnancial programming tends to skew quite male, as MediaCom is fnding to be the case in their research on the audience and impact of The Money Maker, the show their client Dell co-funded with Channel 4. “But that was OK”, says Paul Tremain, “Dell were mostly interested in targeting SME’s [small and medium enterprises], rather than any particular age bracket or gender.”

But woe betide the banking brand that tries a little TOO hard to attract the female audience - particularly if they appear to be ‘dumbing down’ the fnancial jargon to do so. This month UK bank NatWest published an open letter in London free-sheet magazine The Stylist, entitled “A message to all women” and featuring a bowler-hatted character with a bunch of fowers (based on Mr Banks from Mary Poppins) apologising for the way banks have communicated with women on fnancial matters in the past.

“For years now I have patronised you, ignored you, talked to your husbands, fathers and brothers instead of you, and made far too many suggestions that your earnings and expenditures are meaningless and trivial….Our behaviour has led to a huge financial confidence gap. From pensions to investments, women don’t feel represented by the financial industry. That is our fault, not yours. And it’s time for change…. I am an outmoded stereotype. You need to be spoken to respectfully, in a non-patronising way. You need to hear from people who actually get you. Please accept my sincere apology from history. Mr Banker.”

While the sentiment was well-meant, some of the accusations of ‘patronising mansplaining’ which followed illustrated the pitfalls of trying to engage with audiences and consumers differently in the area of money.

THROUGH A MODERN LENS For this reason it’s brave but necessary for fnance brands interested in BFP to think carefully about how to create longer-form content that works for modern audiences, and refects current preoccupations.

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Another of MediaCom’s examples in this space was their ‘M Word’ campaign for Lloyds Bank, and the supporting show Save Well Spend Better (Channel 4), which combined the issues of money and mental health.

The show arose out of the statistic that 1 in 3 people in the UK have experienced money-related stress in the last month. In typical British fashion, instead of talking about it, Brits tend to keep it quiet because talking about money can make them uncomfortable. Research showed money is a more sensitive subject for UK families than sex, religion or politics.

Lloyds wanted a new way to demonstrate the brand promise of being ‘by the side of every generation’, and to convince people that they were best placed to help them with their finances, so the ‘M Word’ campaign set out to tackle these taboos by getting people talking about money.

Save Well Spend Better In the 5-part Channel 4 series Save Well Spend Better (produced by Firecracker Films), a team of specialist counselling and fnancial experts offered practical advice to a range of people suffering because of their money secrets and worries - often hiding things from close family, friends and business partners. Alongside the episodes Channel 4 actively encouraged viewers to have their own money conversations across their platforms, with VoD viewers asked to ‘pause to talk’, and a free live call and online support centre manned by experienced Relate counsellors offered during and after the show.

Described by the Times as “arguably the most prominent example ever of advertiser funded programming”, the show brought a peak audience of 1.2 million viewers, but perhaps more importantly for Lloyds their research showed that viewers were 90% more likely to have talked about money or fnance with a family member or friend, and their association with Lloyds as ‘the bank who encourages people to talk about money with friends/family’ rose by over 50%.

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Says Simon Wells, Controller of Funded Content at Channel 4, ”We are very proud of both Save Well and The Money Maker. Making BFP for fnancial companies and brands is actually very difcult because it’s a sensitive area and the regulations around the subject are especially complex and strict. But

Simon Wells Lloyds' Save Well was especially efective in aligning the bank with being a Controller of Funded Content thoughtful, responsible and 'putting the customers' needs frst' type of Channel 4, UK organisation. And the TV spot activations around it were very efective."

But despite all that the show isn’t coming back for a second series (“Lloyds are moving in a diferent direction” says Paul Tremain), illustrating the perennial challenge of getting returning formats in the BFP space, when there are shifting priorities and objectives for both channel AND brand to satisfy.

Mind Over Money In New Zealand, TVNZ’s Mind Over Money managed two seasons, running from 2017-2018, and again looking at the relationship between money and our psychological state. Funded by Kiwibank, and hosted by well-known Kiwi psychologist Nigel Latta, the frst 6 part season looked at the psychology of money, while the second used a Kiwibank-built quiz to assess and delve into peoples’ different ‘money personalities’.

This provided the show with a good set of fresh themes to build on second time around, with Latta expanding on how the financial decisions we do, and don't, make can help or hinder our lifestyles, goals and personal relationships. The four main money personality types identified – the power spender, the social sharer, the freedom seeker and the security saver - were all illustrated with well-cast contributors, who were then encouraged to have more open conversations with those around them about their behaviours, just as in Save Well Spend Better.

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Says Latta "It really is important to have that conversation and have it pretty early because if you don't, everyone is going to be blundering along and reacting and that's when resentment and that kind of stuf can kick in, whereas you can complement each other and it can work out really well. Savers and spenders actually can work quite well together because one teaches the other useful things. The spender teaches the saver about spending so you actually enjoy life and the saver says yes, but it's good there is stuf in the bank.”

Besides the case studies, Mind Over Money also offered advice on how to improve fnances and change behaviour for the better.

"We have an episode on investments because investment for some people feels like something only rich people do or it's something you need this specialist knowledge to do. And yet you kind of don’t.”

What worked well for the show was the play-along aspect of the quiz, which viewers could take part in themselves, to fnd out what type they are. “We all want to know, so which one am I? When you do start to understand more about the money personalities you do go, 'Yeah, I think I'm kind of that but, in reality, I'm actually that.”

Like the frst season, but with a new twist, the aim was to “provoke people to have conversations with their partner and even internal conversations with themselves about who they are and why they do stuf."

In an era of highly personalised TV programming, and product marketing, it’s vital that content about finances can also feel just as personal to each of us - relatable, personality-led and built on human behaviour, not numbers. But with a new twist each season if it’s to return; and with plenty of clear, solid information and advice sat behind the entertainment. A tough balance to achieve.

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3. Demonstrating Purpose

Increasingly for many brands, the objective is also around demonstrating their purpose, or use to society, particularly if they are investing in a longer form piece of content.

As Paul Tremain at MediaCom says, "I think more than it being specifcally about the fnance or spending category getting more interested in AFP, it’s about brands getting more interested in the ‘purposefulness’ category. More and more they want to own a space that is about making a diference, and in the current climate a lot of that is about personal fnance, rebuilding businesses, and above all supporting communities.”

He mentions other banks and building societies looking at this area right now, just as in Italy Intesa Sao Paolo wanted to move away from X Factor towards supporting charities and sustainability causes.

HELPING THE INDIVIDUAL On the micro level that’s about showing how fnancial brands and products can help the individual - through their products of course, but also as a general mission.

In the US this month, long-running student quiz show College Bowl is being

Capital One revived on NBC as Capital One College Bowl, hosted by football great Peyton College Bow Manning, with brother Cooper Manning as sidekick.

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Teams of three college students put their knowledge to the test, competing for a share of the $1 million dollars in academic scholarships that financial-services company and sponsors Capital One are providing. Participating schools include University of Alabama, Columbia University, University of Michigan, University of Virginia and Xavier of Louisiana, while Capital One will be funding not only the prize, but also the Champion trophy, and plenty of accompanying social content.

Following on from Pepsi’s Cherries Wild game on Fox earlier in the year, it appears that gameshows are the BFP genre of choice on US networks right now - albeit in this case with a neat message of educational and fnancial support tied in, and reinforcing Capital One’s well- known ‘What’s in your wallet?’ tagline.

Love It or List It Finland In Finland meanwhile, Nelonen is leaning on Nordea, the largest fnancial group in Northern Europe, as the main funding partner on their adaptation of home search and renovation show Love It or List It. With the format relying on big fnancial decisions around renovating one’s home, and then deciding whether to stay in it or sell and move, it has proved a useful title for attracting brand sponsors in both fnancing and home improvement.

Lasse Nikkari Says Lasse Nikkari, Head of Formats and Branded Entertainment for Nelonen, Head of Formats & Branded Entertainment “We have Nordea as the main partner… alongside two other partners - a real (Nelonen) Sanoma Media estate agency and an interior design store."

“We also produce two spin-of series where we dig deeper into renovation and real estate fnancing. One with a more lifestyle edge for the interior design retailer, focusing on the choices of furniture, colours and textures; and one with a fnance edge for Nordea, focusing on the details that need to be taken care of and negotiated when you either renovate or buy a new home.”

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“Nordea want to be top of the mind when it comes mortgages, and be the place to get the best possible advice, so in selected episodes where the couple needs to re-negotiate or seek consultancy then Nordea have a more prominent role. We are putting out new spin-of episodes simultaneously with the mother show, with banners advising viewers to watch the spinof too.”

HELPING BUSINESSES Alongside helping individuals, fnance brands also have a clear opportunity to demonstrate how they are helping small businesses to survive and thrive, particularly in the current climate.

Pre-dating the challenges of Covid, Russian bank Sberbank worked with The Story Lab to create four seasons of the original TV format Now I’m The Boss for the Friday! channel in Russia. (Friday!/ Pyatnitsa! is an all-Russia broadcast entertainment channel, first launched in 2013.)

Now I’m Each 10 part season (April 2018 - December 2019) featured two bosses in the The Boss same feld, one from a small business and the other from a large business, switching places for three days. Each one is able to run the business as they choose during this timeframe.

The idea is that the Big Boss will help the small business grow by integrating Sberbank’s expert management solutions, while the small business boss uses innovative and creative ways to solve problems within the larger business.

Sberbank own 40% of the market share for small businesses, but were facing the challenge that new business applications in Russia were declining by 30% year on year. Their aim was to encourage people to start new businesses, with of course Sberbank’s business products supporting them. And by doing that via the TV show, also of course to attract a new audience, change brand perception and enter into a new market with a new product launch.

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In terms of a returning BFP format, the show has proved more successful than many, with several seasons and even an award in the “Best TV Show 2019” category at the TEFI-Capital Russian Television Awards (Russia’s equivalent of the Emmys).

Pioneers of Meanwhile digital branded content specialists Nemorin Film and Video have Progress also worked with fnance clients, including Credit Suisse, on flms showing the support innovative businesses get from banks.

The Credit Suisse example is a series of documentaries for CNBC, entitled Pioneers of Progress. The flms showcase several industry-leading businesses and their relationship with the brand. Each is around eight minutes long, and runs in commercial air time rather than as strict AFP. The flms will be distributed on YouTube, the clients’ own digital channels and on out- of-home displays in Credit Suisse reception areas.

Nemorin was founded in 2014 by CEO Pete Fergusson, who’d previously run the commercial video team at The Telegraph. Graham Hayday joined him from the Head of Studio role at Guardian Labs, The Guardian’s in-house branded content agency. Together the two set out to make white-label branded content that could sit anywhere – a client’s website, intranet, YouTube channel, Pete Fergusson Founder & CEO Facebook page, TikTok or even on TV. Five years later Argonon took it into their Nemorin Film & Video group, realising that BFP was a rapidly growing market.

Nemorin still do the digital branded content they’ve always done - whether it be short form or feature-length docs – but now they also develop their own formats for broadcast distribution, while facilitating and co-producing longer- form programming with the companies in the Argonon group. All of it is funded

Graham Hayday (or partially funded) by brands. COO & Director of Content & Strategy Nemorin Film & Video

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Says Graham: “We have access to seven brilliantly creative production companies in the group, who are out there pitching to commissioners all the time. If we don't have an idea of our own up our sleeves we can feed through the briefs from agencies or brands and ask what our colleagues have on their slates. They often come back with something that they’ve already talked to a commissioner about, something that could be helped over the line if it were part or entirely funded by a brand.”

This was also was what happened in the case of Channel 4’s most recent business-supporting series The Money Maker, adapted from another CNBC show The Profit, by UK indie Kalel Productions. Says Nick Parnes, CEO of Kalel, “We’d already seen and liked The Proft and thought we could do it here. We licensed the format and pitched it to Channel 4. They knew, via Nick Parnes MediaCom, that Dell wanted to do a small business show, and this ftted CEO Kalel Productions perfectly with their mission to help SMEs via their products. I think there might have been another idea in the running, but [commissioner] Becky Cadman pitched this to them and they were already quite keen before we The Proft even got in the room with them.”

Paul Tremain at MediaCom admits that the fact that the format already had a track record in the US was a big help. “This was a US acquisition, so obviously came with the added confdence of being able to see broadly how it might look.”

In the US the show is currently on its seventh series and features multimillionaire investor Marcus Lemonis visiting struggling businesses and investing his own money in exchange for a share of each company. For the UK, new talent had to be found, and as Parnes says, “Trying to fnd a multimillionaire investor who would be happy to spend up to a million pounds of his or her own money to invest in struggling, crisis-hit businesses that may or may not succeed was a nigh on impossible task. It was then I began to understand why no one had successfully brought The Proft over to the UK before.”

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But in the end they hit upon serial US entrepreneur and investor Eric Collins, the man behind Impact X Capital, a £100m fund that invests in companies run by female and underrepresented entrepreneurs, and a member of President Obama’s White House Small Business Council.

Tremain says that “Dell didn’t get involved in casting – we always keep the client informed, but they took the producer and channel’s recommendations, which is as it should be. On the companies we followed they just had to be SMEs, and the ones they found ftted the bill.”

“The UK version was slower and less shouty than the US version, but Eric was great – a talent not known over here, so maybe a harder sell, but he was excellent.”

With the show being commissioned just as Covid hit, continuing was a big gamble for all concerned, but in the end its social purpose became even more important as Collins set out to help the chosen companies navigate these most challenging times, as well as build a successful long-term future. Those included a bakery, forced to move mostly online; a company carrying out invisible repairs to household fttings; and a team of mobile barbers, looking for ways to survive lockdown.

As Parnes explains, “It meant that the storylines and the mission to help small businesses get through it were even more relevant than ever, but of course it made it much harder to make. Our Exec had worked on The Apprentice in the past, and he said all the big supermarkets that would normally happily let you go in and flm someone pitching products to them, just didn’t want to be seen to be taking unnecessary risks with flming, even though it was allowed. So we had lots of drop-outs and not as many locations as we’d have liked. But it didn’t really afect the viewing experience, just the budget and production logistics.”

While the ratings were not stellar for Channel 4, those associations with their brand purpose were still invaluable for Dell. Says Tremain, “Launching a new format is hard, the numbers might not have been what we hoped, but we feel it’s a show that will gather momentum.”

“It had really strong social sentiment, and we got lots of positivity on social media about how the show was doing that. It’s too early to say on the full ROI for Dell – we’ll have the results of our full analysis in July, when we’ve looked at things like brand consideration and uplift - but they were very pleased with the response from those who engaged. The social assets they put out with Eric Collins did very well, and it’s clear that the subject is very interesting to those who are interested!”

Because the format was already in existence, there wasn’t much room for input from Dell on that, but in the end it was these brand values, the attached social assets, and some moderate placement of their computers in the series that were the key elements their investment delivered.

The question now is whether the format will travel further - again with a brand attached. Says Paul Tremain at MediaCom, “Dell will have to pay for the option if they do want to be associated with it in other markets, but they have expressed interest and it is in advanced conversations elsewhere so we’ll see, once everyone has looked at the post campaign analysis. And the same for Channel 4 and a second series.”

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One of those markets is Finland, where the show has also been optioned from NBCU by Nelonen (with interest from “various potential partners in the insurance, IT and fnancial management sectors” according to Lasse Nikkari.)

Despite the fnancial complications of Covid and the added headache of extra partners to satisfy, the experience hasn’t put Nick Parnes off brand funded programming at all. “This was our frst BFP – we’d pitched in before for branded All4 ideas, but this was the frst we’ve got away. We weren’t actively pursuing many tenders like this – it was more a case of being in the right place at the right time with the format, but we’d defnitely do more.”

HELPING SOCIETY Alongside the mission to help small business, there are also plenty of fnance brands wanting to prove their value to society as a whole - whether it’s via specially tailored content, or added extras around established shows they sponsor.

Roberta Zamboni at Fremantle Italy says the challenge is to keep brands feeling like they are getting that, even from the biggest entertainment titles.

“All these companies are moving towards value propositions now. They want to be associated with empowerment, sustainability and diversity. Our challenge is to fnd ways to incorporate those values and messages into shows like X Factor.”

“So for example for Axa we created a manche dedicated to female Anthony Ng Writer and Co-Director empowerment, in support of women campaigning against violence towards on DBS mini-series Sparks women. We had a female orchestra involved and also our judge Emma Moviola Productions Marrone whose monologue went viral on social media for the week after.”

But for fnancial brands with reputations for probity and integrity to uphold, it all has to be delicately managed. “It has to all be done very carefully - the storytelling has to be right, and it has to feel integrated into the show. Brands are very demanding about what they want from these sponsorships now, but it raises the bar for us to try and make it feel appropriate, engaging and in the right context.”

“Brands want more and more digital involvement, and talent with followers they can harness - the TV show or campaign itself is not enough now.”

A highly successful example of impressive real-world support and action via digital branded content comes from DBS Bank Ltd - a Singaporean multinational banking and fnancial services corporation.

Their Sparks mini-series launched in 2016 online, produced by Moviola Productions, Hong Kong, and centring on a group of DBS bankers who go above and beyond to solve client challenges. The series garnered over 250 million views across Asia, and led to the creation of a second season in 2019, entitled “Everyday Heroes for a Better World”, and focusing specifcally on social enterprises.

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Sparks The series is still on-going and follows the bankers from Season One as they Season 2: Everyday partner with these various social enterprises to create positive social impact. The Heroes for a Better World first seven episodes of Season Two garnered almost 215 million views and nearly 7 million digital engagements across Asia, indicating wide audience reach.

The idea built on a previous online mini-movie DBS had made in India that focused on a couple who were trying to start a restaurant and were clients of DBS. Says Antony Ng, Writer and Co- Director of Sparks for Moviola, “[In that flm] we learnt about DBS through the couple’s interactions with the bank, what they had on ofer and their services; but the issue with this approach was that the bank came across as rather a minor character and with very little speaking time. It was really about the couple and DBS came in at certain parts of the movie to provide solutions.”

“So we started to think about what else we can do. Why don’t we turn this around and make the story about the bank and its employees? This would not only get an in depth understanding of its services but also provide a great opportunity to show the more human side of banking which most people don’t get to see. Especially after the fnancial crisis people had a very negative view of banks, they just want my money, they are only concerned about profts etc. They don’t necessarily care about social responsibility.”

“So that was our approach and with the concept in place, we started to create an interesting group of DBS bankers as characters that would drive the story. With the characters in place, we very quickly saw the potential for a continuous series.“

DBS bought the concept of the series, but the challenge then became working out what durations would most engage the audience. “The research showed that the drop of rate was quite high (even after seconds) so then the question was, why are we trying to do something much longer - is this going to be viable? For season one, episodes one to three were 5’ as we tried to keep it as short as possible.”

“After they were so well received, we realised we could try some longer episodes. Sometimes the data is not always so accurate in terms of how you can reach and engage with an audience. We went of and said let’s try a longer duration for episodes four and fve - and we were right. The 12’ eps were even more successful.”

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“We do have drop ofs but the people DBS want to reach are not necessarily those skimming through stuf. I think the message is a) either we do something as attention grabbing as possible in a very short space of time and just unload the information before we lose the attention span or b) we want the audience to “feel it” and not be told. In a way, there is a slight efort on their end to follow the story. We all love movies that make us feel smart, I get to participate in the viewing as well. People remember how they feel – this approach has a lasting impact.”

The stories have to be carefully chosen to feature engaging social enterprises, challenges and characters, and also subject areas that the audience can relate to.

Says Ng “For season 2, we focused on social enterprises. DBS insisted that every episode needed to be based on a true story which was hard but we realised that the impact would be much greater than something fctional. Every episode starts with what DBS wants to talk about. We take these true stories and then dramatize them to ft the format.”

“We start researching and coming up with the story – this involves rounds of feedback and scriptwriting. We have to talk about the bank and what DBS do, how they nurture social enterprise, but then we also have to talk about social enterprise, what they do, who are the founders, why did they start the enterprise, what are the challenges? How do they solve the problem with the bank’s help?”

“On top of that, we have to keep it entertaining. Is there romance? Is there confict? Disagreement? As a writer and co director, I need to bring these elements together to create an entertaining, brand building piece all at the same time. Not an easy job but a collective efort to slowly smooth out the rough edges and make sure everything is balanced.”

Above all it’s important that behind the story there is a genuine lasting impact that DBS and the social enterprise have been able to achieve in the real world. “For the season one fnale, we wanted a big story that ended up straddling episodes nine and ten. These eps were to be on a social enterprise specialised in solar power.”

“I ended up writing the story where Sachin Tendulkar, the famous cricket star, helped DBS to build the solar power foods lights for a village cricket ground in India so that kids don’t have to choose between doing homework and playing cricket. They can do their homework and play cricket at night.”

“DBS informed me afterwards that because of this episode, DBS and Sachin actually teamed up and built the foodlights for the cricket ground. So, what we created really did make a diference in the world and I love the fact that DBS actually did that and put their money where their mouth is.”

For Karen Ngui, Managing Director & Head of Group Strategic Marketing and Communications for DBS Bank, Sparks has been a success on many fronts.

She says: “Over the past 4 years, Sparks has created value by successfully shaping and strengthening DBS’ brand perception and driving purchase consideration. When we

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compare perceptions between people who have caught Sparks or Sparks- related content, and those who haven’t, there is evidence that Sparks has led to far more positive brand perceptions of DBS.”

“In particular, we see stronger brand associations between DBS, purpose, Karen Ngui and sustainability traits for those who are aware of Sparks vs those who are Managing Director, Head of Group Strategic Marketing not. And our attribution modelling studies show that a healthy percentage of and Communications DBS Bank and those who have been exposed to Sparks have then gone on to fnd out more DBS Foundation Board Member about DBS’ products and services.”

Of course, it’s important to know who those people are, and, as previously discussed, it’s often the younger audiences that banks are most interested in engaging.

As Ngui says, “Given that it’s a web series and marketed primarily online through social media, we are able to reach a larger proportion of younger, digital natives who are more likely to consume content online. And it’s great that Sparks has resonated with both the public and DBS employees alike. Some of our younger colleagues have even told me that the series changed their perceptions about what working in a bank is like, and they wanted to work for DBS after watching it!“

While Moviola produces the full episodes and the trailers, DBS’ in-house content strategy and production teams conceptualise, develop, and push out the fringe and publicity content to drive interest around every new Sparks episode. And, apart from Sparks, DBS’ Content and Studio teams also now produce other content offerings for DBS, including a podcast and an experiential vlog series.

“We made it a priority to build and grow our in-house content strategy and production teams. We hired content strategists and writers, and also established the DBS Sparks Studio, an in-house studio with production capabilities including live-streaming, videography, graphic design, and so on… Our in-house content creation and production capabilities have enabled us to be more agile and experimental in creating always-on content for social media and digital channels, even as we try new formats such as audio and augmented reality content,” explains Ngui.

With the series recently being recognised as a Webby Honoree, now the challenge is to see where the idea can go next. Says Ngui: “We decided to adopt a brand publisher approach to content creation, including creating our own in-house content oferings, and pushing them out directly to customers and the general public via social media and other streaming channels. Sparks is one successful example of this. That said, it would be great if Netfix or Disney+ or the other streamers would pick Sparks up!”

For DBS the plan was never about pushing a specifc product, more about showing how Sparks is a demonstration of what the DBS brand stands for. “Sparks helps to encapsulate our single-minded focus on customer centricity, our belief in going the extra mile for the customer, and our desire to help our customers live larger than themselves by being socially

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conscious and having a sense of purpose. These values are deeply engrained in our DNA, even as the “mechanics” of banking evolve over time.”

She adds: “The ending scene in our latest episode of Sparks, ‘One From The Heart’, sums up this sentiment nicely. It’s a scene where budding young DBS banker Ethan asks his manager Chester on how being a banker today is diferent from being a banker in the past.”

"Chester replies: “Well, with the wonders of technology, life, and banking as we know it, is very diferent today. But what’s in here... (gestures to where the heart is) has never changed. It is still about standing by our clients and supporting them through good times and bad. It is still about thinking beyond ourselves and being thoughtful with our actions so we can leave a better world than the one we inherited. And it is this purpose that drives us every day.”

Sometimes multiple partners can use the same piece of content in different ways, to refect their own social agendas and purpose. Banijay’s format Eat Well For Less has been a success for BBC1 in the UK for a number of years, and also performed well as an acquisition for TVNZ1 in New Zealand. But with the cash aspect always in sterling, and the supermarket foods specifc to the UK, there was defnitely the appetite from TVNZ for a local adaptation that would be more relatable to the New Zealand audience.

Amanda Murphy, a freelance Commercial and New Business Executive specialising in Brand Funded Programmes, explains how she and the TVNZ commissioner set out together to fnd a range of brands to help deliver a fully funded NZ version.

“The series subject matter was key and topical from a nutrition & health perspective, spending habits, food waste, food education and Kiwis being time (and budget) poor but wanting to make nutritious meals for their families.”

Amanda Murphy With this in mind their frst approaches were to supermarkets - notably Freelance Commercial and New Business Executive Countdown (Woolworths NZ ), whose marketing tagline “Eat Well For Less” specialising in Brand Funded Programmes, made them the perfect ft. But alongside the mission to get families eating Brand Partnerships, Sponsorship and Media Integration better and more cheaply is a broader societal aim around reducing food waste, and supporting more sustainable food production methods. So the next stop was Rabobank NZ (subsidiary of Rabobank Netherlands), a 100% online bank offering that supports local farmers.

As Murphy explains “It’s a mutual which means money raised from deposits gets reinvested back into New Zealand - back into the land to grow the food we eat… Their challenge is motivating urbanites to make deposits by explaining the ‘mutual benefts’. i.e: money raised from deposits gets converted into loans & support for the rural agriculture sector.”

One of the biggest social purpose aspects to what they do is trying to help reduce food waste. As their website explains, “Naturally, we have a deep interest in knowing the food produced by the New Zealand businesses we work with goes where it really belongs, on people‘s plates….. Some of the produce that gets to market is wasted because of use-by dates,

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mislabelling, damaged packaging, cancelled orders and other issues. Some doesn’t even get that far, like fruit and vegetables that are sometimes wasted because they have a few blemishes or look ugly (even though they still taste really good).”

So the brand saw a partnership with Eat Well for Less as the perfect opportunity to grow audience awareness of Rabobank’s support for food and local agriculture, drive deposits via the website, but also promote the wider anti-food waste message and the tips they put out on their social channels.

Eat Well As Murphy puts it, the mantra of the series is that “if you're wasting your food For Less NZ you’re essentially wasting your money. A great example is that when you go to the supermarket you buy eight carrots when you only need to use two. When you throw them away you're not just having a negative impact on the environment, but you’re also throwing away your money, which is a key message for Rabobank and the show.”

Along with a third sponsor, 5+A Day Charitable Trust (educating families around eating enough fruit and vegetables), these different funding partners leveraged and amplifed the series, making tailored content to play alongside and further drive key messaging. This included TVC’s, social and digital content, plus in-store collateral and recipes viewers could use to make the meals from the series at home.

Series One ended up being the biggest show on TV in New Zealand in 2020, reaching just under 1.9 million viewers (5+) and averaging over half a million viewers per episode (5+), which meant it outperformed My Kitchen Rules and MasterChef - previously the top two food shows in the territory. It broadcast whilst the country was in lockdown so the content felt particularly topical. Series Two is currently on air under the same funding model and at similar performance levels.

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4. Challenges to Overcome

So what are the challenges for brands in the Spending and Finance category wanting to get involved with Brand Funded Programming, and how can they be overcome?

IT’S PRETTY DRY… The frst is - as we’ve already established - that it can be very diffcult to make the nitty gritty of money actually interesting to watch.

As Lasse Nikkari at Nelonen in Finland puts it when discussing Nordea’s sponsorship of Love It or List It “Making mortgage discussion sexy is the biggest challenge in regards to content.”

For engaging TV programming, the human stories, drama and relationship problems that money throws up can often be the best way into the subject, but with solid and clear fnancial advice sitting behind it, often in supporting digital content.

FINANCIAL REPUTATION AND COMPLIANCE But this brings us onto the next area of complication: the fact that fnancial brands have to maintain unquestionable probity and their blue-chip reputations, and adhere to stringent regulatory frameworks.

Samantha Glynne, Global Senior Vice President of Branded Entertainment at Fremantle, still sees a lot of nervousness here. “We’ve had lots of briefs for small business-type shows from banks, but then they never seem to go anywhere. There may be a good, funded business format out there, but we haven’t really seen it yet. I think the brands put out the brief but then get cold feet, they’re so cautious about their reputations in this category.”

And as Graham Hayday at Nemorin explains, even when they do go ahead, it can be challenging working on fnancial brands' content when it will be published online. “Compliance is a major issue. It can be hard to do content about fnancial services because it has to be compliant in any market it might be seen in, as the sector is so tightly regulated. At one banking brand shoot recently we had something in the script about a specifc product, but had to take it out as it was only available in one market, and the flm would be available globally on YouTube.”

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INDUSTRY PROCESSES Lastly, it seems that many of the differences in process, terminology and approach that can sometimes create a gulf between TV makers and their brand partner counterparts are even greater when it comes to fnance brands.

Lasse Nikkari has seen this up close with some of their content partnerships in this area. “In terms of partnership, the fnance sector is really process-driven and wants to get a lot things confrmed really early on. Way earlier than things might be set in the actual production.”

“Also, the TV industry is still quite young, organic, creative so I have discovered that those processes are not so well documented. There has been a bit of work to get our processes documented and delivered to the client to the level they need in their industry. But it’s great that we now have this partnership [with Nordea] as a benchmark of what we need to have ready and documented going forward.”

Roberta Zamboni at Fremantle Italy found some of the same disparities regarding timelines and process to be the case in their dealings with Intesa San Paolo and Axa Insurance over X Factor.

“The biggest learning or challenge is getting the brand to trust the production. They are used to planning things so far in advance, but we tell them the storytelling has to happen in real time, as the show and the characters are evolving. You can’t plan something like getting X Factor stars involved in a female empowerment manche fve months ahead - it needs to feel right in the moment, based on the people involved. That is one of the biggest diferences between TV producers and brands - it’s a totally diferent way of working. But we won a brand integration prize for that, so I guess it was worth it!’ “

In the end, this is the same lesson as for so much Brand Funded Programming. Yes, there are added complications and challenges, but when a brand really gets behind an idea, the added value that the right show, and all its associated assets, brings to their message is worth it.

And for producers willing to explore all avenues in the name of getting good shows away (and well-funded), it’s equally worth trying.

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5. Interviewees

BRENDAN DAHILL General Manager for EQ Media Australia and New Zealand

Since joining EQ Media in October 2018 Brendan has Produced / Executive Produced a range of both Scripted and Unscripted Projects - ranging from Rebecca Gibney’s new drama Under the Vines and Unscripted projects such as the feature documentary on Shane Warne, Going Country and Arts series for the ABC directed by Kriv Stenders and presented by Justine Clarke plus Scott Pape’s Money Movement.

Previously, Brendan was the Managing Director of Keo Films Australia. During his time Keo produced the award winning hit documentary series War on Waste for the ABC, in addition to a broad range of factual and entertainment programs including River Cottage Australia (for SBS / Lifestyle Channel), Struggle Street for SBS and Bullied for the ABC.

Prior to that he was Head of Non-Scripted Production, Head of Network Programming and the ABC1 Channel Controller at the ABC.

PETE FERGUSSON Founder & CEO, Nemorin Film & Video UK

Pete is the former head of commercial video for the Telegraph. His team pioneered branded video as a new advertising genre, which engages audiences while addressing key objectives for brand and media owners alike. Pete has a background in broadcast media, both on and off-air at such organisations as Bloomberg, Virgin Media and the BBC. He has also represented the UK creative sector on international trade missions to China and Japan for the Mayor of London.

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SAMANTHA GLYNNE Global Senior Vice President of Branded Entertainment, Fremantle UK

Samantha is based in London but drives branded entertainment activities for Fremantle around the world, working with regional commercial and digital teams to deliver brand strategy, lead key relationships with brands and agencies, and maximise advertiser engagement on TV and digital platforms.

Samantha was formerly Managing Partner and Director of Channels at Publicis Entertainment in London and Paris and Head of Commercial Content at North One Television/All3Media.

GRAHAM HAYDAY COO & Director of Content & Strategy, Nemorin Film & Video UK

Graham has over 20 years' experience in the media industry, having previously been a journalist at a range of publishers including Dennis and Emap, for both B2B and B2C publications. He produced branded content at the Guardian for nine years, the last three of which he spent running the Guardian Labs studio.

He has also worked in Condé Nast's branded content team. In his role at Nemorin he oversees all of the team’s output from both a narrative and strategic point of view, ensuring the agency takes an editorial approach to branded video campaigns.

VICKY KELL BFP Consultant UK

Vicky has worked in brand partnerships for over 20 years, including a 10 year stint at Channel 4, where she worked across sponsorship, BFP and product placement. For the past 5 years she has been freelance, consulting predominantly on brand funded programming, including a year spent at Syco overseeing commercial and brand partnerships.

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ANTHONY NG Writer and Co-Director on DBS mini-series Sparks, Moviola Productions Hong Kong

Anthony is a writer/director at Moviola Productions and has directed commercials and short flms for global brands including Cathay Pacifc, DBS, Disney, Pepsi, Ajisen Ramen and KFC. He continues to push boundaries by experimenting with new forms of storytelling, writing and co-directing an award-winning episodic web-series for DBS Bank titled “Sparks” with over 500 million views.

A graduate of the flm program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and the recipient of Director’s Guild of America Best Asian-American Student Filmmaker Award, his debut feature flm “212” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005.

KAREN NGUI Managing Director Head of Group Strategic Marketing and Communications, DBS Bank, and DBS Foundation Board Member Singapore

Karen Ngui is responsible for corporate communications, brand management, strategic marketing, internal communications, sponsorships as well as the bank’s sustainability efforts in corporate volunteerism and championing social enterprises through DBS Foundation.

She leads media and issues management efforts across the DBS Group and is responsible for managing and enhancing the bank's brand positioning and establishing a consistent brand identity across all businesses and markets, including Singapore, Greater China, South and Southeast Asia.

She is also a board member of DBS Foundation which nurtures social entrepreneurs across the region, enabling them to scale and enhance social impact through their innovative and sustainable businesses.

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AMANDA MURPHY Freelance Commercial and New Business Executive specialising in Brand Funded Programmes, Brand Partnerships, Sponsorship and Media Integration, New Zealand

Amanda is an experienced General Manager / NZ Regional Manager & Consultant with a background in Television, Media, Publishing and Event management with global leading companies.

Her background includes NZ and UK experience with strength and expertise in the strategic development of commercial opportunities including brand funded programmes, brand partnerships, sponsorships and media integration.

LASSE NIKKARI Head of Formats and Branded Entertainment (Nelonen), Sanoma Media Finland

Lasse Nikkari works as Head of Formats & Branded Entertainment at Nelonen, Finland, with the aim to build bridges between local brands and international hit formats. Before joining Nelonen, Lasse has worked in development and sales positions for several years with different production companies.

He has brought several international hit formats successfully to Finland as well as created and produced branded content shows. Lasse joined Nelonen from Warner Brothers Finland, where he worked as Head of Formats.

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NICK PARNES CEO, Kalel Productions UK

In the early noughties, Nick was Exec of International Formats for MTV Networks, after having produced and directed various independently-produced shows including Popworld (C4) and Swag (C5).

Nick signed a co-pro deal with Objective Productions in 2009 and created/exec’ed The Undercover Princes/Princesses, Eye Spy, Make Me A Millionaire Inventor, among others. He exec’ed the UK versions of Impractical Jokers and Off Their Rockers, and helmed the pilot for Kayvan Novak’s Britain Today Tonight. In 2016, Nick signed with Greenbird Media and Keshet, and created innovative shows like Stupid Man, Smart Phone and Rich Kids Go Skint, the latter in its 5th series, spawning successful spin-offs, like Rich Kids Skint Holiday.

PAUL TREMAIN Managing Partner, Branded Entertainment, MediaCom UK

Paul heads up the partnerships team at Mediacom, responsible for developing branded entertainment solutions and partnership opportunities for Mediacom’s various clients - including Coca Cola, Adidas, Innocent, Peugeot, TUI Travel, and many others.

Paul and his team have developed some of the most successful branded entertainment properties in recent years - including ad-funded programming (with broadcasters, production companies and talent), content partnerships, influencer marketing campaigns and experiential activations.

SIMON WELLS Controller of Funded Content, Channel 4 UK

Simon has been Controller of Funded Content at Channel Four since 2014, driving the channel’s creative partnerships and business models with brands. Prior to that he worked for 15 years in advertising and then joined Bazal Television, doing the same for many of Endemol’s shows before joining Drum OMG in 2004.

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ROBERTA ZAMBONI Branded Entertainment Director, Fremantle Italy Italy

Roberta has been working across the whole chain of communications and media for 20 years: creative agency, digital sales and platforms, media agency and now leveraging branded content propositions in one of the biggest production groups worldwide. Her team pioneered brand integrations in TV shows, collaborating with major broadcasters in Italy to develop a new standard for partnerships with multiple touchpoints.

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About K7 Media

Founded in 1998, K7 Media is a global independent organisation providing media intelligence to broadcasters, streaming platforms, distributors and production companies across the world.

Drawing on the team’s extensive knowledge of the international TV and digital sector to produce personalised research, showreels and reports, K7 Media is retained as a trusted source of industry insight for clients across the world.

For more information visit - k7.media

Any business inquiries please contact Victoria De Kerdrel at [email protected]

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