Building a Content Brand
HLK BRAINSTORM SESSION
Pitch us a Content Brand!
You're part of the program development team and they're looking for the next hit show. Except you aren't working on behalf of a network - like the Discovery Channel or ESPN - you're working on behalf of Hyland's.
Instead of a network, you're going to create content that appeals to a niche audience. (Think of these niche audience's as the television network - in the old media world metaphor.)
Who's your niche audience?
A Catchy Title and a Smart Log Line
Get creative. I want you to come up with a catchy title and a smart log line for your new show. Imagine that if the show is successful your audience would be interested in buying logo-merchandise with your show's title on it.
What's a log line?
A log line is an easy-to-understand description of your show. It should pique our interest, get us excited and really accentuate what makes your show unique.
Examples:
The A - Team
"Four Vietnam vets, framed for a crime they didn't commit, help the innocent while on the run from the military."
30 Minute Meals
"Rachel Ray creates a hearty, accessible, filling, meal in 30-minutes - no television trickery involved."
A Smart Hook
If you're going to create a content brand you (and your client) can OWN, you're going to need to come up with a smart hook - a twist on a familiar theme that entraps or ensnares your audience. Your hook is what makes your content unique. It's what people fall in love with.
Examples:
Gary Vee's Wine Library TV
Delivering wine reviews and insight like ESPN's Sportscenter would.
Will It Blend
Blending everything you shouldn't.
An Analogy Line
When you're pitching new or innovative ideas, it's often hard for your audience to 'picture' what you're pitching. Analogies to content we already know and love helps us paint a picture of what the new content brand might be - how it might feel or even look.
Think of analogy line's as a way to mash-up two, three or even four other content brands into something new. It won't stand on it's own, but it will make a huge difference in our ability to see your concept come to life.
Examples:
"Deadliest Catch"
ESPN's Bass fishing competition meets The Perfect Storm.
"Mythbusters"
The online urban dictionary "Snopes.com" meets Popular Science at George Lucas' Special Effects shop.
A Personal Brand
In the digital world we live in - the most successful content brands are people-powered. Make sure you have a credible, smart, and hopefully charismatic personality tied to your content. It'll be much more successful and you can leverage their existing audience to make it a success.
Examples:
Mythbusters is powered by Adam and Jamie - with over 50 years of special effects experience.
Good Eats is powered by Alton Brown's curious (and scientifically-driven) mind.
Hint: Many times the hook is driven by the talent you find.
A Brief Description of the Show's Mechancis
Every good television executive knows that the audience falls in love with a format first - not the talent, the hook or even the big idea - that means you're going to need to walk us through the way each episode unfolds. Keep it simple. Make sure you have a beginning a middle and an end.
EXAMPLE:
How Booze Built America
"Mike Rowe is thirsty. Really thirsty. And after doing hundreds of dirty jobs, who can blame him? In Discovery’s brand-new series HOW BOOZE BUILT AMERICA, host Mike Rowe takes a break from the dirty jobs … and takes a seat at the bar.
Did you know that the Puritans landed the Mayflower early on Plymouth Rock … because they ran out of beer? Or that Johnny Appleseed was actually creating farms to sell hard apple cider? Mike Rowe does, and he’ll walk you through all of this and more. He’s proven that dirty jobs can be fun. He’s ready to do the same for history.
Each episode takes you inside one of America's most historic events and uncover's the ways booze changed our country (and it's not always for the better.)"
Proof that your show has legs!
If everything else has gone well - meaning your pitch is resonating, heads are nodding and people are excited about your idea - you have to prove it has 'legs.'
In the television business, this means you must prove there are enough possibilities to create 'N' number of episodes of the show. Sometimes a list of three or four episode titles will help people understand how far your show can go.
For Example:
Discovery Channel's "Curiosity"
Anatomy of a plane crash
The Devil's Triangle
Did God create the universe
Legs
If you can't come up with a list of a dozen ideas - your show probably doesn't have enough legs...
EXAMPLE: Mythbusters' legs
- Jet-Assisted Chevy/Pop Rocks and Soda S1, Ep1
- Vacuum Toilet/Biscuit Bazooka/Leaping Lawyer S1, Ep2
- Larry's Lawn-Chair Balloon/Goldfinger/Poppy-Seed Drug Test S1, Ep3
- Ice Bullet/Exploding Toilet/Who Gets Wetter? S1, Ep4
- Cell Phone Destruction/Silicone Breasts/CD-ROM Shattering S1, Ep5
- Penny Drop/Deadly Microwaves/Radio Tooth Fillings S1, Ep7
- Hammer Bridge Drop/Buried Alive/Cola S1, Ep8
- Lightning Strikes Tongue Piercing/Tree Cannon/Beat the Breath Test S1, Ep9
- Stinky Car/Raccoon Rocket S1, Ep10
- Escape from Alcatraz/Duck Quack/Stud Finder S1, Ep11
- Chicken Gun/Octopus Pregnancy/Killer Washing Machine S1, Ep12
- Explosive Decompression/Frog Giggin'/Rear Axle S1, Ep13
- Sinking Titanic/Goldfish Memory/Trombone Explosion S1, Ep14