Video — Blue Ant Media testimonial for Creative Export Strategy
Transcript of the video — Blue Ant Media testimonial for Creative Export Strategy
Video length: 00:02:38
[Sweeping aerial views of the Toronto skyline and the iconic CN tower, interspersed with street views showing a walking path near condo buildings, a café storefront and the sign for Blue Ant Media, which is housed in a mid-rise glass and red brick building.]
[Lively music begins as the words ‘Creative Export Strategy’ appear on screen against the backdrop of a brick wall.]
[A man in a suit in a boardroom with a colourful graphic background. His image is inset against more aerial views of apartment buildings.]
Jamie: We produce TV shows, we sell TV shows, and we run a channels business – cable channels, streaming channels – both here in Canada and around the world.
[Closeup shots of an Open sign, directional street signs, a painted King Liberty Village sign and an aerial shot of a black and grey patterned sidewalk.]
[A man in a suit in a boardroom.]
Jamie: One of the core premises of Blue Ant is that we create content here, are proudly based here in Canada, but take advantage of the opportunities that exist globally.
[Footage from various Blue Ant productions, including dramas, a renovation show, documentaries and nature shows, interspersed with footage of the man in the boardroom. His name and title appear on screen: Jamie Schouela, Chief Operations Officer.]
Jamie: In early 2020, a new opportunity emerged, which was the growth of free streaming television. And we wanted to quickly move into the space. But to do that required significant funding. We made a large investment, but to have the Creative Export Strategy coming with that was super helpful.
[Jamie and his colleagues in an animated meeting, talking, laughing and viewing footage on a computer screen.]
[Jamie in the boardroom.]
Jamie: So in areas like marketing, in hiring extra folks to work on the team to help us scale what we were doing, in investing in technology that we needed as well. In terms of the impact it had on us, I do think the best analogy is the idea of gasoline on the fire.
[Various scenes of reptiles and insects from a nature show, followed by footage of a woman working at a video editing station in front of two computer screens.]
[Jamie in the boardroom.]
Jamie: We wanted to make sure we could establish our brands, get distribution for our brands and build audiences for them as well. And that was our first goal, was first build in the U.S. and then look to other large English markets outside of Canada, in the UK, in Australia and then parts of Europe, sort of beyond that.
[A hallway in the Blue Ant offices with an interior window bearing the logo of the company.]
[Computer screens showing footage from outdoor and nature shows and scenes from the office, including a film editor working on a computer.]
Jamie: We found distribution through platforms like Samsung, Roku, Pluto and saw great success. We certainly overdelivered both on our revenue expectations and our audience expectations.
[Jamie in the boardroom followed by a shot of a long hallway and Jamie and his colleagues in a meeting room.]
Jamie: We now deliver over a billion global views a month from audiences right around the world to these streaming channels. And that was well beyond our initial expectations due to the growth in the market and the support of the Export Strategy.
[Jamie seated at a table with a company sign in the left foreground.]
[Jamie in the boardroom.]
Jamie: The best part is that we've hired ten new roles here in Canada, three as part of our international offices on top of that, and they're now – they’re part of the family.
[Views of the neighbourhood buildings, a man walking a dog, a man walking in front of a giant colourful mural.
Jamie: Blue Ant has always thought about the global marketplace – Canadian-based but thinking globally.
[Jamie in the boardroom.]
Jamie: So the Creative Export Strategy is an amazing opportunity to supercharge your own initiatives.
[Street level and aerial views of Toronto’s downtown skyline.]