BBDO Worldwide Launches Flare Studio: A Whole New Way To Meet Clients' Increased Demand For Video Content

"There is an insatiable demand for video content," said Ian Pearman, CEO, AMV BBDO.  "Flare Studio has been created to help our clients meet this exploding demand, and to demonstrate how BBDO can handle this increased volume, quickly, efficiently and with the highest level of creativity on a global scale.  We call it curated crowdsourcing.  It makes sense for AMV BBDO to serve as the pilot for the program given our strong track record in creating content and attracting best-in-class talent who are used to working in the discipline."  He added, "We are thrilled that Flare Studio will be launching with Mars as our inaugural client partner."

"This is a demonstration of our belief in uncommon collaboration both internally and externally with the goal to create the most relevant and impactful content for our brands," said Leonid Sudakov, Global Chief Marketing Officer for Mars Petcare.  "We are very pleased to be partnering with BBDO to contribute to a massive transformation of content production.  Flare Studio will give Mars unprecedented access to a global pool of creative talent and we are excited about the unique ideas that this crowdsourcing collaboration will generate." 

Flare Studio is a crowdsourced service that will draw on the global talents of freelancers, filmmakers, influencers, videographers, production companies, established directors and others, who will be invited to compete for briefs posted on behalf of BBDO agencies and their clients.  The model is built on a system of tiers (Open Studio, Studio Plus and Studio Pro) which can deliver content to fit different solutions and budgets (https://www.flare.studio).

Flare Studio builds on the digital and social content work that has already been implemented by AMV BBDO via its in house content arm "Flare," and takes it to a whole new level.  Flare launched two years ago and has now extended into 12 BBDO offices, delivering hundreds of films per year to its clients.  Producing both in house, as well as running an outsource model, Flare (http://flare.bbdo.com/london/ and http://flare.bbdo.com) has won over 80 major awards.

"We are now able to offer our clients a unique model that provides a different approach for every type of content that any one might ever need," said Nick Price, Head of Content at AMV BBDO and Founder of Flare.  "Flare Studio is a bold undertaking – bringing the benefits of the crowd but also injecting it with the right amount of agency know how to make sure the work reflects an understanding of our brands and can work for them within the crowd source model.  That's a very different approach from anything else in the market."

Mars and AMV BBDO will also be partnering with the UK's National Film and Television School (NFTS) as a way to give back to the content-making community.  Together, these organizations will offer two £25,000 scholarships to the National Film and Television School.  The activity will form the basis of Flare Studio launching "The Flare Foundation," which will put a portion of its sales revenue to training those who are active on the platform.  From scholarships to leading film schools, to grants for equipment, training courses and work placements, The Flare Foundation will invite active members of the community to apply to win the various training awards being offered.  The Foundation will go live in 2017.

Commented Nik Powell, NFTS director, "Flare Studio and the concept of curated crowdsourcing is an incredibly exciting and progressive idea that our students are most certainly going to benefit from.  We are extremely grateful for Mars and BBDO's support in giving our students this opportunity as well as the scholarship.  We take this area of creative filmmaking very seriously and have recently announced a new Directing Commercials and Promos Diploma which will start in January 2017, and we expect the students who enrol in this exciting new course to be very involved in our work with Flare Studio."

It is expected that Flare Studio will be rolled out across the BBDO network in 2017.

ABOUT BBDO
BBDO's mantra is "The Work. The Work. The Work."  Every day, BBDO people in 289 offices in 81 countries work day by day, job by job and client by client to create and deliver the world's most compelling commercial content.  For ten years in a row, BBDO has been the most creative agency network in the world in The Gunn Report and, for eight of the past nine years, BBDO has also been ranked the most awarded agency network across all marketing communications in The Directory Big Won.  In addition, BBDO has been named Network of the Year at Cannes five times.  BBDO has been chosen Agency of the Year multiple times by leading industry trade publications, including in 2015.

BBDO is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE-OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company.

ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED
In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' first roots as a confectionery company.  In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY® bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of  building a business based on the objective of creating a "mutuality of benefits for all stakeholders" – this objective serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $33 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 75,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.

Mars brands include: Petcare – PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, BANFIELD® Pet Hospital, CESAR®, SHEBA®, DREAMIES® and NUTRO®; Chocolate – M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Wrigley – DOUBLEMINT®, EXTRA®, ORBIT® and 5™ chewing gums, SKITTLES® and STARBURST® candies, and ALTOIDS® and LIFESAVERS® mints.  Food – UNCLE BEN'S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS®, SEEDS OF CHANGE® and ROYCO®; Drinks – ALTERRA COFFEE ROASTERS™, THE BRIGHT TEA COMPANY™, KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience – COCOAVIA® and WISDOM PANEL®.

For more information, please visit www.mars.com.  Follow us: facebook.com/mars, twitter.com/marsglobal, youtube.com/mars, linkedin.com/company/mars.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL (NFTS)
The NFTS is one of the world's leading film, games and television schools.  It has been cited by some media as one of the top five film schools globally and by one as the No.1 international film school.  In 1967, the government recommended the creation of a national film school for the UK and in 1971 the National Film School opened its doors for the first time focusing on postgraduate education.  In the 1980s, the school officially changed its name to the National Film and Television School to incorporate the demand for courses in television production and has since added games to its remit.

NFTS prides itself on producing world-class, award-winning industry leaders.  It has more Student Academy Awards (Foreign Category) than any other film school.  NFTS students and graduates also regularly win BAFTAs and have won the short film category for the last three years.  Other prestigious accolades include the Grierson Award for Best Student Documentary, which NFTS students have won for the last three years as well as multiple Royal Television Society student awards and Annecy Animation Awards.  NFTS graduates have gone on to win seven Oscars and 100 BAFTAs with alumni including cinematographer, Roger Deakins (12 times Oscar nominee); BAFTA winning director, David Yates, (best known for directing the Harry Potter films); Oscar winning animator Nick Park (creator of Wallace & Gromit) and Oscar winning composer Dario Marianelli among others. The NFTS is a registered charity (313429).  For more information see www.nfts.co.uk.

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SOURCE BBDO Worldwide

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