McKinsey & Company's report, “The future of video entertainment: Immersive, gamified, and diverse” indicates that today's industry expansion is primarily driven by digital media, courtesy of the boom in mobile broadband, especially in emerging markets, and the continuous evolution of over-the-top (OTT) audio, video, and other digital services. Services such as Netflix, Amazon Video, and HBO exemplify the appeal of OTT, as demonstrated by their substantial business-to-consumer operations.

The way we consume film has undergone a radical shift. Once an occasional at-home leisure activity, it has now become commonplace to binge-watch your favourite series even while travelling. Despite the challenges and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the entertainment and media industry rebounded in 2021 with an impressive 10.4% growth. It's expected that by 2026, global E&M revenues will be approaching a staggering $3tn. One of the exciting aspects of contemporary storytelling is the freedom to choose the best format for the narrative without any stigmas.

We now live in a world where multi-million dollar films are shot on iPhones and hefty budgets are spent on social media campaigns. However, the essence of storytelling remains the same; it's about what one wants to say and the unique perspective they bring to the table. The television industry is experiencing a shift in this regard, especially in the context of writers. In a world where it's challenging to make an impact, every bit of attention is vital. We partnered with screenwriters José Magalhães & Gustavo Rademacher from Sala de Roteiro (Sala) to assist them in framing their stories for global appeal.

Chapter 1 — Brand Strategy

An exploration of Sala de Roteiro reveals a fascinating duality. On one side, they produce film and TV series aiming for mass appeal, and on the other, they construct a digital persona catered towards an exclusive audience of television executives and production companies. Like characters in a narrative, both sides require distinct communication channels but must adhere to a unified narrative that reflects Sala's efficiency and professionalism.

During a stroll down the cobblestone streets of Germany, saturated with culture and history, I was struck by the essence of the Bauhaus movement, a design philosophy that beautifully marries function and creativity. This concept resonated with the task at hand with Sala. It became apparent that Sala's dualities should be embraced rather than suppressed.

While Sala's branding was certainly up for discussion, their brand and website would only be discovered by executives already interested in doing business with them. Therefore, we had the unique opportunity to not focus on the competition. Not only is Sala paving the way in the media and entertainment industry with their digital presence, but they also primarily focus on outbound lead generation, making competition less relevant. As I admired Nuremberg's seamless fusion of history and the future, I realised that Sala's challenge was to establish itself as a reliable and forward-thinking entity.

Chapter 2 — Visual Identity

José Magalhães, a co-founder of Sala de Roteiro and a former public security specialist, is recognised for his work in resolving a series of kidnappings in Rio de Janeiro. This background, along with Gustavo Rademacher's reputation for swift project delivery, has attracted many crime genre projects. However, as they venture into different genres, their new branding needs to create space for diverse styles. As an entertainment company, it felt appropriate for Sala's logo to have an animated element. We opted against a mono-spaced font, which is standard in scriptwriting software, because it isn't favoured by screenwriters.

We selected a minimal sans-serif font to reflect their forward-thinking approach and paired it with a symbol that captures their craft: a blinking caret, the vertical bar that indicates where the next text will be inserted in a word processor. The brand colours were also decided with Sala's duality in mind. While a black and white theme projected the professionalism we needed, it didn't quite capture the innovation. We looked again to the Bauhaus movement for inspiration, allowing the unique requirements of each project to determine the use of primary colours.

Sala's request for a unique business card design also extended to a template document they could adapt to present diverse projects when submitting initial drafts to clients. The template was created using Apple’s Pages software for easy editing and exportation in PDF and ePUB formats. They also opted for our Brand Management service for the continuous development of sub-brands and pitch decks for new projects. To see the work so far with Sala's active subscription service, follow this link.

Chapter 3 — Digital Experience

When developing Sala's digital experience, we embraced the concept of duality. From the navigation bar to the colour scheme, we used two contrasting sides. On the left, visitors can learn about upcoming projects, and on the right, they can explore released projects and more about the company and its services. A black theme was used for the project pages to symbolise the cinema, while a white theme represented the scripts of projects yet to be filmed.

Ensuring Sala's easy discovery through search engines and a platform to showcase their project videos were essential. We chose WordPress to develop their website for better SEO control and integrated it with Semplice, a theme that makes editing easier for clients, amongst other benefits.

The new website now loads 1.4x faster than before, which means no more loading icons each time a project page is clicked. Upcoming project pages now include moodboards to give executive producers a quick grasp of the project's universe, helping them decide if it aligns with their channel's requirements before committing to a lengthy read. Since this revamp, Sala has reported an increased number of invites to pitch rounds, with their digital presence often initiating the conversation.

Chapter 4 — Social Media

While their website is focused on business connections, Sala's social media strategy is aimed at the wider public. Despite many companies claiming to teach scriptwriting on Instagram, most lack a solid portfolio of completed projects. Considering the founders' familiarity with each platform, we focused their efforts on Instagram and LinkedIn, where they could interact with peers, tag relevant partners, and connect with people outside the industry.

A brainstorming session led us to a few pillars of content that they could develop consistently. For the general public, they would share completed projects and reviews of films and TV. To impress their peers, they would share cinematography references, market changes and predictions. The goal with the latter was to create long-form content to be shared on their future website blog page.

Though the strategic development of Sala's social media channels is complete, the partners are still finalising a video series they intend to launch. Further developments of this project can be accessed here and will be executed under our Brand Management subscription. You can follow them through this link to support their repositioning and stay updated on their posts.