Love Film… Love Business!

Compelling films that brings business to life – it’s how Tracc Films keep such good company

Running prestigious events such as the European Business Awards and excelling in Public Relations was not enough for media and communications company, Key20 Media. Considerable demand for web-hosted video has presented the company with a need for a new business strategy to develop a corporate film production capability that is set to be the biggest income generator for the entire business. “As a direct result of the KTP project the commercial reality is that we will finish this year at least £60,000 better off. Which is pretty amazing since we have hired more staff and set up a brand new production,” says Paul Richards, Managing Director at Key20 Media.

In fact The European Business Awards were the catalyst for getting this project off the ground. Key20 were keen to give their often high-profile nominees something more than a certificate to go home with. “We never had any real ambition to become film makers but after we produced the first finalist case study, we were amazed at the take up and in fact made about 15 films in the first round,” says Paul. So it’s certainly not surprising that soon after this initial success the company made the decision to set up their own in house film production studio and start producing business documentaries. Tracc Films was born.

The KTP project has enabled Tracc Films to significantly reduce costs through less reliance on 3rd party suppliers, increasing investment in the business, ensuring better quality control and giving them the opportunity to become even more competitive. “Key20 used to outsource all post production which meant we had less creative control and were not as flexible as we would have liked. We wouldn’t have had the knowledge, money or facilities to bring this all in house without the mechanism of the KTP,” comments Philipp Figueroa, KTP Associate. “The KTP gave us the confidence to go ahead and build our own production studio whilst also helping out with some very real financial benefits,” says Paul.

Since the KTP project began 9 months ago Philipp has hit the ground running and admits “in 9 months we have covered a lot of ground. The studio is now up and running and I have since edited 30 films.” Philipp is currently pushing the animation and graphics work improving the stylistic approach of the documentaries. Tracc Films are also working on expanding their portfolio, offering more products to existing clients. We want to expand into other areas such as video tutorials, ‘About Us’ films, ‘How To’ films etc which might mean making a short film for a manufacturing company explaining how to use a piece of machinery for instance.”

Jacqueline Yenko, Head of Events and Film Production at Tracc Films says “the ability to be able to create a style and identity for our productions, which in tandem with improved quality and investment will help identify our business as one with a reputation for making great films, is a very exciting prospect.”

Dr Jenny Owen, Head of the Arts, Media and English department at LSBU is full of enthusiasm for the project, “one of the great aspects of working on a KTP is that whilst I gain industry experience in a field I am passionate about, the company gets offered a wealth of resources and expertise that we have here at the University, everyone’s a winner!”

This project has in fact proved such a success that Tracc Films are considering a second KTP based on digital marketing. Paul gives a very clear message to companies out there wanting to expand and diversify into new areas. “Companies should think very seriously about KTP, because it’s perfect. They can get their hand holding, financial help from the government and most importantly the knowledge.”