25 February 2016, Singapore – Beach House Pictures (BHP), Asia’s largest independent content maker, has signaled its move into digital branded content by forming a strategic alliance with animal welfare organisation ACRES (Animal Concerns Research & Education Society).
The partnership, which runs for two years, will see the production company producing original online content and a promotional video for the society, profiling its work with Singapore’s wildlife, which includes the rescue of birds, snakes and other endangered reptiles, rehabilitation, and repatriation of illegal exotic animals captured in Singapore. Additionally, BHP staff will participate in a number of group activities at the ACRES wildlife sanctuary and care centre at Jalan Lekar.
Kalai Balakrishnan, Manager, Wildlife Department, says as a charity, it’s always been a challenge for ACRES to share their message about animal cruelty in Singapore, “especially as the widespread use of social media overwhelms the public with countless messages from multiple sources. “We have long wanted to work with a content company that can amplify our reach to the masses but also shares the same vision as us.”
BHP first collaborated with ACRES in 2013 on segments for ZooMoo, the international preschool animal and conservation channel, which the Beach House Kids team creates content for.
“It was an excellent chance for us to raise more awareness about the illegal wildlife trade as well,” continues Balakrishnan. “BHP has proven its ability time and time again with excellent and informative shows like Wild City and ZooMoo, which profile and support the protection of Singapore’s wonderful wildlife.”
In addition to content creation, BHP is donating video equipment to ACRES, enabling it to document some of the 600 animal rescues it carries out, on average, each month. This content will then be shared with the production company and used in the rollout of digital content.
BHP Managing Director Jocelyn Little says, “We are delighted to form this unique partnership with ACRES and are looking forward to providing meaningful support for their activities. It’s a real privilege to be able to combine two of our greatest passions – animals and storytelling.”
The relationship with ACRES marks the start of new branded content division at BHP. The multi-award winning company is in discussions with a number of leading brands in Asia and is also exploring new digital storytelling technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR) and its own online channel.
“As professional storytellers, we are constantly studying the forces reshaping our industry,” says BHP Creative Director Donovan Chan, “we are confident that our latest strategy will help us stay relevant and offer a portfolio of refreshing new products and exciting digital content.”
Heading up the new division is Phillson Rajan. The digital and social media strategist will work with all of BHP’s divisions, which include Kids, Entertainment/Formats, Animation and Factual, to create exclusive online content for the company and its core clients.
Partnerships beyond the region are also in final discussions and expected to be announced later this year.