Beyond the TV Screen: Unscripted Digital Training

📝🔁 Recap

Happy Monday! I finally had some time over the weekend to write this recap of the Digital Training Day I hosted in Cardiff.

During this unique 1-day workshop, we explored how to produce digital shows that can be distributed on multiple platforms, how to build communities and followers, and what current trends look like for brands, broadcasters and rights holders. First up was Welsh Public Broadcaster S4C.

Public Service Broadcasting & the Digital Space

Iwan England and Lleucu Lynch (S4C) gave an overview of how the viewing habits are changing and what works for S4C.

Top 3 Insights:

1️⃣ Traditional viewing is declining while digital viewing is increasing.

2️⃣ Long-form content is increasing on YouTube and with that also the watch time.

3️⃣ What works for S4C on Social Media

• Timely / trend-led content

• Events

• Welsh traditions and history

• Collabs on social / working with talent and influencers

• Something to make you cry

• Something to make you laugh

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Case Study: Camp Out West

A standout example of this long-form trend is Welsh duo Emilie & Jon James, who are bringing an abandoned coal miners’ campsite in West Wales back to life on their YouTube channel Camp Out West:

Top 3 Insights:

1️⃣ Frequency: They upload just one video a month and have only 59 videos on their main channel. And yet, their niche is so defined and their community so engaged that their second channel, which hasn’t even launched yet, already has over 2,000 subscribers:

2️⃣ Community: When they first started out, Emilie promoted their YouTube channel in Tiny House communities on Facebook and Reddit. They’ve been strategic from the beginning — carefully selecting keywords to maximise discoverability and dedicating time to engage with their audience. A big part of their success comes from how they communicate: always speaking to their community at eye level, never preaching or telling people what to do. As Emilie put it: “Even though we are mortgage-free, we would never tell anyone not to get a mortgage."

3️⃣ Collaborations with TV: They already had offers from Netflix, the BBC, S4C etc. They went with S4C in the end, because they gave them the most freedom and flexibility (if you’re interested in working with Creators read my latest Spotlight here). “One broadcaster even asked us to stop posting on YouTube. We had to explain to them that they actually benefit from us posting on YouTube, too.”, so Emilie.

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Trends and Successes in Unscripted Digital

Clare Thompson & Dean Thornhill (K7 Media) gave us an overview of successful digital formats and the reasons why some don’t catch fire and some don’t (spoiler: marketing and timing).

Top 3 Insights:

1️⃣ What makes a hit?

Clare started by talking about the metrics that are defining a digital hit. Followers? Distributable Formats? Delivering for a Brand? As I stated later in my presentation, it all depends on your Why. What was your goal in the first place? And then it depends on the platform. Hardly anyone actively follows accounts on TikTok anymore — the For You Page (FYP) algorithm keeps serving users similar content they've engaged with, making following less necessary.

2️⃣ TV-like Content: The formats K7 Media presented reminded me a lot of traditional TV formats. I’ve mentioned Pop the Balloon before which was acquired by Netflix:

But also Slide to Unlock by Pixid, where you go through your suitor’s phone I’ve seen so many times before and De Kluis: He Masterplan by Stuk TV, feels a lot like The Traitors.

3️⃣ Where are we heading?

• Creator Economy on track to almost double

• Brands doing more in-house (own tone of voice)

• Creator and streamer collabs (just the start)

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Understanding Audiences and Key Platforms

I started my presentation with the 5 Steps to Success, I’ve already written about in my newsletter a few weeks ago. The first step is “Know your Why”.

Top 3 Insights:

1️⃣ Why are you on digital platforms?

• Audience Growth & Discovery

• Testing & Iteration

• Building IP Value

• Community & Fandom Building

• New Revenue Streams

2️⃣ How to reach Gen Z?

• Leveraging existing Gen Z IP

• Collaborating with Gen Z creators & influencers

• Using Social Media Trends as Inspiration

• Tapping into Niche Communities

• Platform-first Storytelling

• Running Social Media Campaigns

3️⃣ The 4 Cs: Core - Content - Community - Commerce

You can’t start commercialising if you don’t have a community. You can’t build a community without content. And you can’t create content without your core.

And last but not least, Just do it! Gen Z doesn’t wait, they create and so should you!

Next up: Production, Community Building, and Monetisation (Premium)

• How to develop and produce authentic content on multiple platforms

• What commercial success looks like on multiple platforms

• Unlocking your Arsenal: Turning What You Have into Digital Gold

• S4C Digital Content Innovation Fund