Work
Strategic Partnerships Director Nick Simpson speaks to FMCG CEO
Strategic Partnerships Director Nick Simpson speaks to FMCG CEO about how brand partnerships can drive deeper engagement and lasting audience connection.
Podcasts have exploded as a trusted, personality-led channel for brands to connect with audiences. And marketers are taking note, with over three-quarters of advertisers investing in podcasts this year. But without a strategy in place, FMCG brands could find themselves struggling to justify the return on investment to stakeholders further down the line.
The top 10 global podcast advertisers spend over £100 million each annually. Some brands would struggle to compete against the budgets of major advertisers like Unilever, making it almost impossible to stand out from their more-established competitors. Compounding the issue further is the fact advertising is usually handled by a host network that will often serve ads for its own podcasts alongside brand ads, creating a congested marketplace.
At the same time, the podcast industry is facing its own challenges when it comes to monetisation and it’s no secret that podcasts require sustainable revenue to grow. This is where smart brands need to get strategic. Most brands still see podcasts as ‘audio ads’, but the clever ones are partnering with shows to integrate authentically and extend that narrative across social media with original video.
This kind of approach can deliver deeper engagement by enabling creative collaboration with the hosts and allowing brands to show up authentically and win the audience by underwriting the content they love. It provides a way to humanise the brand by using media ambassadors for guest appearances on the show. Podcasts are much less restricted than traditional linear TV channels – they don’t have the same layers of commissioning meaning brands can be agile, experimental and where appropriate take more risks with their content. And when it comes to targeting, they are perfectly placed to provide access to niche but scalable communities.
As producers of the hit comedy podcast ‘Two Pints with Will & Ralf’, we understand how a partnership can help elevate the profile of both podcast and brand. Take draught beer company BEERWULF®, which recently became the official beer partner of the show. As the hosts are best known for their BBC sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, the collaboration is the perfect vehicle for the beer brand to tap into an already engaged fan base.
Read more at FMCG CEO
Formidable expands its podcast slate, launching the brand-new lifestyle podcast Wright At Home
Nik Selman, Formidable co-founder, said: “Wright At Home is the perfect new podcast venture for Formidable. From our very first chat we could see the Wrights have bags of charm, wit and honesty. The family dynamic is also so relatable – equal parts heartwarming bonds and hilarious disagreements. They’re a delight to work with and we can’t wait for audiences to enjoy what we’re creating together.”
Social-first creative agency Formidable expands its podcast slate, launching the brand-new lifestyle podcast Wright At Home, with episode 1 available on Spotify and all major podcast platforms from November 25th.
Making their debut on The Only Way Is Essex, fans quickly fell in love with the Wright family, and for years have asked for a peek behind the curtain into the busy lives of the Wright family life.
Now, Jess, Natalya and Carol are sitting down weekly for the ultimate no-filter family chat from the perspective of three different generations, featuring plenty of oversharing and family chaos with nothing off-limits. They’ll be talking about it all from relationships, TV, fashion, families and motherhood promising plenty of laughter, maybe some squabbles and the odd life lesson.
Read more at Advanced Television – Formidable launching new podcast Wright At Home | Advanced Television
Nik Selman speaks to TVBEurope about his unique career path and role as agency Founder
Meet the… co-founder
Nik Selman, co-founder of creative agency Formidable, tells TVBEurope why audiences enjoying the results of their work is what makes the media and entertainment industry so exciting
Talk us through an average day in your role
One of the things I love about my role is that there’s so much variety, meaning an average day involves applying creativity in many ways. Formidable is a social-first creative agency with integrated content production, so typical problem-solving can range from coming up with big campaign ideas for clients to working out how to deliver those ideas on time and on budget. Social media is such a broad output from a production point of view, so one minute we might be discussing a shoot with a content creator on a smartphone and the next we’re planning a multi-cam live show. To do this successfully, we must be bespoke in our ways of working and draw from a variety of production disciplines; as creating content that thrives on social involves us blending the mindsets of entertainment, PR, and advertising.
My co-founder Pete and I tend to divide and conquer client-facing work between us. One of us will be accountable for every active project—providing strategic vision, technical experience and troubleshooting. We also need to lead all the other things in a typical founder’s role, such as finances, people and new business. So, an average day might see me switching hats frequently, but I love that challenge.
Read more at TVBEurope
Numan partners with Formidable’s Two Pints Podcast to tackle men’s health
Nick Simpson, Strategic Partnerships Director at Formidable, added: “This partnership works because it’s authentic. Will and Ralf can learn about men’s health in a way that resonates with their fans, whilst putting Numan front of mind and providing podcast listeners with a deeper understanding of its offering.”
Numan, the UK’s leading digital health provider, has partnered with hit comedy podcast Two Pints with Will & Ralf to open up conversations around men’s health.
The collaboration will see hosts Will Mellor and Ralf Little address issues that are often stigmatised or ignored. The fully integrated partnership includes social media activity, product integration, and bespoke video content alongside the regular podcast.
As part of the initiative, Numan’s resident men’s health expert Dr Dave will appear across four episodes, covering topics including erectile dysfunction, testosterone deficiency, muscle mass versus fat mass, and the importance of regular blood testing. He will also guide the presenters through a “mid-life MOT” in a standalone mini episode.
Read more at Podcasting Today – Numan partners with Two Pints podcast to tackle men’s health – PodcastingToday
Co-founder Pete Gibbons speaks to the Broadcast Sport Podcast about the future of football in the US
In this episode of the Broadcast Sport Podcast, co-founder of creative agency Formidable Pete Gibbons assesses the recent FIFA Club World Cup from a content perspective.
Gibbons, who has a long history working in production across the US and UK, looks at the impact of empty seats in stadiums, the growing football fandom in across the Atlantic and more on what was the largest men’s tournament of the summer.
Listen to the full episode here
Tom Hamilton joins Formidable as Creative Director
“Formidable hit that all-important sweet spot of quality craft and an agile culture of getting stuff done. I’m very excited to grow the creative team with the same spirit in mind.”
Talent Tracker: Born Social, Dept, Formidable, and more
Tom Hamilton has joined social-first creative agency Formidable as Creative Director. Formerly Creative Director EMEA at Dept, Hamilton brings nine years’ experience in digital and paid social media campaigns for consumer brands including Just Eat, Spotify, and eBay. In addition to enhancing Formidable’s creative capabilities, his role will focus on new business responses and growing existing client relationships.
Read more at New Digital Age
Senior Social Strategist Steve Whiting speaks to Marketing Beat about why creators are looking for a more direct relationship with fans
“The trend towards private communities is growing with creators, who are building more direct and personal relationships with their fans, so they can make what their fans want without fear of the algorithms preventing their content from reaching their followers.”
Slide into my DMs: Why creators want a more direct relationship with fans
The rise of smaller trends and niche communities
Senior Sports Producer Ffion Hourigan-Davies speaks to Muse by Clios about her passion for sports and her work with Team GB and London City Lionesses
“I led development and production of a six-part YouTube series for Team GB called “Sporty AF.” It brought together female Olympians from across the Team GB family to discuss a variety of issues affecting women in sports. It ticked so many boxes for me both personally and professionally. More recently, we’ve been working with the London City Lionesses. They’re excited to try ideas and test different types of content on their socials, which has made them a fun and creative client.”
Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?
I was born and brought up in Swansea, Wales, but have lived in London for about 10 years.
What is your earliest sports memory?
Watching the Olympics with my dad. I was a keen gymnast as a kid and spent hours watching the gymnastics and track events. If YouTube had been around in the ’90s, you’d never have dragged me away from the screen. I remember being so amazed by these athletes who seemed superhuman.
Who are your favorite sports team(s).
Wales for rugby, Arsenal for the WSL and Ferrari for F1.
Favorite athlete(s).
Serena Williams, Simone Biles. And I remember watching Jessica Ennis-Hill at London 2012 and being so in awe. Team GB have some incredible female athletes and getting to work with them on our “Sporty AF” series was a real pinch-me moment. When else do you get to hang out with Olympians and listen to them deep dive into topics they’re passionate about?
Read the full article here.
Founder Pete Gibbons speaks to Creative Bloq about his career journey and the evolution of social media
“We’ve been making video for social since before social was a thing”: a day in the life of Pete Gibbons
Pete Gibbons is the co-founder of creative agency Formidable, a social-first company combining the mindsets of advertising, PR, and entertainment. Beginning his career at the BBC, Pete soon developed an interest in creating video content, capitalising on the early emergence of YouTube and social media.
With the help of Formidable’s team of creative specialists, Pete has gone on to develop immersive brand campaigns for the likes of Amazon, LEGO, Team GB and David Beckham. As part of our Day in the Life series, I caught up with Pete to discuss his early career, his favourite creative tools and the evolving landscape of social media.
Read the full article here.
Formidable expands team of creative specialists with four new hires
Social-first creative agency Formidable appoints a Social Strategist in a newly-created role to enhance its social division. Steve Whiting joins the agency following five years as Social Lead and Consultant for brands including Adobe and BBC Maestro. With over 15 years of social media experience working with various brands and agencies, he will play a key role in growing Formidable’s social offering beyond creative and production, and provide valuable strategic counsel for clients.
Steve Whiting comments: “The team at Formidable create truly exceptional campaigns for the brands and partners they work with; I’m excited for all the creative opportunities that lay ahead.”
In addition, a further two new hires join Formidable in newly-created positions to strengthen the agency’s creative firepower. Charlotte Polley-Hughes is appointed as Junior Creative while George Cheetham is appointed as Senior Creative Project Manager, having previously spent 2 years as Creative Project Manager within Formula 1.
As part of Formidable’s plans for growth, the team expansion also includes the appointment of a Communications Director to help drive awareness of the agency and its creative work. Katie Crosta brings 17 years of communications experience to Formidable, working with UK brands including Sony Pictures Entertainment, ITV, Philips, and Adobe DMe, as well as global creative studios.
Whiting and Polley-Hughes will report to Creative Director Elin KlockareJarlstrom. Crosta and Cheetham will report to Founder Nik Selman, who comments: “Our clients have ambitious plans for 2025, and so do we. This variety of fresh thinking and new skillsets will bolster us in all the right areas as we enter an exciting year for the agency.”
Founder Pete Gibbons speaks to Entrepreneur UK about the origins of the agency and its evolution
Pete Gibbons, co-founder of London based, social-first creative agency, Formidable, shares how a casual Nando’s meeting sparked a decade-long journey of creativity, adaptability, and business evolution.
What inspired you to start your business?
My co-founder Nik Selman and I started the business in 2014, I was running a company on my own, and he was looking for the next adventure after 13 years at Freuds. Other than that we knew our skillsets could combine to create something special but, looking back on it, we didn’t yet have a detailed plan for how that manifested itself. We met for a Nando’s and worked out there was a gap in the market for an agency with our joint offering, so we went for it, and here we are 10 years later.
Read the full article on Entrepreneur.com
Formidable wins seven awards at The Lovies
Formidable has won seven awards at The Lovies, including the prestigious People’s Lovies, for their hero content of Red Bull’s skydiving feat “Wings Through Tower Bridge” and “Sporty AF”, a YouTube series for Team GB.
Red Bull “Wings Through Tower Bridge” was recognised in the Social: Sports category, which celebrates social media content dedicated to sports news, sports culture, sporting events and sports history. It received a People’s Lovie Award and a Silver Lovie. The project also won Bronze in the Social: Entertainment & Sports category.
Team GB “Sporty AF”, a YouTube series featuring conversations with female athletes in Olympic sports, secured a People’s Lovie Award and a Silver Lovie in the Social: Best Social Content Series category.
The coveted Lovie Awards celebrate internet excellence in the fields of culture, technology and business throughout Europe.
Nik Selman, Co-Founder at Formidable says “The team here is beaming about our haul at the Lovies this year, and rightly so for the outstanding work we delivered. It makes it even sweeter when we pick up a couple of gongs via public vote.
The Lovies – Wings Through Tower Bridge
The Lovies – Sporty AF
Formidable shortlisted for The Lovies and Broadcast Sport Awards
Formidable’s hero content of Red Bull’s daring feat, “Wings Through Tower Bridge”, has made the shortlist for the Broadcast Sport Awards and The Lovies.
The Broadcast Sport Awards is the leading UK awards for content in sport. It celebrates the best of sport on TV and digital platforms – from documentaries and live production to social media, advertising and marketing campaigns. “Wings Through Tower Bridge” has been shortlisted in the ‘Short-Form Content of the Year’ category, which honours content creation of noteworthy execution that has excelled at maximising reach and engagement with its target audience.
The Lovie Awards is the most prestigious and coveted award recognising European Internet excellence in the fields of culture, technology and business and is presented by the European arm of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS)—a membership body comprised of leading Internet experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries, artists, and talented entertainers and creators.
Formidable’s content creation services have been selected as finalists in the ‘Entertainment & Sports in Social’ and ‘Sports in Social’ categories for “Wings Through Tower Bridge”, and are also recognised as finalists in ‘Best Content Series in Social’ for “Sporty AF”, a You Tube series for Team GB that celebrates female athletes and across a wide variety of Olympic sports.
Nik Selman, Co-Founder at Formidable says “A haul of award nominations for two completely different kinds of social media content creation. From delivering large-scale, nail-biting, multi-camera production, to producing authentic and entertaining conversations with purpose. We’re equally proud of both projects. Fingers crossed for the big nights!”