A Small Selection of our Work
Products and Services
At Agora Media we innovate, build and create products and formats that align with the Future of Television - from Transmedia to Social TV... from Multiplatform Engagement to TV Apps, Smart/Connected TV and advanced Game Mechanics - We live, work and play on the cutting edge of entertainment.
Transmedia and Factual Formats
As Creative Technologists, Transmedia Storytelling, the technique of understanding how to carry the narrative across multiple platforms and formats using digital technologies, is part of our DNA. We understand fully numerous technologies and have worked both with our own formats and others. From Second Screen to 360 degree video and other technologies, we have a global network of vendors with cutting-edge technologies.
Second Screen and Multiplatform Engagement
Having worked with, and been an influence on leading second screen platforms such as zeebox, Ex Machina Games and others, we understand the nuances and differences between the major players and can ensure that you make the right decisions when moving into the space. While all current trends indicate that TV and advertising spend are still vital components of the media marketplace, TV viewership does face a number of challenges, including fragmentation, technology-enabled time shifting, and the disruption of media stacking or mobile/tablet multitasking. We are fully versed in this new world – and have built a global network and thought leadership since 2010 at TV App Market.
Connected and Smart TV Apps
Agora Media and Pixengo Media teamed up making the finals of the UK Technology Strategy Board’s £1 million Tech City Launchpad competition creating the UK’s first travel and destination marketing channel for connected tv with HD Video-On-Demand and high resolution images perfect for the 10-foot, lean-back living room experience – and fully utilised Second Screen, Social TV technologies to provide platform for easy booking and additional content via the web. We planned to monetise by forming partnerships with travel agents, tour operators and activity and entertainment companies in each destination on revenue share deals. We have excellent relationships with Samsung, LG, Sony, Opera, The Smart TV Alliance and numerous TV App vendors.
Social TV
The rise of the second screen and it’s integration with Social Media has helped drive some stunning numbers. In the US, 88% use TV & internet simultaneously once a month (Nielsen) and some 50% do so every day (Google/Clustalabs), 44% of total tablet usage is while watching TV (Nielsen), 72% of under 25’s in the UK comment on programs via social networks (Digital Clarity) and some 62% of TV viewers pick up the phone as soon as TV advertising break starts. (Nielsen). As pioneers in the Social TV movement, from guest lecturing at MIT Media Lab to working with the likes of the BBC, RTL, NPO, Eurosport, NBCU and other broadcasters as well as production companies and brands, we have a deep understanding of the new technologies and can design systems using multiple vendors (ensuring the best of breed) to create the ultimate in Social TV.
Video on Demand (VOD) and TV Everywhere
Having worked on a number of VOD projects and TV Everywhere including Lovefilm and two startups, we have close contacts with companies such as Kit Digital, BeeSmart, The Connected Marketplace, Connect TV, Neulion and more. From number crunching CDN costs, to designing systems that work on all devices – phone, tablet, TV, STB and PC – we have worked with some of the best. It’s clear that consumers want to watch TV they want, when they want it, on any device they want it one, where ever they are, and we are capable of designing and delivering from both low end STB solutions to advanced TV Everywhere architecture with EPGs that can deliver both live and VOD.
Education Seminars and Consulting
As instructors for Future TV with Perpetual Solutions in London, working with numerous departments of British Telecom, and guest lecturing at MIT Media Lab and various universities in the UK and Netherlands… we have designed both a half day and full day courses to share our market intelligence. We have been speaking at events on the future of TV since 2010 in London, Cannes, Sheffield, Amsterdam, Hollywood, Groningen (TEDx), San Francisco, San Jose, Madrid, Liepzig, Vienna, NYC, Rio, Copenhagen, Hilversum, Belfast, Berlin, Brussels, Brighton and beyond and worked with broadcasters around the globe such as the BBC, NPO, RTL, Eurosport, NBCU, ITV, RTL and others with media convergence strategies – particularly around Social TV and Second Screen.
Branded Content and Product Placement
Having worked with many of the world’s leading global brands, Gary Johnson has played a vital role to numerous renowned Hollywood movies such as I-Robot, Ironman, The Dark knight, 2012, fast furious, Kill Bill and Mr & Mrs Smith through product placement and product endorsements. Developments in technology are impacting TV advertising effectiveness and the dramatic rise of connected mobile devices is leading to an increasingly distracted use of TV. Digital technology has also accelerated ad avoidance through time shifting and on-demand viewing, and has enabled a significant amount of fragmentation due to sheer volume of content and niche. All these developments work together to degrade the value of TV ads and are deeply affecting the TV industry as scarcity is removed due to IP delivered content. Innovation is what will save the industry… And Branded Content, though nothing new (Soap Operas were backed by soap companies back in the 50s), brands such as Red Bull are changing the game. And we combine our creative and technology skills in Future TV and global network to help brands find new ways to engage with audiences.
About Us
Our Business – in a Nutshell.
Agora Media helps media and entertainment companies to design and deliver multi-device, multi-platform strategies, content propositions and products. We are also publishers of www.appmarket.tv, which in a few years, has become a thought leading resource to 30k+ readers a month. The future of TV has begun to emerge and there will be many changes in the way people will find, consume and share their media lifestyles, born from an explosion of entertainment products and services that attract consumers to come back time and time again. By tapping into the social, gaming, and entertainment everywhere culture that is emerging in consumer behaviours, there are numerous opportunities for creating unique experiences that are engaging, entertaining and rewarding…it starts with the ideas. We recognise that it takes a mix of disciplines to design, deliver and tap into these new consumer behaviours, which is why we have built up a team of experts, born from the different sectors and industries now shaping what the future of media and entertainment market will look like in 5‐10 years time. We work with content producers, owners, broadcasters, operators, publishers, brands and retailers to inform their decision making, to shape strategy and to design and deliver product roadmaps.
— We understand commercial opportunities and threats (competition, business models, market trends)
— We are experts in consumer behaviour, engagement, operations & technology (video, audio, social and gaming) We design consumer strategies that tap into digital lifestyle impulses… no matter what screen they are on.
— We help brands drive growth, loyalty and attachment to digital lifestyle products.
— We produce entertainment formats and technology platforms for multi-device distribution and commerce.
— We deliver engaging experiences that bring consumers back time and time again.
TV App Market – Web’s Largest Portal for Social TV, Smart TV, TV Apps, Multiplatform Engagement and Transmedia
We publish the web’s largest portal for Social TV, Smart TV, TV Apps, Multiplatform Engagement and Transmedia – an Open Source Journalism and Market Intelligence project, Appmarket offers an enormous array of data on the future of TV with over 1500 articles written since 2010, as well as some 400 videos curated and over 5000 articles curated at Scoop.it.
Richard Kastelein – Partner
Richard Kastelein is the founder of TV Hackfest London and San Francisco and publisher of TV Appmarket. An award winning publisher and futurist, Kastelein has guest lectured at MIT Media Labs and has helped broadcasters such as the BBC, NPO, RTL, Eurosport, NBCU, ITV, and others with media convergence strategies. He sailed around the world in his 20′s spending ten years in the Caribbean working in print media and the boating industry as a professional sailor before returning to Europe where he now lives in The Netherlands and works with various startups via his extensive global network. He’s also co-founder and partner at Agora Media Innovation in London. . Hook up with Richard on Linkedin.
Paul Johnson – Partner
Paul specialises in media product & operations design and delivery. A n inventor with 15 years delivering innovation and growth to brands such as LOVEFiLM, BSkyB, BBC, ESPN and HiT Entertainment. Passionate about the future of TV, second screen, & consumer engagement, he has shaped unique perspectives on this emerging landscape and the impacts it is having on consumer behaviours. Editor at Appmarket.tv and is a regular speaker and chair at International events. Hook up with Paul on Linkedin.
Gary Johnson – Partner
Gary brings over 15 years of a richly diverse wealth of experience in the entertainment, technology, branded entertainment marketing, product placement, social media marketing and event production. He has been responsible for producing various successful concerts in both the US and UK working with renowned artists including Akon, 50cent, Ruff Ryders crew, Destiny’s Child and The Jackson Family. He has also had the pleasure of working with many of the leading global brands. He has played a vital role to numerous renowned Hollywood movies such as I-Robot, Ironman, The Dark knight, 2012, fast furious, Kill Bill and Mr & Mrs Smith through product placement and product endorsements. Hook up with Gary on Linkedin.
Some of the Brands, Companies and Organisations We have Worked With…
Awards and Patents
Richard Kastelein
— Winner 2010 Deloitte Tech., Media & Telcom (TMT) Predictions for Entrepreneurs in Holland for futurist views on Social TV and Media Convergence (Tech Visionary).
— 2011 Computerworld Honors Laureate for Innovation – visionary application of IT to promote positive social, economic and educational change.
— Finalist at IBC’s ConnectedWorld.TV Personality of the Year 2011 for work educating broadcasters at www.appmarket.tv. Lost to Marc Zuckerberg.
— Judge – Association of International Broadcasting (AIB) International Media Awards 2012 UK
— Judge – IP&TV Industry Awards 2011, 2012, UK
— Judge – Social TV Summit 2012, USA
Paul Johnson
— LOVEFiLMs “Content Provision” System
— (in relation to the WatchNow VOD Service)
Contact Us
Our team is virtual and based in the UK and Netherlands.
- Address: 5 Jupiter House, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom RG7 8NN
- Phone: +31 6 39 58 39 79 Amsterdam +44 7786 405534 London
- Email:richard@agoramedia.co.uk
