Case Study – Nike

THE CHALLENGE

Nike wanted to explore long-form content to engage a younger audience. Naturally, their go-to people, Wieden+Kennedy – advertising’s largest independent agency – had all the right creative ideas. The problem was, they’d never actually made long-form content before. To fulfil Nike’s brief, W+K needed a TV production team that could provide the knowledge, the people, and the infrastructure to make a successful documentary. A team that was well-connected within the TV industry and could also help them find a home for the film.

THE ANSWER

With a long track record of working with creative minds to facilitate the making of brilliant TV, we were able to identify – and provide – the roles W+K needed to complete their team and fulfil their mission. Suddenly, W+K had a Head of Production and a Line Producer, as well as finance and legal support. A new team was born.

We created a production budget based on the financial parameters set by the client, and we drafted a Production and Edit schedule. With these two elements in place, we were able to give the W+K team regular financial overviews and filming updates through the internal reporting mechanisms we‘d set up.

Alongside that, we took care of all legal and business affairs — talent contracting, contributor contracting and ad hoc issues such as Ofcom compliance, Health & Safety, and Duty of Care – ensuring a smooth, safe, and fair production process throughout. We also made sure the production and its budget were closed down correctly, with all deliverables and assets archived appropriately.

THE RESULT

Right on schedule, New Heights: London – an inspirational 22-minute documentary about a young carer who overcomes his self-doubt through sport – was streamed on All4, to the delight of over a million viewers. Prior to that, it was advertised on Channel 4, who made TV history by showing the full 3-minute trailer on an ad-break takeover, under a brand-funded partnership which we instigated.

The programme was delivered not only on time, but under budget too, with all negotiations having been handled by the Nest team, which helped secure reduced rates across the board. All savings were passed directly back to Nike, and all freelancers, crew, and suppliers were paid on time.

Above all, W+K were able to respond to the brief Nike had given them, without compromising their creative ideas or the professionalism of their output – successfully winning the hearts and minds of the audience Nike wanted in the process. And as their production partners, we were proud to be able to help them ‘just do it’.

“The Nest were essential to the smooth running of a very tricky long-form branded content shoot. They have comprehensive knowledge, are adaptable and always a calming influence; They were our rock.”

Tom Dean, In-House Executive Producer, Wieden and Kennedy

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