Dubplate Y Mexico 3/4. A Tale of Two Channels.
Being stopped during a pitch so the commissioners of the TV station you’re presenting to can go and get the president of the channel, doesn’t happen often.
And it’s never happened to me before, until this week.
Which made it even crazier when the same thing happened again, the next day, on the other side of Mexico City at a rival channel.
Neither president was present, so second meetings were set up and a tale of two channels began.
The second largest Spanish language TV network on the planet renowned for it’s world conquering Tele Novella’s Vs the pioneering public service broadcaster, borne out of a university, radical, socially principled, but quite a bit smaller, rival.
Trying to weigh up the pro’s and con’s of each, we zig zagged across Mexico City meeting the other key players and components needed to make Dubplate Mexico a reality, with a few pavement restaurant meetings along the way.
We sounded out brand partners and sponsors and met everyone from the world’s largest handset manufacturer to the planets most popular sportswear brand and a few more in between.
Luckily the one we were most excited about was the one most excited about us.
We met with the head of the British Council and have never been left so open jawed by a vision for cultural and social
improvement achieved through creative and social enterprise. If he pulls it off, his plans will be a lesson for Social Enterprise
around the world.
We asked everyone we met to vote on the right TV station for us in the great big Dubplate channel debate.
Vote A to reach all of Latin America vote B to keep it real.
And everyone surprised us with his or her answers.
Global trainer brand say go with the little guys it’s about perceptions.
Awe inspiring Social Entrepreneurs with hands on experience working with kids on the street say go with the big guys, it’s social change at the greatest scale that is required.
We were incredibly lucky with the access, interest and opportunity we had, and we tried to make the most of it.
The only meeting we didn’t get to have was with someone who’d recently decided it was time to leave Mexico City when their five year old children were given ‘Getting away from Kidnappers’ training at school.
That stopped us in our tracks.
As did the Chocolate Social Entrepreneur who made and sold chocolate shaped grenades and bombs to raise awareness and money to help heavily exploited cocoa farmers.
We also had our preconceptions of the Telly Novella challenged. There are strong social and moral messages core to the Telly Novella and a significant history of them focussing on specific social issues and raising awareness and working in partnership with relevant advisory and support networks.
Not entirely unlike Dubplate Drama, just a lot, lot longer.
We were further put in our place as we were reminded about the validity of the simple escape of the Telly Novella if you travel four hours round trip to work a 12-hour shift every single day.
Our cynical assumptions and hesitations about Big Broadcaster were beginning to shift.
If you took the proven change Dubplate achieved in the UK, in terms of behavioural change in young people and the complete shift in audience we achieved for Childline, and then magnified it to a country of 122 million with a average age of 25…. Just as your starting point…?
If you add to this the discovery made during our research that Big Broadcaster has for five years run a daily show dramatising real life stories sent in anonymously by women who can’t speak about them elsewhere, tackling issues from abuse and rape to anorexia and alcohol abuse and then promoting the services, around the show, that these women need to break the cycles they’re caught in…
Our choice of channels was beginning to sharpen.
Less than a day left and a deal to be done…
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None of this would have been possible without the British Council and they’re amazing teams in both London and Mexico. In particular Angelica Atristain and Claire DeBraekeleer.
Live magazine meets Biggafish
Live magazine has partnered up with Biggafish London’s biggest youth events company. To celebrate this new partnership our music editor Emil Ahmed went down to Biggafish’s birthday bash last night at the Camden Centre.
Emil Ahmed, 17 Live Magazine music editor
Biggafish is known for its massive parties from the Camden Roundhouse to Matter in the O2 Arena. Last night was the kick start to the UK tour. Artists performing on the night included Griminal, Marvell, Lioness, Loick Essien, Rio, Meleka, Big Man Zest and Bigga Fish’s very own DJ Policy and host Jazzie.
The party kicked off with some head banging tunes with some funky house and bashment thrown into the mix. Loick Essien was on hand to please the ladies and girl group RD Official set pulses racing amongst the boys.
Marvell crew jumped on the stage to give the crowd what they wanted – madness! As expected they brought down the ceiling performing “We are Marvell” and “We know”.
If you ever decide to go to a Bigga Fish event you won’t be left disappointed. Next stop on their UK tour is Bristol, Manchester and Sheffield. So if you’re around – check out there website and grab your tickets ASAP!