Creators used to need to wait to be commissioned for content. Now, if they get a TV deal, or brand appearance, it’s the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. Bondi Rescue is a classic example. The boys in blue have been a TV staple in Australian households for over a decade. After 17 years, most reality TV shows are winding down, but not Bondi Rescue. Totem Network shifted Bondi Rescue’s viewership on social media from 15M views per annum to over 1.3 Billion views in 2022, flipping the traditional model on its head. Bondi Rescue is the number one Factual Entertainment show in the world on social media. Who is not going to recommission a show with that type of viewership?
Creators are now media companies, and Marion Grasby has adopted a similar model. Marion started her journey on TV’s MasterChef Australia, but her content is now reaching and engaging millions of viewers online every day.
The Marion's Kitchen Group is a unique blend of media publisher, food and lifestyle product company and vertically integrated retailer. For more than a decade, the group has challenged traditional business models by successfully combining digital-first content, community and commerce. MK Group brands include Marion’s Kitchen (food and media), Oriana Press (publishing), MAKO (performance cookware), Asoke (homewares) and online retailer, CookDineHost.
In conversation with Kirsty Wilson, Global Partnerships Lead at Meta Australia & New Zealand, Marion Grasby, and Totem’s Amelia Darmawan chat about creativity, content, connecting with their audiences, and brand building.