#JoinUs

In July 2008, eMedia Interactive Limited opened its doors as Jamaica’s first Digital Media company. We have grown tremendously since, attracting an investment from Sagicor Investments in 2011, in addition to assembling a strong Board of Directors.

In 2012, we started producing branded content for companies and based on the successes, were compelled to launch Jamaica’s first Digital Creative Agency - Branded by eMedia in 2014. Branded by eMedia has grown significantly, producing strong creative output for international clients such as BBC and large companies locally - mainly in the financial industry.

We have reached yet another milestone. I’m pleased to announce that eMedia Interactive Limited has entered into an agreement with Point Global Marketing that involves a merger of both companies. Point Global Marketing is led by Javette Nixon - a passionate, capable and visionary CEO who in just four years has been able to build a strong company - serving clients such as Jamaica Producers Group Ltd., Mavis Bank Coffee, in addition to LifeSpan and other major brands locally and internationally. Together, eMedia and Point Global bring a larger creative team, greater efficiencies and a notable increase in technical capabilities and content production know-how.

The name of the company remains the same (eMedia Interactive Limited) and I will continue to be President & CEO. Javette Nixon will become Chief Operating Officer of eMedia Interactive Limited in addition to being the President of Point Global Marketing - now a division of eMedia Interactive. eMedia will, on November 1, cease to use the name Branded by eMedia as the name for our agency and will be using Point Global Marketing. This is a great move that will definitely support our mandate to become one of Jamaica’s largest content companies.

New Online Institute to Offer Content for Building Caribbean Gaming Market

iCreate Institute, under the umbrella of parent company, eMedia Interactive Ltd., has entered a groundbreaking partnership with the The University of Waterloo’s  "Global Business Digital Arts"  (GBDA) undergraduate degree programme aimed at bringing innovation to the Caribbean gaming market. This collaboration will allow the local institute the opportunity to learn directly from the Canadian university. On a wider scale, the partnership will aid with the assimilation of Jamaican culture, through content production for game development. iCreate Institute was selected to play this integral role because of the astounding reputation built by eMedia Interactive, which was recently highlighted in the media.

“The University of Waterloo, Stratford Campus, has an interest in having the students develop content for different markets, and the Caribbean is one such territory. eMedia, being a digital media company has worked in several areas of the creative field such as our own original content and advertising content for clients. Our diversity in content creation and our knowledge in gaming made us an ideal partner for this course,” said Tyrone Wilson, founder of iCreate Institute and president & CEO of eMedia Interactive Ltd. “This collaboration gives us the opportunity to understand gaming and the delivery of gaming courses from an international standpoint. The collaborative style of delivering educational content to students was also attractive and we want to learn from the folks at University of Waterloo as much as their students want to learn from us.”

These games will be developed by 42 third-year students from the university beginning on January 5th of this year, for four months. The students will create short playable games, surrounding the topics of Caribbean sports, tourism, food and the culture at large. The games will then be tested and judged by eMedia Interactive.

“For our current project, eMedia has created fictitious design scenarios for our seven student teams. While hypothetical, the scenarios are based on actual Jamaican companies, for example making a game for a restaurant or music company or tourist board,” said Stratford Assistant Professor Jennifer Whitson, Phd. “The teams are tasked with researching, designing and developing game prototypes, and then pitching these prototypes to a panel of experts. Along the way, the teams are tasked with mini-projects such as marketing videos and design documents. They are posted on our course website so eMedia can provide feedback and advice on how the pros do things. You can't learn this from a textbook and so the expertise of the eMedia team is extremely important.”

This partnership will be beneficial for the GBDA, as it will afford them a good testing ground for future partnerships that foster international student exchanges and internships.

“The collaboration gives students a tasting sample of all the elements that encapsulate video game production - from business and marketing, to focus group ethnographies, to working with clients, to playtesting/UX, and game design. The end result is experiential hands-on learning that goes far beyond what you'd learn simply by watching a tutorial video or reading a textbook. And let's be honest, for students, pleasing a real world client is much more exciting than simply submitting assignments to a professor like me,” said Whitson.

eMedia’s Creative Director Zinzi Samuels is excited about the prospects of this partnership and highlighted it as a move in the right direction. “This collab is a good platform to enforce iCreate’s  tagline, which is “Design to Inspire.”

This is a very strong start to its vision, as we’re able to equip these students with the necessary insight and content that they need to execute their project. We’re not only a school for creativity and content but we also inspire people to create effective, creative content. This partnership will also demonstrate to corporate brands how they can use gaming content to market their business,” Samuels said.

Branded by eMedia prides itself on being the best creative agency in town. The building blocks of that pride are the members of our creative cream of the crop. These individuals show up to our creative lab everyday bursting with ideas and the talent to back it up. To show our appreciation to our elites, we’ve established the first ever Creativity Awards.

The Creativity Awards were held on Friday, February 6th, 2015 at 3:00 p.m, at eMedia’s new space at 80 Lady Musgrave Road. The awards featured four categories that highlighted the areas that our recipients have excelled at for the year 2014.

Most Dynamic - Kevon Brown

“We are serious about creativity, which means we are serious about our creative team, said Creative Director Zinzi Samuels.  “The creativity award is a testament to our successes  as a company. we are proud of our talents, and as we say ‘teamwork makes the dream work.’”

Most Improved - Oneil Banton

The categories included Most Dynamic, Most Improved & Most Dedicated. The ultimate award was the Creative of the Year Award. O’Raine Thomas, O’Neil Banton and Kevon Brown received Most Dedicated, Most Improved and Most dynamic respectively, along with gift certificates acknowledging these highlights. The Creative of the Year Award went to O’Raine Thomas, who received a trophy, as well as an all expense paid stay at Serendipity Holistic Spa & Resort.

Most Dedicated & Creative of the Year - O'Raine Thomas

“Winning the Award for Creative of the year 2014 was a very uplifting moment for me. Though I'm not a fan of being singled out, I accept this award on behalf of my team and I with pride and honor, and also for being the first to be given such an award from eMedia,” said Thomas. “It's the result of hard work, pride and commitment. I look forward to continued growth and creating memorable moments with eMedia through my personal mantra of telling stories that are visually and emotionally compelling.”

As a company built on creativity, shining the spotlight on our creative team is of great importance.

“A company is nothing without its people. As a creative agency, we feel it is important to acknowledge and reward the individuals who hone their skills and abilities and often even go beyond what is required to make Branded by eMedia, a full-service and successful entity that works day and night to deliver quality productions on quick timelines for our clients,” said Vice President of eMedia and Head of Branded Ashleigh Gardner.

We’re looking forward to a fantastic 2015 and to new creative talent highlights for the coming year and beyond.

It’s the 1890s. British colonists travel almost 5000 miles to dock their vessels on the sunny shores of Jamaica. They’re escaping harsh English winters, leveraging the climate to recover from health problems. This is how plantation owners and their friends initiated Jamaica’s Tourism Industry and the health tourism sub industry . They used the excess capacity from the United Fruit Company to transport visitors to Jamaica. This would later become Jamaica’s Cruise Ship industry. These season trips gave way to the first hotels in Montego-Bay and Port Antonio and subsequently the Jamaica Tourist Association, established in 1910.

  Fast forward to 2014. Jamaica is still known internationally for sun, sand and sea, and not much else. We’ve received recognition for Reggae Music predominantly through the life and musical legacy of Bob Marley. Our vibrant culture has international appeal in every corner of the globe, and Jamaica has grown to be  one of the most sophisticated Caribbean nations. The je ne sais quoi of Jamaica’s people married to our artistic landscape have brought visitors from far and wide to enjoy all that our island has to offer, but its time we rebrand the way we sell Jamaica.

  The world has changed since the 19th century. The reality today is that the Asian market has gotten more wealthy and sophisticated. The rise in wealth in the middle class in China is shifting global consumption. Dubai has risen as an attraction for Chinese consumers by exploiting its shopping experience - a strategy also used to target visitors from other continents. Dubai’s economy has benefitted from a redefinition of how Dubai wanted to the world to see it - brand Dubai saw 25% of sales from tourism originating from the wealthy Chinese.

  Brand Jamaica 25 years ago (infographic)

Jamaica today should put forward a unified strategy that exploit the benefits of the following:

  What should Jamaica brand be today? (infographic)

Track & Field

The success of Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, our other athletes and the competitiveness of our high school Track & Field Championship has put Jamaica at the centre of track and field.

  Outsourcing (Creative & ICT)

Jamaica has been tapped for its creativity to aid in the development of the global animation outsourcing industry. Major animation companies have contracted Jamaican companies to aid in the production of animation programs.  According to AT Kearney, a global management consulting firm, Jamaica is the Caribbean’s leading outsourcing centre. Jamaica has attracted foreign investment through key incentives since the 1990s that aided in the development of this industry. The island is attractive as an outsourcing due to its close proximity to the United States, a leader in global sourcing.

  Health tourism

We have long been identified as a source for Health Tourism, and though the opportunities have presented themselves before, we are just building the first hospital to target this sector. According to the Government of Jamaica, plans are underway to establish a US$200m - 75 bed facility in Montego-Bay.

Logistics hub

Jamaica is already a major transhipment port of the Caribbean. The opportunities to establish a logistics hub in Jamaica will help to expand on our existing infrastructure and make and build the attractiveness of our island as a place to do business.

  Music (Jazz, Soca and Reggae)

Over the years, Bob Marley has been the sole flag bearer of our Jamaican music. It is time that we embrace the current entertainers who each time they go on tour are brand ambassadors for Jamaica. Our Reggae music which has influenced revolution and change has also been a strong advertising campaign for Brand Jamaica. We need to tap into this going forward.

Business (measured in Foreign Direct Investment)

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rose 75% in 2012, bringing in US$385m for the year, but is well below the average over the years at US$700m. Mining, a major contributor to our FDI has taken a hit over the years due to lower price worldwide. Is it time for we explore additional areas for FDI?

  Food

Culinary arts in Jamaica is one of our biggest attraction today. Jerk is a global phenomenon and was invented in Jamaica. Today, Jamaica food is featured on every travel of culinary arts program. Tourists from all over the world come to Jamaica to get a taste of our popular dishes.

  Educated Workforce

Jamaica spends $59bn on education annually. With over 788,000 students enrolled in schools (72.9% of the 3-24 age group), a literacy rate 88%, 16 Universities and 26 colleges in Jamaica, our population is way more educated and globally trained to provide well needed human resource as our country gets more business savvy.

  A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If our consumer doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer. Brands do evolve over time and adjustments need to be communicated. The reality is that Brand Jamaica has taken a hit from the negative publicity, often catalyzed by the images we put out of ourselves. However, it is never too late to repackage and rebrand ‘Brand Jamaica’ in order to capitalize on the new era of globalization.

  Has Brand Jamaica  evolved over the last 25 years? Are we communicating our brand effectively to those watching around the world?

YUTE Lens Support - Day 1. 

Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) Limited and eMedia Interactive Limited, the creator of iVu tv, have partnered to deliver YUTE Lens Support: a training programme in film, TV and media production, for the benefit of 40 ‘at-risk’ young people living in Kingston’s most volatile and impoverished communities.

The 10-week training and internship programme, funded in part by the Australian High Commission through its Direct Aid Programme, will be conducted with two groups of 35 participants between the ages of 18 and 29. The first programme is scheduled to begin during the month of April and the second will commence in July.

The programme is aimed at developing the competences of YUTE participants in media production while giving them an opportunity to improve their employability and gain valuable professional skills and experience.

eMedia has found itself a part of another globally growing media sub industry. What I’m referring to is the business of branded content and content marketing. Although the industry is young locally, brands have been publishing their own content since 2009. Now brands, and ad agencies that serve them, can’t ignore the power of owning their own media properties. Traditional methods of reaching the mass are proving less effective so content and content marketing have become buzzwords in advertising and marketing circles and many companies are catching up.

In 2012, Contently, a 1 year old content-marketing company announced that it has raised $2m that will help to build out their operations. The company’s business model is to play matchmaker for brands and journalists to develop branded content. Two years later, Contently announced that it has raised $9m more in funding. A few weeks later, content marketing software company NewsCred announced that they’d raised $25m in funding for their content-marketing platform. The company had raised $15m in funding in 2013. These companies (and others) are racing to be a leaders in content, funnelling loads of cash into the industry to get there.

In 2013, the content-marketing industry became a $44b industry increasing 9.2% over the previous year. Digital is the fastest growing industry segment at 45% annually with new companies entering the industry.

Brands As Publishers

What do these numbers mean? Brands are looking for unique and innovative ways to maintain connection with their customers and tell their own stories. We’ve seen the success of Red Bull. Red Bull Media House was started in 2007 and has since expanded worldwide and according to their LinkedIn profile, employs over 135 individuals. Red Bull publishes magazines that rival Sports Illustrated and push videos on multiple platforms that connect with millions of viewers. The company leverages its media brand and those if its content partners for direct consumer impact through licensing deals.

The newspaper industry is also jumping on the content marketing train. In 2014, The Guardian (yes, the newspaper company in the UK) announced the launch of their new division Guardian Labs - a digital branded content agency. According to The Guardian, they’re leveraging their distribution channels to tell branded stories. The company, in their release, said that over 70% of marketers are increasing their spend on branded content - taking the UK’s content marketing spend from £4.3bn to a predicted £5.8bn in 2014.

Guardian Labs (GL) also announced a seven figure deal with Unilever, the owner of brands such as Dove, Axe and Ben & Jerry’s. The deal will see GL creating stories for Unilever that will be featured on the Guardian’s websites. According to the Guardian, the partnership is “centred on the shared values of sustainable living and open storytelling”.

Brands areVideo is also a big among branded content. Ford was successful at this when they launched Escape My Life a web-series that put the Ford Escape front and centre while crafting a funny script. Each episode is 5 minutes and I was able to watch everything in a straight 40 minutes (binge watching according to Netflix).

The Way Forward

eMedia Interactive continues to be a vital part of this eco-system. We have over 15 companies that trust us to produce their branded content. We recently launched in the United States and have signed up the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), as a client. We continue to build out the services and has launched Branded by eMedia our digital creative and branded content agency.

We’re excited about the prospects of this industry.

[Andrew Pairman, CEO of Intelligent Multimedia Limited (left) and Tyrone Wilson, CEO of eMedia Interactive Limited (right) pause for the lens before the signing of their digital media partnership on March 11, 2013]            

                               THE ULTIMATE DIGITAL ADVERTISING SYNERGY

Intelligent Multimedia Limited and eMedia Interactive Limited announced today their digital advertising partnership and package.

Being the island’s largest digital display network, Intelligent Multimedia has strategically engaged with Jamaica’s first, true, new media franchise eMedia. IML guarantees an ‘8 times per hour frequency’ and facilitates narrowcasting by effectively targeting the demographic most suited to your market, in the places they visit and linger the most. eMedia has zoned in on young and aspiring professionals and has since amassed a growing database of 36,000+ subscribers to their e-publications and online TV network, iVu Tv.

Harnessing IML’s widest network of digital screens across Jamaica combined with the 36,000+ strong subscription base offered by the wkndr and Your Money’s digitally-delivered magazines, the synergy will provide advertisers with a formidable marketing option to ensure maximum eyes on brand. IML and eMedia now offers a range of packages (inclusive of an introductory 25% discount) that bundles advertising space from both of their digital platforms. 

Since the beginning of 2013, eMedia has built a strong reputation for offering cost effective and high-quality video services. This will complement the partnership with IML as the exclusive video production partner for their clients who are interested in advertising on the digital platforms.

Tyrone Wilson, CEO of eMedia Interactive, says that "we have been working with IML to explore video production packages for clients and have come up witha  customizable solution that enables advertisers to practically choose their video package based on their budget."

Reaching over 1.5million viewers per month, IML stands as the island’s largest network of digital, out-of-home display network. At over 50 locations island-wide including all inland revenue departments as well as retail outlets and fast food establishments, consumer penetration is at a maximum. The wide net of locations and optimum placement of screens intercept consumers’ attention while they make purchases at POS and points of wait. 

eMedia Interactive focuses on audiences within the 18-65 year old demographic via eZines (digital magazines) distributed via email, online TV, social media and are currently fine-tuning mobile app complements. Through this partnership, prime advertising space from eMedia’s leading e-publications: the Wkndr and Your Money are being proffered. Both e-zines target and have captured the attention of both the young, aspiring and achieved professionals who lead most of their lives online. the Wkndr is distributed to a core demographic of 21-40 year olds and features lifestyle content relevant to those readers. Your Money’s editorial focuses on technology, innovation, leadership, sustainable practices and business lifestyle. This eZine is delivered to a core demographic of 24-45 year olds in the public and private sector.