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Vice Media Channel 4 I-d Magazine

Vice-owned i-D teams with Channel 4 for documentary series as it looks to woo new audiences

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By Natalie Mortimer, N/A

May 5, 2015 | 3 min read

Vice-owned fashion magazine i-D has inked a deal with Channel 4 to broadcast a series of four documentaries exploring the relationship between street style subculture and music as it looks to attract new audiences into its network.

The documentary comes as i-D continues to expand its video content output on YouTube and is the first time the publication has dabbled in long-form content.

Speaking to The Drum Ravi Amaratunga, who joined i-D from Dazed in the newly created role of global group director of film and video in February, said the commission hails the start of a slate of new documentaries for i-D, which was relaunched as a video-driven digital presence 18 months ago following its acquisition by Vice in 2012.

“It’s hard for a brand to start from scratch in video,” he said. “Content has mostly been short form and model focused… but we are building interesting series-based documentaries which could live in TV form as well.”

Directed by Ewen Spencer, and written by Clive Martin, the show will launch on TV on 13 May on Channel 4 before having an online release on i-D in shorter form episodes.

The commission comes off the back of a year of growth for i-D. The fashion publisher saw a 350 per cent surge in traffic over the past three months, 20 million video views and over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Forthcoming productions include Islamofashion, a show centred around global Islamic style; Obsessed, which focuses on unique superfans of fashion and music around the world; Furlined a long-form documentary on the fur industry and what it means to generation Z; Cut Above which visits the US’s wildest hair salons and Made Up an entertainment format using the world’s best next generation make-up artists.

Branded content is a large focus for business and Amaratunga revealed that i-D has some “potentially game-changing things” in the offing that will allow the publication to grow globally. While he could not be drawn on the specifics of any deals on the table Amaratunga said that i-D is looking to diversify the way it works with brands to “scale up” to a new level. Past collaborations include fashion house Marc Jacobs and drinks giant Diageo.

Vice Media Channel 4 I-d Magazine

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