Global Agency’s first exclusive screening event wrapped up in Bodrum, Turkey, last Sunday. CEETV was the only media invited to the event. CEO Izzet Pinto talked with Stanislav Kimchev about the success of Global Agency Screenings & Hangover and their plans for the future.

CEETV: Hi Izzet. Are you a hung over now?

IP: A bit hung over from last night but now, so happy and relieved mostly. Global Agency Screenings & Hangover was the first edition and I was overwhelmed from the very beginning. I am now feeling proud and thankful that we have finished the event with almost zero mistake.

CEETV: Tell us more about the Global Agency Screenings & Hangover event and what are your expectations for your business?

IP: Global Agency Screenings & Hangover was our corporate event which brought television industry executives together to give them a first look at the various content from Global Agency, to establish new joint ventures, to network with international TV professionals, and to create unforgettable memories with legendary Global Agency parties. We had two screening days with drama and format presentations by the experienced and professional sales directors of our team. Additionally, we had panel sessions which we called them “Global Talks” both in format and drama days. And of course, as the Hangover side of the event, we had four different kinds of parties during these 3 days.

As Global Agency, we like creating buzz and we always try to choose the different ways of doing our business in the industry combining it with full of entertainment. We wouldn't think a kind of corporate event without fun and joy side in it. With our unique and strong catalogue, we also believe that this vision helped us so much to create our brand image, to be the fastest growing company and now to be well- known as the world’s leading independent distributor. Our expectations from this event is bringing much more value to our company brand image, to build new business partnerships as well as the new friendships. It was so important for us to make our guests feel like they are a family member of this community.

CEETV: How long did you plan it?

IP: Well, I first came up with the idea a year and a half ago and I decided to do it a year ago. We have been working really hard in the last 8 months, but the last 3 months have been extremely busy.

CEETV: Were there only “buyers” at the event?

IP: We had almost 100 buyers from 37 nationalities. These includes distributors, channels and also production companies.

CEETV: Which new titles were presented for the first time during the event?

IP: We had two new titles in drama side: One of them was 46 and the other one was High Society. It was the first time they’ve been pitched internationally. 46 is a pyschological thriller and High Society is a drama. Regarding formats side, we had three new titles: Answer Cook Win, a cooking format, Natural Born Singers, a singing entertainment show, and the third one is Wardrobe Wars, a fashion-reality show. These five titles were brand new, but we have also had many projects with their extended brand new trailers. In addition, we had a longer trailer for The Legend, so people could understand it more. On the other hand, we presented some of our paper formats with their brand new promos.

CEETV: Tell us more about the other part of the event - the panels, the speakers and the topics that were discussed. Some of the speakers were from companies that you are competing with.

IP: Right. You know us clearly that we dont prefer to behave like we are in a competition in the sector. I always find the word “competitor” quite negative. Our first approach is to keep our friendships and collaborations with a deep intimate. I think, in today’s world, it’s better to cooperate than to be a rival. So I was so happy to have Nilufer Kuyel, Head of Acquisitions at Endemol Shine Turkey, for giving a presentation about the Turkish television market. Our guests had so many questions and she was extremely helpful. In addition, Sinan Turan, Head of Trading at GroupM Turkey was with us for telling about the Turkish media industry. His presentation was also full of information regarding the media structure in Turkey and he showed us how brands use the different sides of media with the case studies. On the third day, we had a format panel which we called ‘Global Talks: Global Agency Hits Around The World’ and four of our valuable clients were the speakers who we partnered with some of our formats. Anthony Meunier from Herve Hubert, France was with us for talking about Shopping Monsters and Joker which became phenomenons in France with really huge interest and high ratings. Nick Christoforou from The Art of Comedy, Greece talked about Blind Taste’s Greek version while Elene Kolelishvili from GDS, Georgia was telling us the clues how Keep Your Light Shining became the high- quality production in the country. Joseph Husseini from Bright I, Lebanon made his speech about Perfect Bride which is our very first format in the catalogue. He talked about the Lebanese version of the project with the funny stories behind it. It was so good to share the details how we partnered and people loved the panel.

CEETV: Global Agency is well known in the TV business as the host of one of the greatest parties. Are you satisfied with the first edition of Global Agency Screenings & Hangover in this respect?

IP: In total, we had four parties in three days. The first day, we kicked off with a great pool party in the afternoon in a private villa. It was a great start for the event. And the same night, we had a welcoming cocktail party at the Garden Bar, we had a live show and it went really well. On the second night, we had our third party at Maçakızı, one of the most famous beach clubs in Bodrum, and as it is such a cool place, we had a really memorable night. The last party was for the closing ceremony which we called it “Hangover Party”. We turned the island into a Hangover Island, we had a live band and everything went smoothly. It continued until 04.30 am and at the end of the night, we exactly saw that the name ‘Hangover’ was well-deserved. As I mentioned before, we cant get away from entertainment when we are doing our business. So far, so good.

CEETV: Are you planning a second edition of the event?

IP: I really want to. Now, it will be the time for considering the results in both business side and also for the event side. As Global Agency, we are so keen on to go ahead with the other editions of Screenings & Hangover which this one was already the first of its kind event. We brought a new look to the industry and we would like to continue with more guests, more content, more entertainment and more partnerships for the following versions.

CEETV: Do you think that events like this one are better for your business than the established international markets?

IP: I think that these are way more effective, but we can not miss the other markets. So, I am not planning to cut on the international television markets at all. We are attending more than 13 markets each year and this will continue. Global Agency Screenings & Hangover can be an additional special event in its category.