Much like the rest of the world, there is very little branded entertainment being produced in Australia which is series based fiction. This seems strange when you consider that some of the biggest shows in the world are. Game of Thrones, House of Cards and The Office to name but a few, it seemed not only strange that so few brands in Australia were creating series but that had embraced fiction.

Fiction allows us layered plots, narrative, character development and many other key ingredients to great storytelling. We also noted the absolute lack of scripted comedy, something audience’s love however brands are reluctant to tackle.

It was our belief that we could show audiences the great experiences they could have in NSW wine regions in an entertaining, fun and engaging way that showcased the best of each region whilst giving them a good old laugh along the way.

When preparing PLONK for television, the network classification and sensorship divisions mandate that there is no overt specific product promotion in program hence our treatment of Destination NSW in program.

We believed the way to attract visitors to NSW wine regions was to show the great people, great locations and great times. And we believed that a scripted comedy was the vehicle to deliver that.

South Australia and Western Australia are more well known and serious wine regions. Their promotion is serious, snobby and almost pretentious. We believed that visiting wine regions should be represented as fun, lively and a laugh a minute. Ever important when you consider that the fastest growth in wine tourism and buying is people under 40. After all, shouldn’t wine be about good times and not being intimidated or made to feel stupid.

We created a satirical comedy called PLONK. PLONK started it's life as an online satirical comedy series that debuted in March 2014, set among NSW’s beautiful and diverse wine tourism destinations.

We follow the trials and tribulations of a feckless television crew as they travel through NSW trying to produce a unique, engaging and credible wine program. It’s a look behind the curtain of a TV production and the elements that can derail even the most benign of intentions.

At it's heart though, PLONK is a love letter to the NSW wine industry, expressed the best way we know how, through comedy.

The ensemble cast includes Australia’s most recognized satirist Chris Taylor as the shows celebrity front man.

Unpreparedness, creative differences and downright incompetence are at the heart of the action as our team scours the countryside in search of fine wine, eccentric people and exciting stories. Their hearts are in the right place, if only their camera was as well.

Astonishingly our production budget for the entire series was about $US 200,000. This included all 5 episodes and a whole host of additional content that can all be seen at youtube.com/roadtoplonk.

We had a very small production budget and less for promotion (PR budget around US$20,000). We decided very early on to simply make the best show we possibly could. With our client Destination NSW we put our faith in getting a great cast and crew, creating a great show and having people like, share and talk about it.

We had all of Destination NSW’s digital and social media assets as a springboard as well as non-financial assistance from Tourism Australia.

Ultimately it was the quality of the content that led to licensing deals with television networks and other media operators.

PLONK was launched as a web series on YouTube clocking up 250,000 views in the first 2 weeks. 5 episodes at 12-15 minutes. We secured revenue share deals with digital media such as News Ltd Australia.

Immediately post lunch, the show was licensed to QANTAS where it will appear on the main screen of domestic flights (60,000 passengers daily) and in the VOD system of all international flights. 5 episodes at 12-15 minutes, through 6 months.

Within 2 weeks, we licensed PLONK to Australian free to air network, Network Ten, where it will have 3 series runs across their main channel (Ten) and digital channel (ELEVEN) over the 12 months. Commercial half hour episodes and a 1-hour special.

We have just signed television deals with PLONK being distributed to 26 countries across Asia (primary target countries for NSW Tourism) and translated into 5 languages.

PLONK generated approximately $1.5 Million dollars in unpaid PR including national television, magazine, newspaper and radio interviews of cast and creators. We are presenting the show with cast and crew Q&A’s at film festivals around the country.

Most importantly we have proved that great content can be sold and generate revenue rather than given away or paid for placement.