In exactly 365 days, Cal Ormond must solve the mystery of the ‘Ormond Singularity’, a family secret that took the

life of his father and links Cal to the Virgin Queen of England, Elizabeth I.

In the face of murderous enemies, he must complete the task begun by his deceased father, redeem himself, clear

his name and heal his wounded family, and he must do it all as the countdown inches ever closer to its final

conclusion.

Conspiracy 365 is the story of a year in the life of teen fugitive Cal Ormond, each month coming closer to the truth

about his family’s secret and ending on a cliff hanger…resolved in the next instalment.

The story builds dramatically over a one-year arc, delivering a fast-narrative that satisfies as an action thriller, a

mystery, a historical romance and a rite of passage tale as a young man comes into his full inheritance.

CONSPIRACY 365’s ESTABLISHED FAN BASE WITH A SPECIFIC AUDIENCE , YET

BROAD GENRE APPEAL MET FMC’s ‘SHARED VIEWING EXPERIENCE’

(TWEENS, TEENS & PARENTS) PROGRAMMING OBJECTIVE

• A novel franchise with a well established fan base

• Based on the series of 12 x best selling novels targeting the tween and teen markets

• Written by prolific Australian author Gabrielle Lord (Fortress, Whipping Boy) sold internationally

in 13 countries including the USA, UK and China

• Over 1,000,000 novels in print worldwide and distributed through Scholastic

• The 2011 Australian Book Industry Award - ‘Book Of The Year’ for Older Children (8-14 years)

• Largest ever STV drama production $13 million investment

• A unique television proposition comprising 12 x 49 min with multi-platform series extension

• Multi-platform investment +/- $1m in additional content creation and digital assets

• Mirroring the one-book- a-month release of the novels, the TV series has a 12-month roll-out

strategy for broadcast and online

• Creating a year-long marketing and programming event for the program and the channel

IT IS A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE FOR ‘PREMIUM’ CHANNELS WITH LOW(ER)

AUDIENCE REACH TO CUT THROUGH AND ESTABLISH KEY ORIGINAL &

COMMISSIONED PROGRAMMING. CONSPIRACY 365’s LONGEVITY ON-AIR AND

ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS SERVES TO BUILD AUDIENCE AWARENESS

AND ENGAGEMENT

Development

Commenced October, 2010

Writing workshops early December ,2011

Series & episode outline completed February, 2011

Series formally commissioned March, 2011

Production

Pre-production May, 2011

Production commenced June 20, 2011

Production finished December 16 ,2011

Filmed entirely on location in Melbourne, Victoria

Harrison Gilbertson as Callum Ormond

2010 AFI Award Winner Beneath Hill 60, Blessed, Australian

Rules, Accidents Happen, What’s Wrong with Virginia

Taylor Glockner as Boges Marny Kennedy as Winter

(2006 AFI Best Young Actor Ward for Mortified,

TV’s Saddle World and A gURLs

wURLd)

Rob Carlton as Sligo

(TV’s Paper Giants, Underbelly,

Movie Extra’s Chandon Pictures)

Julia Zemiro as Oriana

(RocKwiz, Talkin’Bout Your

Generation)

Ryan O’Kane as Detective

McGrath

(Rage, TV’s City Homicide)

David Whitely as Rafe Ormond

Artistic Director Red Stitch Theatre

Company, The Hollowmen, Killer Elite

Kate Kendall as Emily Ormond

Matching Jack, The Librarians,

Stingers

Mietta White as Gabbi Ormond

Existing Audiences

Fans of the book series, aged

10 – 16 with a 50/50 female/male

New Audiences

Parents drawn into Conspiracy 365

by their children’s knowledge/enthusiasm

for the property & their own realisation of the appeal

upon seeing cast & tonality of the series.

• Premiere Saturday January 14, 2012

• New episodes air on the first Saturday of each month from January to December, 2012

• Promoted as a tent pole programming and marketing event each month for FMC

• Multiple plays in the month, with heavy pre-promotion of the next instalment

• Scheduled regular catch-up opportunities & omnibus programming events

• Mid-year release of episodes across additional platforms to engage new audiences and build

franchise awareness

• Promote the series & build an audience for broadcast

• Primary target for Multi-Platform are the teen / tween audiences

• Keep this target audience engaged, excited and loyal for 365 days

• Move the audience from passive watchers to active advocates

• Facilitate recommendation through comprehensive social media extensions

• Drive retention and upgrades to Movie Network Channels package

• Conspiracy 365 re-released to

• Feature Harrison Gilbertson

on the cover

• On cover driver to TV series,

FMC, central destination URL

& Foxtel.

• 4 page book insert featuring

stills from the series

• Inside back cover dedicated to

TV series messaging & central

destination URL

• Inclusion of the TV series in monthly

Edm’s to Scholastic Conspiracy 365

fan database

• Involvement in Scholastic book fairs

& book clubs

• Book retailer cross promotion

• Selected joint window displays

in high traffic areas

• In-store POS & up to 50,000

bookmark give-away

• In-store radio and register

displays

• Access to Gabrielle Lord to support

launch of TV series to media

• Agreed stock quantities for prizing

• Engage – the teen audience by giving them

a portal to discuss, decipher and debunk the

mysteries behind the Ormond Singularity

and Cal’s adventure

• Interact – give the audience ‘direct access’

to Conspiracy 365 by creating a character

that represents them and will act as the

mediator between them and the characters

of Conspiracy 365

• Unravel – use the character to assist the

audience in deciphering the many clues and

puzzles within the series; keep the audience

up to date on all the characters and how

they fit within the story as the series unfolds

MEET BARDY

• Wannabe investigative journalist, Bardy, fan

of the series who uncover and deciphers

exclusive intelligence on the Ormond

Singularity

• His job is to provide answers, or at least ask

the right questions to help audiences follow

the plot and unravel the mystery behind the

Ormond Singularity as the clock counts

down to December 31

• Pointers broadcast audience to online

destinations for exclusive MP content

• Case File 365 episodes available online post

TX on FMC

There are 365 rewards to collect for the year-long experience:

• All content has a reward associated with it

• Rewards take the form of clues, events or items that Cal has come across, exclusive video

content and physical prizing

• There are 365 rewards to collect for the year-long experience.

• High engagement figures: 5 minute+ average session time, less than 20% bounce rate.

Each month audiences will be able to complete multiple-choice quizzes based on the most recent

episode of Conspiracy 365 .i.e. – “What is Oriana’s last name?”

2 x quizzes, 10 x questions each month

Share your results via Social media

Website tracks your progress / results over the

months

Facebook Facebook will house a community forum around the TV show and online experience, offering topics to discuss, hints and general help.

Polls Each week of the experience audiences will be able to participate in a community poll based on the most recent episode of Conspiracy 365.

• Prequel web series

• Delivers the backstory of Cal’s father in Ireland as he uncovers the Ormond Singularity and the

mystery leading up to his death, which is where broadcast series kicks off

• Plays out as 12 x 4 minute episodes via online platforms

• Shot by main unit and developed with writing team

• 12 x 1 minute video

• Cal pleads his innocence while on the run

• Written by TV writers and integrated into the TV episodes

• Released on YouTube & iTunes Podcast • Shot by Main Unit

• Detective McGrath asks the community to report sightings of Cal

• Users can upload a video report of where they saw Cal

• 12 x 1 minute web series

• A tabloid current affairs show dubs Cal the “Psycho Kid” and conducts interviews with TV

characters

• Written by TV writers and integrated in the TV episodes, shot by main unit

• FMC subscribe/upgrade messaging

• 12 x 1 minute video

• Winter is keeping a video dossier of her investigation into the mysterious death of her parent’s

which she suspects her guardian Sligo may be linked to

• Written by TV writers and shot by Main Unit

• FMC subscribe/upgrade messaging

Video Recaps (12 x 2 mins)

Recaps of each TV episode will be

made available to audiences in a

dedicated video gallery

Preview Clips (12 x 2 mins)

Each month the multiplatform

experience will release an

exclusive “first look” preview scene

from the next episode of

Conspiracy 365. These clips will

only be available on the central

destination site

Photo Gallery (12 x 12 images)

Each month of the online

experience will offer audiences

12 exclusive production stills

from C365 in a dedicated gallery

• Text message threads & voice messages from characters

• FMC electronic programming guide

• Facebook chat

• Push notifications

• Check-in facility

MULTIPLATFORM CONTENT DISTRIBUTION

Make it a core component of your proposition

• Consider the story you are telling via broadcast &

other platforms

• Is there genuinely more to tell online?

• Bring MP into the world of the ‘main unit’ story tellers

• Give equal value & priority to its production

Target Multi Platform carefully and appropriately

• MP audiences will likely differ from broadcast

• Create the right content for this audience

• Create appropriate content for each platform

Resource it well, use people who know

• Budget adequately and in detail upfront

• Understand the impact it will have on the Production

• Engage providers and partners who ‘know’ the MP

space but also know yours

Don’t over invest

• Take the time to get your MP budget right

• Be realistic about its commercial returns

• Create content & build elements that can

become sales assets for the series

Think about distribution & how to reach /

build an online audience

• It is no longer simply about ‘your’ website

• MP requires you to go where audiences are

• Aggregate & congregate where the target is

Be sure that your broadcaster wants it

• MP needs a broadcast voice and / or

marketing support to succeed

• Make it synergistic with the broadcaster’s

broader online / business strategies

THOUGHTS AND LEARNINGS FOR MULTI-PLATFROM PRODUCTIONS

PETER JENETSKY

General Manager,

Content Strategy & Marketing

twitter; @peterjenetsky

www.mnc.tv

www.youtube.com/mnctv

www.facebook.com/conspiracy365

www.conspiracy365.tv