Choose a Topic to Pitch

Nov 4

The Context:
The soap opera EastEnders has been one of the most popular British shows for almost forty years. Set in a close-knit fictional London market neighborhood, it has consistently been able to confront social issues of race, identity, gender and justice, and has often served as a bellweather for the mood of the nation. Regularly pulling in an audience of over five million views four times a week, it has a deeply devoted intergenerational and international fanbase. I was there for the first episode in 1985, and most of the over 6,000 episodes so far. Every day at 5pm I stop what I’m doing and tune-in via the streaming service BritBox. It provides a powerful daily bridge across The Atlantic between my current life here in America and my past in England. When I miss an episode, the need to catch-up is powerful.

The Problem:
As much as I love the service BritBox provides, their presentation and user experience of EastEnders is vastly outdated. Their menus use imagery of characters who are either long dead or have left the show many years ago. Their promotional copy is generic and underwhelming. Their cast and credits list is years out of date. As a fan, it is a daily reminder of the lack of attention being paid to the soap’s international audience. This may seem trivial, but is indicative of the care which is missing from a show its audience loves. I have attempted to do something about this by connecting on LinkedIn with both BritBox’s Senior Vice President of Group Editorial & Content at Britbox International and their Chief Marketing Officer. My messages begging them to update their graphics in line with the show were ignored. So my pitch needs to solve two problems. It needs to motivate a positive response from those inside of BritBox who can affect the changes I want, and get those changes implemented.

The Target:
My target audience are decision makers at BritBox and the BBC who can update the user experience of EastEnders for their international viewers.

The Proposal:
My pitch needs to go further than simply whining about outdated graphics. It needs to offer a solution worth considering and generate a response. It needs to demonstrate that by making the presentation of the show more compelling, there is the opportunity of value and growth to be considered. I need to be able to demonstrate through the pitch that this is worth it, not for me, but for them.

The Hook:
A classic show deserves a modern look.
Enhance EastEnders with graphics as iconic as the show.
Don’t miss the moment: EastEnders on BritBox now has visuals as bold as its stories.

The Pitch:
I am not pitching my services to BritBox. I am not asking to do the work for them or otherwise seek consultancy or employment with them. I am appealing to them as a fan who loves their product but wants them to do better. The solution is to use the artwork they are already using for the daily episodes, use language which promotes the latest episode, and apply them to the main menu.

Examples: