1) You can grow larger if you diversify, but it is hard to do that alone. Culture to any business is key, both internally and externally. Input from others whose experience and talents you admire can create a more dynamic company, if organized correctly and respectfully. It’s a careful balance to evolve a company while maintaining your culture and what united everyone in the first place. When achieved, the momentum and enthusiasm are palpable. That’s what Merman is doing today.
3) Merman is rapidly becoming a genuinely 360 degree business. We see 2019 as pivotal in our transition from global production company to agnostic studio of the future. We make world class TV, Films, Commercials, Podcasts and Branded Entertainment and our sister company Mermade makes premium short form scripted (think television quality web series of 5 x 5 min or 10 x 10 min shows) for the likes of Topic, Black Pills, Snapchat and Quibi (Jeffrey Katzenberg’s new service). That is incredibly exciting for us and we get very driven by stretching into new areas of engagement. For us its about innovation and progress…that’s what 2019 holds.
4) Merman’s commercial arm recently merged with a White Label product, one of the preeminent commercial production companies in the U.S., and I’ve been busying away on that. Expanding our offering into a major coast to coast commercial offering is hugely exciting to us. With principals Annique DeCaestecker and Ellen Jacobson-Clarke joining the board of Merman, we offer our directors experienced EPs and talent management on both coasts.
