The client
produxion.com was a joint venture between NetDecisions, broadcaster Channel 5 and media group Emap, created to be the leading website for the UK's TV production community. It brought together exclusive news from Broadcast (the industry's leading trade title, owned by Emap), reviews from Production Solutions, B+ and Broadband, and the working tools freelancers and producers reached for every day.
The numbers arrived fast. By its first birthday in January 2001, the site counted more than 20,000 registered TV professionals, around 22,000 unique users a month, a place on the Sunday Times E-League 100, and the PPA Best Integration of Media Award. It was one of three ventures NetDecisions created that made the e-league, alongside TheFirstResort.com and madaboutwine.com.
Jonathan Porter was lead designer on the brand development and web experience, delivered by our design team at NetDecisions / Agilisys.
The challenge
UK television was a highly fragmented industry: purchasing ran on relationships, information was scattered, and nothing updated daily tied procurement, jobs, ratings and news together. Channel 5 wanted internet-led procurement and operating efficiencies. Emap held the best trade content. The opportunity was a one-stop marketplace: equipment, staff, industry news, BARB ratings and expert advice under one independent operating company.
What we did
We led brand development and web design for produxion.com: the identity and information architecture for a B2B destination that had to feel like the home page of the TV industry, not a static brochure. The design was built around the features professionals used daily: the CV Store (with recruitment partner Production Base), a broadcast jobs database, BARB ratings archives, the Show Reels Gallery, personalised email and daily news.
Our approach
Content and commerce together. NetDecisions formed the partnership with Channel 5, then brought in Emap once the business case was proven. The site launched as a fully independent entity with compelling daily news, contacts, ratings and auctions for production equipment, built to scale internationally once the UK audience was established.
Outcome
produxion.com became the definitive online source for the UK's TV production community, with metrics and awards that put it alongside the strongest dot-com media plays of its year. Emap's involvement said it best: "produxion.com offered us the chance to invest in a leading business-to-business marketplace along with world class media and technology partners."
Awards & recognition
- PPA Best Integration of Media Award, won within the site's first year (January 2001).
Context & coverage
This was peak dot-com ambition for vertical media: not a generic portal, but a trade with real transaction volume and daily habit-forming content. produxion.com sat in the same NetDecisions portfolio as TheFirstResort and madaboutwine, proof that the agency could launch independent brands, not just client sites.
- NetDecisions press release summary, July 2000: 20k registered users, 22k uniques/month, PPA award, Emap/Channel 5 JV, e-league (ingested primary source).
