The Economist’s decision to enter the video content space in a meaningful way is set to “change the conversation” with brand partners, according to the new president of Economist Films, Nicholas Minter Green.

Following the announcement that The Economist will be launching its own video arm, M&M Global spoke with Minter Green about the publication’s move into a new content space.

Based in London, Economist Films will produce “high-end, factual programmes that capture the voice and identity” of the publication. The initial business approach is a sponsor-supported model, with screenings of content across the publisher’s social and digital platforms.

Minter Green will lead on commercial and creative direction as president of Economist Films. He will step across from his current role as global managing director of content agency TVC Group, a business the Economist Group acquired in 2012.

“The Economist has done a great job of keeping its circulation strong and that says a lot about the brand – but to not think about video in a way which is meaningful for both its audience and its brand partners would be inopportune,” said Minter Green.

Brand partners

Speaking about the commercial benefits to investing in film and video, Minter Green said that it can “change the conversation with brand partners”.

“Video engagement is huge from both the size and engagement perspective. For us to be able to offer brands a credible video model to partner with could potentially grow these brand partnerships,” he said.

“It’s not even so much from a commercial perspective it’s more the sort of reason to exist perspective,” he added. “The Economist Group stands for excellence in journalism and that means we have to present ourselves in a certain way – to be able to offer our audience something that really talks to those attributes from a video perspective is really important.”

Minter Green stresses that a move towards video content must be about adding value to the audience rather than aimlessly producing content.

“You need to ask yourself if you have something that specifically talks to the audience and provides added value rather than piling in more content into an overpopulated content world.”

Talking about the correlation between millennial audiences and video, Minter Green admitted the desire to connect with younger readers was a contributing factor towards the latest move.

“If you’re thinking about the long-term brand, it’s not about changing its essence to be towards a younger audience – it’s about saying we are who we are. But if we can reshape it and serve it up on platforms where the people are, then we give younger people the opportunity to experience our brand in a really easy and instant way.”

Tom Standage will become the ‘editorial guardian’ of Economist Films, alongside his responsibilities as deputy editor of The Economist and other digital strategy duties.

A full programme of releases will be scheduled from September 2015.