SampoMedia was founded in 2013 by Peter Buckingham, the former Head of Distribution and Exhibition at the UK Film Council and British Film Institute, and Michael Gubbins, the current chair of Ffilm Cymru Wales (Film Agency for Wales) and former editor of Screen International and Music Week.
The partnership was created to help the international film industry, and other creative industries, understand and negotiate the emerging on-demand digital environment.
We offer a range of services, based on the experience and ideas of the company founders; on industry data and research; and on collaborative work with experts, policy-makers and entrepreneurs.
In our first year, we have already built up a strong portfolio of clients and are developing new tools and services to build on that success.
Current SampoMedia services:
Special reports and research
SampoMedia’s founders have been involved in writing special reports on a diverse range of topics, including new distribution models, the role of television in a digital environment, event cinema, and the impact of changing audience demand on industry. Clients have included: Film4, British Film Institute, CineRegio, Curzon World, Picturehouse Cinemas, Europa Cinemas, Power to the Pixel, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Inside Pictures.
We have been particularly active in writing evaluation reports, offering in-depth and transparent analysis of films released using new distribution models. The reports are based on gathering, management and analysis of data. Examples include:
- A Field In England (Multiplatform release model)
- A Late Quartet (Day-and-date VOD release model)
- What Maisie Knew (Day and Day multiplatform release)
We also work on bigger reports, including Audience In The Mind report for European regional film fund body CineRegio, and, increasingly, we are working on our own original research. We will shortly release our own focus-group based work on audience interest in Premium VOD.
Workshops and courses
SampoMedia has led workshops on audience-driven change.
Our workshops are generally based on what we call our Audience In The Mind programme, which stresses the necessary change of mindset in a demand-driven economy, as well as the practicalities of business and structural change.
Clients have included: Media Business School, Marketing and International Distribution (Ronda, Spain), Binger Institute (Amsterdam), Media Business School (Zagreb), Microwave (London), UNIC and Orange telecom, European Cinema Exhibitors Lab (Barcelona), Medici Group (Brussels), Film London ‘Build Your Audience’, University of Leeds (UK), Film Junction (London), Vilnius Film Festival (Lithuania).
Keynotes
SampoMedia’s original thinking, expertise and distinctive analysis has made both founders regular speakers at events around the world.
Events have included: Europa Cinemas (Athens), Cannes Film Festival, Diagonale Film Festival, (Graz, Austria), International Film Festival Rotterdam ‘IFFR Live’, Nostradamus Project (Gothenburg, Sweden), Frontieres International Co-production Market (Brussels), Kids Regio (Malmo, Sweden), Europa Cinemas (Athens).
Event organisation and chairing
The SampoMedia founders are highly experienced conference organisers and regularly chair key industry debates. Their extensive industry knowledge and international contacts are used by major industry bodies and organisations around the the world.
Clients have included: Europa Cinemas (Athens), Next Pavilion, Marché Du Film (Cannes), Rendez-vous Cinema Quebecois (Montreal), Marché Du Film Next Programme (Cannes), Medici Group (Brussels), Europa Distribution (Estoril), Audience Connect, Film Agency for Wales, (Cardiff), Polish Film Institute economic symposium, International Film Festival Rotterdam ‘IFFR Live’, Inside Pictures, Cineeuropa (Barcelona), Event Cinema debate, British Screen Advisory Council (London), The Kids Are Alright (Newcastle, UK), Film4 Forum (London)
Business consultancy, mentoring and expertise
SampoMedia works on private business consultancy with many clients, including film-makers, producers, distributors and exhibitors. The work has been particularly focused on the use of audience data and on the practical application of new business models. Both Gubbins and Buckingham also work on one-to-one mentoring through organisations, such as Film London and the Media Business School on mentoring film-makers.
If you wish to talk about how SampoMedia can help you, email us.
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