Developing an interactive web series is currently the goal of many Midwest producers, but delivering a profitable hit is proving elusive.
Malachi Leopold, president of Left Brain/Right Brain Productions, thinks that love is the answer. He’s developing his interactive series “Chicago Love TV” as a model that can be replicated in markets across the U.S.
“The majority of businesses really only need to advertise to a local audience,” says Leopold. “I wanted to develop a concept that could support those niche advertisers, but that was based on a subject matter that affected everyone.”
Combining matchmaking with counseling, hot tips and all out comedy, “Chicago Love TV” encourages viewers to participate by submitting videos, photos and blogs, and by entering competitions to appear in future episodes.
“I wanted to choose something that was easy to relate to,” says Leopold. “Everyone has experience of being in love and having relationships, and that lends itself to interacting with others through the web about these subjects.”
The series will run weekly on video-hosting sites ?
The budget for the 24 episode series is just shy of $50,000. Potential sponsors and advertisers can buy 5-second, 10-second, and 30-second advertising slots within each episode, as well as within the many standalone videos exhibited on the site. Banner ads also will be available on the show’s website.
