Create a suite of 10-12 memes (in the form of GIFs, statics, clip pulls, or very short montages) that use The Office as a way to comment on pop culture to encourage E! Entertainment Network's audience of pop culture lovers to watch The Office on E! specifically.
Even though the last episode of The Office aired over 11 years ago, the cast of characters that work at Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch live on through an endless supply of Internet memes. No matter what type of situation you're in, there's an Office reaction meme for that. This October, The Office will begin airing on E! Entertainment Network, the premier destination for all things pop culture, and E! wants to speak to its audience of pop culture obsessives through a suite of memes - designed for distribution on social media - that relate The Office to pop culture to encourage fans to watch The Office on E! specifically.
When it comes to the memes themselves, E! is looking for one creator to make a suite of 10-12 unique memes that are comprised of GIFs, static images, clip pulls, and very short montages. Importantly, your memes should relate to the typical E! watcher - someone who loves celebrities, red carpets, the latest "it couple", and all things pop culture. For instance, maybe you show an image of Jenna Fischer looking glamorous on a red carpet with the text "First Date Me" and then a second image of Pam Beesley looking bored working reception with the text "Relationship Me" (check out this example). Your memes should speak directly to E!'s audience in an authentic way and make them want to share the memes themselves - so clever text and copywriting will be crucial here. E!'s audience are not necessarily superfans of The Office, so your references shouldn't get too niche, and your memes should feel ownable by E!. Make sure to check out E!'s social media channels (linked below under Exposure) to get a sense of the E! brand and their tone of voice on social media.
We'll want at least two memes in each format (i.e. GIFs, static images, clip pulls, and short video montages), and the remainder are up to you based on whichever idea is best. Since these are memes, they need to be short, punchy, and sharable. E! will NOT be the exclusive home of The Office (it will still be available to view on Peacock and other networks), and E! will NOT have access to the superfan episodes. The challenge here is to find unique ways to tie E! to The Office and make fans want to watch the show on E! specifically. To that end, E! does have a vast repository of archival red carpet footage of celebrities that you could leverage in your memes too.
In your Pitch, make sure to tell us how you'd approach each format of memes (e.g. GIFs, static images, etc.), and we highly encourage you to provide a proof-of-concept video and/or static image so you can give us a clear sense of your creative vision. Since memes inherently need to keep up with the speed of the Internet, this is a fast-moving project, and if the initial batch of 10-12 memes goes well, there's the possibility E! will engage the greenlit creator for additional batches in the future.
Check out more information in the Background, and for any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.
DELIVERABLES:
EXPECTED TIMELINE: HERE
EXPOSURE: We expect content will be used on the platforms below. You should also review our Music providers in the Project Requirements, as well as the platform best practices.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Adults who love The Office, ages 18-40
TONE/FEEL: Clever, funny, self-deprecating, enthusiastic
EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES:
By participating in this project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a submission. Though most projects do move forward, we'll notify you in the event the Sponsor decides not to fund any submissions via the Project Forum. Regardless of the result, all submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the Sponsor and project team.
ABOUT E! ENTERTANMENT NETWORK:
E! is the only global, multi-platform brand for all things entertainment, pop culture, and lifestyle. They eat, sleep and breathe pop culture, delivering exclusive breaking news and in-depth celebrity coverage, red carpet livestreams, TV scoops and spoilers, lifestyle trends and tips, and whatever's viral right at this very moment.
They are the pinnacle of entertainment news, particularly when it comes to celebrity life outside of the show and on the red carpet. With that in mind, the bulk of their online content lives within that space: Who's shooting what movie and where? Which glamorous, innovative dress just blessed the red carpet on this celebrity? Here's how this Hollywood couple is adjusting to family life, etc.
In order to be considered, include the below materials in your submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery. All Pitches remain private, even after a Pitch is selected, and Tongal strives to have Pitch selections made by the end of the Evaluation period, but additional time may be required by the Sponsor, depending on any number of factors.
The most compelling pitch will be greenlit by the Sponsor, and the responsible creator will then receive an email from Tongal producers detailing next steps. All submitters will also receive an automated email notification that a selection has been announced. To ensure you’re receiving project updates, review your email settings to check that you haven’t unsubscribed.
Creators who’ve been selected will receive funding upon completing the Winner Affidavit and the IP Assignment. Payment of the pitch funds is subject to a payment schedule determined by Tongal, typically included with the project timeline.
BUILDING YOUR TEAM: Looking for help? Post crew and production opportunities connected to Tongal projects on Backlot. Backlot includes search tools to help you find collaborators and crew by role, skill set, location, and more, for productions of any size and type. Tongal also supports inclusivity in all productions, and strongly encourages you to hire diverse talent for your team. To find additional options for staff & crew in your area, check out these resources and partners.
REVISION REQUIREMENTS & RESOURCES: Once Content has been submitted and the initial Production Phase completed, greenlit creators will enter into Revisions. Creators will perform reasonable edits on their videos according to the Sponsor's feedback. Check out our Filmmaker Resource Portal to access helpful post-production resources like Text-Safe Guides for different platforms, Project File Organization Tutorial, Export Presets, and Captioning services.
MUSIC: You will be required to use the E!-approved music provider Source Audio to source music for your Video submission to this Project. Music from this provider is available only to the filmmakers that E! selects at no charge solely for their incorporation into Submissions to this Project and will not require a separate music release form. Filmmakers will be provided with a log-in and access by a Tongal producer once they are selected.
If you choose to use original music, you must fill out and submit our Music Release Form. Please ensure your composer reviews and signs this form BEFORE beginning their work.
STOCK FOOTAGE: Tongal has partnered with the stock footage library STORYBLOCKS, which can be used to source video clips, photography, and After Effects templates for your video submission to this project. Video or photo content from Storyblocks is available at no charge, solely for incorporation into submissions on this project, and will not require a separate Release Form. If identifiable people or intellectual property appears in a video clip or photo, you may only utilize assets that are clearly marked “Model released: Yes” or “Property release: Yes” on the clip description pages. You may not use any audio.
If you intend to use Storyblocks, inform your Tongal producer, and an account will be created for you to access the library. Once assets are approved for delivery, you must provide a complete list of all Storyblocks content that you used via our template HERE.
ASSET DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS & RESOURCES: You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec in order to submit final payment. You are responsible for any costs associated with the hard drive and shipping. Tongal also reserves the right to request all raw files associated with the project.
To ensure a smoother delivery, please review the Export Presets, Specifications, and Project File Organization Tutorial in our Filmmaker Resource Portal.