Our mission

Brands and documentary filmmakers have much in common; they both want to influence the hearts and minds of their target audience.

From a social responsibility perspective as well as a marketing one, documentaries are a great way for brands to communicate what matters to them and what they stand for.

In 2009 Marketing Week devoted the cover and 5 pages inside to looking at different successful models between brands and filmmakers. We recommend it. (click to download)

LeeFest - Pepsi Refresh from Jess Search on Vimeo.

A lovely film we made in July 2010 for the Pepsi Refresh campaign about Lee Fest

Partnerships with brands can take many different models - with the brand either supporting a finished film, providing support at arms length or actually commissioning and owning work themselves.

In recent years Puma supported The Day After Peace at Cannes Film Festival and produced the environmental feature documentary Home, Coke’s Relentless brand produced The Power of Three and the Co-operative supported the theatrical releases of a slate of documentaries including Burma VJ

In 2009, Waitrose supported the release of The End of the Line, the Foundation’s film about over-fishing, in partnership with WWF, Greenpeace and others.  The result was good for business as well as the environment. Waitrose had a 15% rise in their (sustainable) fish sales and the issue was brought to national attention.

Marc Cave (Erasmus), Quentin Clark (Waitrose) Jess Search (the Foundation) Michael Fairclough (The Co-operative) at the Edinburgh TV Festival August 2009 discussing brands and docs.

At BRITDOC we have worked with the Co-operative, Saatchi & Saatchi, Nokia and Stella Artois – enabling new talent to create documentary content that speaks to their values. A wide range of companies and agencies, including Edelman, Puma, Asda Walmart Foundation, Whole Foods, Ben and Jerry's, Freud Communications, have attended the Good Pitch to see how brands could get involved in coalitions with filmmakers and NGOs to create noise for important social issues.

The Foundation regularly meets brands and agencies to discuss new possibilities for collaboration.
If you are an agency or marketing director and you'd like to talk to us, please contact Jess Search our CEO on .