Endemol Shine North America’s Tamaya Petteway on fresh ideas and authentic partnerships

Thanks for making time. Tamaya, you have one of those job titles for which a deep breath is necessary… You’re Endemol Shine North America’s Senior Vice President of Brand Partnerships, Licensing, and Digital. You’ve been at Endemol for some time, though. How did you get into the industry?
I started as intern for Sony Pictures, Columbia Tri-Star Films in the Creative Advertising Department, during my senior year of undergrad at Loyola Marymount University. From there, I was hired as an assistant, and that role led me to a career in entertainment, working in Film, TV, and Music across brand partnerships, marketing, digital and licensing.

For what kind of things are you now responsible?
As SVP of Brand Partnerships, Licensing, and Digital, I’m responsible for creating on-air and off-air partnerships with commercial brands and advertisers in around Endemol Shine North America TV shows. I lead our Licensing Team…

And with what are they charged, specifically?
They’re charged with developing consumer and digital products, live events, and experiences that let our fans engage with our TV IP in new and unique ways. I also lead our Digital Team focused on monetising our IP across our social-media platforms and digital channels.

So when you’re looking to license properties in a new way, Tamaya, what – generally speaking – do you have to take into consideration?
It’s important to consider all the characteristics, values, and attributes that the TV brands or properties stand for at their core. For example, MasterChef is a competition-based reality series that’s focused on celebrating home cooks and elevating cooking…

Right…
However, the show is also aspirational and represents pursuit, passion, lifestyle, inspiration, accessibility, and creativity in the kitchen. These are just some of the many components to consider when developing a licensing program. We look to ensure that what we’re creating weaves these elements into the activation, and harkens back to what’s so special about the show, in order to generate optimal fan engagement, enjoyment, and deliver a best in class experience.

Great answer. Thank you! And I almost daren’t ask, but can you give me an example of something you think exemplifies your work?
Sure! When doing a brand or licensing deal, one goal is to develop a multi-prong, multi-faceted strategic 360 program with various touch points, and our partnership between MasterChef and Grubhub was designed with this in mind… It achieved exactly that. It included ‘The MasterChef Table’ – a virtual restaurant, with recipes curated by some of MC’s favourite chefs and winners, available for fans to order and enjoy at home.

Wow. That sounds terrific; very authentic. My brother would like that…
Authentic is a good word, I think… The partnership also included an on-air episodic integration, custom content, use of talent, commercial advertising, digital marketing, PR activations, stunts, sweepstakes, and more. This is a partnership that definitely exemplifies the types of 360 deals or brand collaborations I enjoy building, and can be used as a yardstick to measure the standard for future brand-licensing programs to come.

And if it’s serving as a yardstick, what makes it stand out?
It was a ‘first of its kind’ program. For the first time in the 12 seasons of MasterChef US fans could actually experience MasterChef meals. It garnered the attention of MC viewers – including the creation of an entertaining and organic Finale moment that went viral – and offered foodies and Grubhub consumers new food experiences to try!

How do you make sure ideas stay fresh?
Ideas stay fresh by constantly working to reinvent the TV brand in the hearts and minds of our audience. We’re always looking for ways to present the show in non-traditional and innovative ways that our audience didn’t expect, didn’t know, or didn’t consider is part of the secret sauce! I’m always asking, “What else can we do to generate new excitement for the show? How can we introduce it to a new audience?” That allows us to identify fresh concepts to crack, and high-quality ideas to bring to life!

On a personal level, what keeps you creative?
I get asked this question often, and it’s one of my favourites to answer! What keeps me creative is the personal pursuit of seeing a concept or an idea that was generated in my head, play out on TV, through products, in the lives of fans, etc.! That’s such a rewarding and satisfying feeling, and drives me to identify new creative ideas to build upon or outperform the last. I tend to gamify everything, so it’s a fun little strategy of mine, and a standard I hold myself to. I’m always trying to beat my last and best score!

Brilliant. Well, you’ll be pleased to hear I think you hold the word-count top score for Brands Untapped interviews with Endemol…
See, I want that to be true!

I don’t know that it isn’t! We need to wrap this up, Tamaya, but before we do… What’s the one question I could’ve asked you today but didn’t?
What makes you proud?

Lovely question! What’s the answer?
Word count record aside, it’s when my parents watch one of our TV shows – especially when it’s a show that they normally wouldn’t watch – just to see my work. It’s the equivalent of me bringing a cut and paste project home from school, and saying, “Look what I did in class today!” Still to this day, my parents are my biggest cheerleaders, and making them proud will forever make me feel proud!

And a lovely answer. That’s great; what a great note to end on. Thank you, Tamaya.