Bruce Robertson on 11:11’s Next-Generation Strategy

Founded by reality TV icon Paris Hilton and Bruce Gersh, 11:11 Media is taking a next-generation approach to scaling its content production efforts, which run the gamut from digital-first series to immersive docs and more, its chief storyteller, Bruce Robertson, told TV Real Festival delegates today.

“Paris has always had this innate understanding of pop culture,” Robertson said in his keynote, which you can view here. “She’s been one step ahead in so many different ways. 11:11 was about the embodiment of that. How can you take this foundation that she’s built, which is about being at the heart of pop culture, but also about connecting communities, commerce and content?”

Robertson highlighted the work 11:11 is doing on its first theatrical documentary, Infinite Icon, which follows Hilton as she prepares her new album. “It’s the third chapter of her reclaiming her narrative. It began with This is Paris, then her memoir. This is like the continuation of that. She and I talked a lot about what music means to her and why she wanted to do the album. Music is even tougher than TV is at the moment. We built the story and narrative around that, which was built off the memoir. We’re calling it a visual memoir because it goes through the last 20 years and tells her story, but through music. That’s a way that one part of the business is looking at something, and we’re thinking about how that connects to other things. The discussion around the narrative behind the album Infinite Icon led to the story and the approach to the documentary. Now what we’re thinking about is how do we really make that a different, unique experience?”

To achieve that, 11:11 has aligned with CJ 4DPlex to distribute Infinite Icon. “They’ve been looking at how to take technology and create an experience that people want to have when they go to the theater. How can you use the latest technology to create a unique viewing experience that you’re not going to get at home? They have ScreenX theaters, which is almost a wraparound experience. How can we create this incredible visual experience first and foremost with this story that we’re telling, but then how do we bring this story to life in a way that creates a community experience?”

That alliance with CJ 4DPlex speaks to the overall approach at 11:11, Robertson explained. “It’s not just the story, it’s how we get the story to the audience we want to reach, but also how do we create all these different little experiences for them that create community. There’s a loneliness epidemic. People are struggling to come together. Paris does that so well. Part of that DNA is infused in everything that we think about.”

On how 11:11 is approaching non-scripted within its multi-genre slate, Robertson said, “Everything that I look at, my colleagues look at, are really about what are the stories that make sense for Paris to be attached to either as talent or as an executive producer. Because she has been such a multi-hyphenate for the last 20 years, it gives us a lot of areas and sandboxes to play in. I also always think about what we know about Paris that the world doesn’t yet know about Paris, and where we can start to surprise and stretch people’s sort of understanding of the areas that she can play in.”

Ultimately, whatever the medium, “It’s finding the right stories, something that makes sense authentically for Paris, and finding where the audience is that we want to reach with that story, whether that’s YouTube or what the streamers are doing. It gives us the flexibility to work with a small number of non-competing production companies who are excelling in their respective areas or genres and have deep relationships with the streamers that we want to get into. Sometimes it’s a story that we feel just needs to be told, so we look at independent financing. We’ve also been looking at some of the new technologies. We’ve played in the Meta space with Quest. We are partnering with a U.K. production company, Atlantic, which is doing fantastic things with the Vision Pro. We’re looking at the new Google headset that’s coming out, and what stories can be told using that kind of experience. Paris is very passionate about wellness, so how can we tell stories about sound therapy using the latest technology with spatial audio or 3D sound? It’s all of these things, but it starts first with the story [and then it’s] where’s the audience, where’s the money and how do we best tell a story there.”

Discussing what works best in a social-video-first environment, Robertson noted that YouTube has become “almost like another streamer on people’s smart TVs. It’s shifted the audience to be more open to longer storytelling on that platform. The challenge is, how do you cut through the clutter? We try to take advantage of the 11:11 flywheel that can get behind a product. Paris, when she puts her name to something, really puts her name to something. It’s not a vanity project, she’s involved from the beginning, she wants to make sure that she’s seen as supportive of the project.”

Robertson also highlighted opportunities with 11:11 Media’s investment arm, which invests in companies “doing incredibly innovative things,” he said, such as Mad Realities, which produces narrative-driven social-first content. “We’re partnering with them to think about stories we can tell in under 3 minutes on social platforms, using long-form narrative techniques. So, blending our world with our digital social teams’ world. With AR and VR headsets, there’s a short window of time that you can tell those stories because of the nature of the headsets. But how can you tell a story in a more immersive way?”

Amid the deep transformational shifts in the content business, Robertson remains optimistic about the way forward for companies that can be nimble in navigating the landscape. “This industry is built and thrives on creativity and innovation. We’re beginning to see the green shoots coming through with people pivoting. For a period of time, brands were shut out of the streaming platforms because it was all very subscription-based and now, of course, that’s pivoting to successful ad tiers. Also, FAST channels are reinventing and rethinking. There are different independent financing models. The branded-content side of things ten years ago was a dirty phrase, but now brands, after being shut out for a while, pivoted and figured out a different way to integrate brands in storytelling in ways that didn’t feel intrusive to the audience.”

He is also still seeing big swings from streamers, like Prime Video’s epic Beast Games, Netflix’s The Golden Ticket and Peacock’s The Traitors.

“There is opportunity. It’s not easy. But it’s been good to see the creative community respond, begin to pivot and come together with co-productions and the different co-financing models that people are exploring.”

Robertson is also looking at how companies internationally are tackling the challenges of today, citing Channel 4’s use of Spotify. Podcasting presents a key growth area. “We’re talking to production companies about how we can create a pipeline from podcasting to streaming or wherever those stories should sit. Just like everybody, we’re pulling on all the levers that are available to us right now and not sinking into that pit of despair.”