Famework launches the 'Tinder' for brand integration

Famework was founded in 2018 as a new start-up of the initiators behind Flanders Tax Shelter, Pieter Dewinter and Tom Notte. This company is industry-leading in Flanders in the field of tax shelter, a financing tool for audio-visual and theatre productions. Since these productions are under considerable cost pressure, they contemplated two years ago to start a new platform to match brands and advertisers with audio-visual production companies, stage productions, events,…

This is how the idea for Famework was born. A platform with the focus on brand integration and brand experience. It can range from product placement on television, sponsoring and brand visibility at a festival, in a musical production or at a sports event and even to the introduction to celebrities who want to become a brand’s ambassador.  

Tom Notte: “We respond to two trends. On the one hand, brand integration is more and more becoming the marketing mix of advertisers, both nationally and internationally. They want as many options as possible to put their brand in the picture or to boost their image through a programme or an event in which their specific target group is represented. On the other hand, we establish that audio-visual production houses, stage productions such as musicals, event organisers and sports clubs need additional funding to secure their budgets. Therefore, brand integration is a blessing for both parties.”

Therefore, Famework has developed an online platform where brands and content makers meet to make brand and product integration more performant and focused. “Brand integration is not new, but we notice that advertisers and content makers often do not find one another or not fast enough”, Pieter Dewinter says. “Our platform connects them. A specific matching technology was developed with the innovation support of the Flemish government. Our algorithms allow us to operate custom-built.”  

After a year of development, www.famework.io has just been launched. Production companies have already started to put the information of their upcoming projects online. “In other words, a television series can specify which car partner they are looking for. We then match the production company with the most relevant car brand. But it goes beyond that. Even a sports club that makes its own content, can quickly link brands to that content. A brand that plans to launch a new product next year in June for 30-year-olds, can exactly determine via Famework how to reach this target group and which celebrities may become their ambassadors.”

The launch of Famework was planned for this summer. Because of the current critical situation, the initiators wondered whether this was even feasible? “We concluded that the actual health crisis only increased the need. At a time when the advertising and content industry are faced with existential questions and must reinvent itself, our platform is being launched faster than initially planned.”

Tom Notte and Pieter Dewinter have great aspirations. “The next few months, our platform can be widely tested so the advertisers can timely plan their brand integration for autumn and early 2021. Meanwhile content makers can quickly obtain additional funds. We keep on investing, including in machine learning to fine-tune the underlying algorithms. Because we notice that demand is already strong among multinationals, we consider the international roll out of Famework in several countries.”