Parr, a seasoned broadcaster, will share the knowledge gained from his experience in the conventional broadcast media space with the digital team at VideoSwarm and HoneyKome.

A producer, director and writer, his film credits include features and documentaries produced on 35mm and 16mm film. His broadcast television work spans the full gamut of drama, documentary, reality and actuality with extensive sports programming credits. Lately he has concentrated on reality programming producing major shows in South Africa, across the African continent and in the Gulf. His experience encompasses many hundreds of hours of reality, documentary and actuality for television including; Survivor, The African Soccer Show, Guinness Football Challenge and a youth focused 52 part documentary series - Zonke Rules.

John is somewhat of a specialist when it comes to understanding what drives African audiences. He has worked in over 30 countries across the continent and therefore brings exceptional insight and depth to the HoneyKome and the Ole! Media Group as it expands its digital footprint across the continent.

Creating a buzz – Producing high quality digital video content at affordable rates, VideoSwarm is also moving rapidly into the TV commercial space. With last year’s TVC and video content for the HSBC Rugby Sevens under its belt already, the company is once again producing a series of promotional videos, radio commercials and TVCs for the upcoming promotion of the Cape Town leg of the HSBC Sevens later this year.

Broadcast and video production clients include Sportingbet, Bonitas, Wonga, SARU, Tracker, Lamelle, Converse, to mention but a few. The company is also currently producing a daily celebrity roundup called BET BUZZ, which is filmed in their Johannesburg studios and is aired on the BET Channel across the continent. Another interesting current project is an interactive video for MAC beauty products.

Says Parr: “My interest lies in the explosive expansion of digital video and the interesting and diverse paths that it is taking us with Netflix and many other channels already changing the game.”

“With John on board, we are now able to expand our video content division to include broadcast television with a specific focus on sponsored programming. This also allows us to extend entire audio-visual concepts into full-on digital engagements where brands and users have meaningful interaction on any screen and at any time (not just during broadcasting) and when they (the fans) choose to do so,” commented Deseré Orrill, MD of HoneyKome/VideoSwarm and CMO of the Ole! Media Group.

Live streaming, videocasting, or even ‘life casting’ as it is also known, are inexpensive and highly effective means of enhancing the communication flow. When the thread is pulled through all channels (from broadcast to video) and combined with interactive elements, the interest and human engagement is incrementally augmented. Moving pictures tell human tales that provide the opportunity for people to become involved and emotionally invested, spurring longer lasting results for all who are connected.

Taking the new service offering to market and building partnerships with brands and agencies alike, is film and video fundi, Devon Brough (Director Strategic Partnerships), whose experience in the broadcast and digital video arena also crosses production, directing, editing and concept. With significant insight into this arena, Devon is therefore ideally placed to advise clients on video content strategy in their communications.

For more information on HoneyKome, visit www.honeykome.com. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.