Market & Audience – Channel Management

Applicants and projects must meet Screen Australia’s Terms of Trade, any general eligibility or other requirements listed on the agency’s website (see Information for Applicants and Information for Recipients), as well as the specific eligibility criteria set out in these guidelines.

Specific requirements apply to projects which involve First Nations participation or content.

Specific requirements may apply to projects which involve community participation or content with the following communities: d/Deaf, disabled, culturally and linguistically diverse, LGBTQIA+, or those from other under-represented groups.

This program is open to companies. To be eligible an applicant must:

• be an incorporated company carrying on business in Australia, with its central management and control in Australia;
• have an Australian Business Number (ABN);
• be registered for the purposes of GST if required by law;
• be a channel manager for a social media channel/s and have access to data and analytics of that channel/s;
• have the necessary agreement/s for the narrative content on that social media channel/s;
• be a social media channel that has narrative content on the channel that has been in receipt of Screen Australia Online or Narrative Content Production production funding (excluding Digital Originals) inclusive of any First Nations social platform initiatives;
• be the producer or creator of title and maintain and retain control the rights necessary to carry out the project, meaning that it must have clear Chain of Title and must generally be party to any underlying rights agreements; and
• demonstrate and/or have relevant experience through comparable work that shows the capability to manage a social media channel.

The following types of entities are not eligible to apply to this program:

• Commonwealth, state, territory or local government agencies or bodies; and
• any organisations that are otherwise excluded pursuant to the Information for Applicants.

To be eligible, the project must:

• be a social media channel that has narrative content on the channel that has been in receipt of Screen Australia Online or Narrative Content Production production funding (excluding Digital Originals) inclusive of any First Nations social platform initiatives;
• have narrative content on the channel/s that has completed production, post-production and been released;
• have completed narrative content on the channel/s that is created, owned and self-distributed by the channel manager (that is, not a third party or aggregator channel/s);
• have been developed by Australian production companies/producers and creatives, not sub-contracted from a commissioning platform.

The following costs are not eligible for funding:

• principal funding for project narrative content creation, post-production or release;
• activities that do not drive results for channel management discoverability and audience impact of content;
• channel/s where there are no narrative projects and no projects that are in receipt of Online, Narrative Content Production Funding or First Nations production social media platform funding;
• channels that are hubs, or where the content is not controlled by the creator or producer of the content;
• capital works or purchases;
• retrospective costs;
• purchase or extension of underlying Intellectual Property; and
• educational and training programs and projects.

For full eligibility information, please refer to the attached guideline documents.

Before applying, applicants and co-applicants must read and understand these guidelines, Screen Australia’s Terms of Trade, Information for Applicants, Information for Recipients, and preview the application form on SmartyGrants.

Through the application form, applicants and co-applicants must:

• provide all the information requested and answer the application questions;
• meet, where required, all eligibility criteria; and
• include all required supporting materials.

Applicants are required to provide information in the application form and upload the following submission materials with their application form:

• Creative:
  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Plan for the Channel Management activity for the activity being applied for, where applicable (for example, if the channel is engaging with specific communities, and seeking to use translation as part of strategy)
  • First Nations Statement for the Channel Management activity for the activity being applied for, where applicable (for example, if the channel is using paid media as a strategy, a priority may be to engage a First Nations owned provider)

• Budget:
  • budget for eligible costs which directly relate to the activity of channel management discoverability and audience impact of channel content
  • apply for a maximum amount of $15,000

• Ownership:
  • evidence of control of the Channel/s and access to data and analytics
  • evidence of appropriate agreements for the content on the Channel/s

• Applicant Company Biography
• Current Channel Data and Analytics
• Campaign Strategy & Schedule
• Providers, as applicable
• Audience Strategy & Schedule.

Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

For full details on the application process, please refer to the attached guidelines.

Applications will be assessed the following criteria:

Campaign strategy:

• Is the campaign strong and distinctive for the Channel/s?
• Is the campaign suited to its platform and intended audience?
• Does the campaign have potential to support discoverability and impact of the Channel/s and title/s and grow audience and/or engagement?

Channel management:

• Does the previous experience and/or track record of the applicant position them to execute the Channel Management Strategy?
• Will Channel Management support meaningfully increase impact of the title(s) and the Channel(s)?

Content:

• Does the Channel and Content have the potential to resonate with specific or broad Australian and/or global audiences, and will it invite them to click?
• Will the Channel and Content have impact for audiences and/or reflect the depth and diversity of people and experiences from around Australia?
• Does the Channel Management strategy align with intended audience engagement and reach?

Other factors may be considered including the:

• availability of funds;
• range of projects in receipt of direct funding from Screen Australia, inclusive of a project’s scale, budget, intended audience, genre and themes;
• range of applicants in receipt of direct program funding from Screen Australia, inclusive of applicant, applicant company and geographic diversity; and
• extent to which a project/Channel is likely to effectively and properly increase and amplify equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility.

For full details on the assessment criteria, please refer to the attached guidelines.