Aimée Anderson is the Chief Operating Officer of Ecoflix, a not-for-profit global media group dedicated to saving animals and the planet. Having spent almost 20 years in the world of consumer brand marketing, PR and television, Aimee saw an amazing opportunity and made the move to Ecoflix, where she could combine her expertise in storytelling to generate significant social impact. She speaks to Agreus about the Ecoflix ambitions to become a green Amazon, how the next generation can make a much-needed difference, and the three key ways that Family Offices can help support their important mission.
What is Ecoflix?
Ecoflix is a not-for-profit global media group dedicated to saving animals and the planet.
We are very much in our start-up phase with our current focus being placed on our streaming platform which offers everything from short films and feature documentaries to tv series, podcasts and live broadcasts with a linear TV channel. We make our own films and acquire them from other non-profits but our ambition is to create a much bigger ecosystem than just film.
While some see our platform, and describe us as the Netflix of Nature, we like to think of ourselves as an eco-centric organization working to become more of the Amazon of the Natural World.
Our future plans are much broader than just film. We plan to develop and offer an exclusive Eco Store – where everything is environmentally friendly, Green Travel – offering holiday packages that are green and that support NGOs, a digital magazine – to inform people about the world of biodiversity, and a reliable source for news about animals and the planet, without hypothesising and scaremongering in the same way the mass media often does. We want to be a one-stop solution for people who care about making a difference. The objective is to inspire and educate people on all things impacting animals and the planet.
At the very heart of Ecoflix is our mission to champion and support our NGO partners, not-for-profit organisations across the world, who share our concern for the planet and its animals. We are bringing the best of them together and championing their causes. 100% of our membership fees go to our partner organisations. Members choose the NGO that they wish to support and we do so on their behalf. We call it our circle of giving. NGOs tell their members about Ecoflix, a platform where they can learn about how everyone can make a difference to the world.
How did you get involved with Ecoflix?
David Casselman founded Ecoflix and his story is an interesting one. He is a retired litigator in America, who has always been a lover of animals. In fact, he represented animals and animal causes in the American courts. They have been his clients. And when I say that what I mean is that he really did not take instruction from the owners. That was a part of his agreement with them. It was always a case of what is best for the animal goes. He really is an inspiration, and for years he has donated to animal charities, worked to set up sanctuaries all over the world including a sanctuary in Cambodia and has long supported Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, where he is helping to acquire a new, much larger parcel for the expansion of their amazing work. This is something he has always been immensely passionate about. But a few years ago, he invested in and helped develop an important film. It is called Love and Bananas. It educates people about the dark side of elephant trekking, but in a kind and gentle way. He put the principals together and then came on as an Executive Producer to then fund the worldwide distribution of the film. It was from his experience with that film that he saw an opportunity for an organisation like Ecoflix.
Just from that one film, over 300 elephant trekking camps in Thailand were closed to this abusive practice, lighting the way for a path forward, based upon the power of film.
He could also see how difficult it was to distribute that film. But, while it was never expected o make money, it did its job by educating people, who would have done better if they had known the truth. After a very successful theatrical run, It is now available on the Amazon Prime Sundance Channel. But without significant non-profit motivation and support, it would never have reached a single theatre, which is another reason why Ecoflix was born.
Not coming from a media background, his network of people was limited. Fortunately, we were introduced. I loved what he was trying to do for numerous reasons. My core skill is building brands, but my passion has always been film. It has been my specialism for 15 years, heading up a film and TV PR agency for a number of years, and working with filmmakers across London and Los Angeles. We were doing everything from the Cannes Film festival to Venice and Toronto. I was working with the biggest studios in the world, and I was passionate about film. But I really loved the idea of being involved with films that made a difference.
As a child I was always drawn to storytelling, I loved films and escaping into a movie. Films really affected me; they really changed my perception or changed how I felt about a subject. The idea of being part of an organisation dedicated to making films which could make an impact was so aligned with my own vision so I leapt at the opportunity.
What started with a conversation about a Chief Marketing Officer position soon evolved into the role of Chief Operating Officer, as David and I soon realised that this was a much bigger opportunity, which could potentially operate on a massive global scale. But, looming right in front of us was one question: How were we going to compete with Netflix or Amazon?
We are part of a generation that grew up with film. What will motivate the next generation to do better, to make a greater impact than the generations before them?
Ecoflix targets 5-18 year olds for this very reason. The next generation has choices. What careers we take, what places we go, what products we buy, it is these choices that impact supply and demand. If there is no demand for something, there will be no supply.
I think every generation becomes more advanced and innovative than the last. It is the nature of evolution. You are constantly learning. As we learn, we pass our knowledge on to our children. It is how generations continually inspire one another and within each, there is new knowledge, new technology and new perspectives as a result of that technology.
You are a member of the Global Family Office Next Gen Community, aimed at bringing together Investors with Innovative Investment. How can Family Offices get involved?
There are numerous ways that a Family Office could support Ecoflix. At the simplest level, we are looking for an investment partner, to help us sustain our non-profit effort to save animals and the planet for many years to come.
But, on a smaller scale, we welcome investors to join us to create a particular film which excites them too. At the moment, we have a film called The Last Stand, which is all about deforestation, particularly within ancient and rare forests. It has been licensed to Amazon Prime which means the investment will provide content for the Ecoflix platform, but also return a profit from the licensing deal. Our films are relatively low budget, averaging $100,000 for a completed documentary, filmed sustainably, which offers a simple and low cost route in for new investors.
They could also invest in our for-profit company, Ecoflix Media Ltd, which is wholly owned by the Ecoflix Foundation in the UK. This entity offers an opportunity for investment. With the Ecoflix platform, we have big ambitions to become an Amazon for good. When the time is right, we plan to expand, by adding an Ecoflix store, a travel centre, a magazine, and much more. We do not have any advertising on the channel. But we can monetise these additional profit centres. Many bespoke ambitions cost money and go beyond the technology that exists today.
But, more importantly, the Ecoflix Media entity can partner with a larger entity, much like the relationship set-up between National Geographic and Disney.
National Geographic is a registered charity, with a for-profit entity which operates in partnership with Disney. National Geographic own around 30% and Disney approximately 70%. After creating a film or programme that is profitably, Disney will keep their share of the deal, while National Geographic also receives their share to support their not-for-profit business. We aspire to develop a very similar investment relationship with the right partner, which would make them a profit and allows Ecoflix to continue with our non-profit work.
UK Investors also benefit from EIS tax relief associated with a non-profit company, which makes such investments both socially desirable and fiscally attractive.
Another simple way to join forces with Ecoflix on a philanthropic level.
Charity Water is the inspiration behind our donations model. It is one of the fastest growing and most successful charities today. They were established 15 years ago and in that time have raised $689M and brought clean water to 15.5 million people. Every single penny has been spent creating wells and providing water where it does not currently exist in pockets all over the world. In their very first year, Charity Water’s operational costs were about $1M. They also raised about $2M in their first year from the public and were on track to raise $6M for the second year. But due to their brave business model and unique pledge to the public, they could not use any of their donated funds to run the operations of the business. Uniquely at the time, they had made a promise to the public that any money donated would not be used for anything but supplying water to those who needed it.
About 18 months into operations, the charity had $1.5M in their public bank account, but they were about to miss payroll. They therefore needed an investment to fund their operations, or else they would have to file for bankruptcy. At which point, Bebo founder Michael Birch stepped in with $1M. As a result of that donation, they were able to carry on to great success and are now making an incredible impact.
When it comes to Ecoflix, Mercy for Animals, just one of our many partners, has around 10 million members. If just 10% of those members sign up to Ecoflix, we would be writing a cheque to Mercy for Animals for $50M. Even if we got 1%, they would receive $5M. For Ecoflix, it comes back to the circle of giving. If we can sustain ourselves and can do this with all of our NGO partners, we will be able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars and support their work all over the world. At the same time we can educate our audience, particularly school children all over the world.
All we would need from an investor or philanthropist is £2M to help us finish what we have started! With that support, we can generate more than £100M from the public to help save animals and the planet.
You can read more about Ecoflix here and in the meantime, find out more about the work Agreus does with local charities and not-for-profits on our Agreus and Friends Page.
Why not also check out our recent charity roles?
Charity Project Manager, Single Family Office – London
Head of Marketing, Family Foundation, Remote/Travel to Guildford (UK)