For Stars To Be Born In Nebula, Arcadia Had To Unleash Its Supernova. Boom!
By Shubham Hanuman
Wow, next stage already!
Working in Arcadia was like a journey of intensive idea generation, analysis, and trial and error. The ironic thing is, our projects did not end up as errors but became critical components in Ducorp XTM today.
This shows that we have a team that is dedicated, and we have a purpose behind everything we do.
Being the new guy in the office was a new experience for me, and understanding the company’s unique F*ck Fake brand identity took time. Luckily here, we have an Academy program to cater to new staff, which indeed impressed me. This program embodies the culture of valuing and encouraging everyone to be better every day.
On my end, Arcadia had several creative components, especially with running the engine of XTM+, our media channel. We came up with ideas for shows that were very different from the typical offerings that are out there.
We place great emphasis on showcasing diversity in the business environment, and then one day, a big star idea popped!
The Embedded Advertising concept!
It was a bold step because not many “non-media” companies adopt such a style, and this was a challenging step to “re-invent” business around XTM+.
We refined and increased the production frequency of Benito FinTech News Podcast (BFN) from monthly to twice a month.
We produced Canvas Stories, a new educational and artistic discovery show in which I feature ideas and projects not only for XTM but as well as my personal brand expansion.
You may view some episodes by clicking here or to http://xtm.plus!
Shows from our Trident Stage were taken into consideration as most of them helped build what XTM is today. This applied to the Reality Series, Building Ducorp, and Interesting People productions.
We then merged all internal media to be part of the ‘Building Ducorp’ Series, where content is released monthly.
Documentaries and Special Reports are series where extended content and short movies developed around local personalities, stories, and businesses in Mauritius. Tomorrow, we will extend this internationally.
Following Alexandre’s concept of Low Gear, we adopted a raw style of vlogging and storytelling. Low Gear Episode 1 was successful in terms of originality and business marketing/discovery.
Also, the Maitre de Poonith series was a success story in the previous stages, and we wanted to move forward with a more dynamic appearance of MDP, which evolved into Ride With Kush. It is a business discovery show which a touch of humor and entertainment.
Our latest shows, Musos Unplugged and Hustlemania Live Events shined on XTM+ despite the COVID-19 situation, which caused a 100% transition to our team working remotely.
Initially, this was very challenging at meeting deadlines and coordinating with the team due to varying timezones.
Fortunately for us, we already had online chemistry and communication in terms of content production roles and editing roles.
On top of that, hats off to the Content Conveyor Team! Without them, XTM+ would not have been such a success.
On a technical level, I think our studio has everything needed to create content. There were tools that I was not familiar with, but I quickly learned to utilize them.
With this attitude in mind, I am always determined to make the videos, graphics, sound, and content even better for Nebula should any innovative techniques come up.
We can already get a glimpse of it from the Live Event Stream of Hustlemania, and I am ready to roll the creativity at XTM HQ once the lockdown is over.
Due to this COVID-19 pandemic, working life will not be the same as before.
However, we should keep striving and moving forward always.
What I learned in Arcadia is that putting an idea on the table and effectively executing that idea are two separate things.
Both are complementary to each other, and we should act on the creative impulse and trust the flow. The joy of seeing an idea come to life encourages you to believe that your thoughts have value, and anything is possible.
The Nebula stage is sure to have its challenges, but if one recalls how humans respond to disasters and diseases throughout history, we can’t deny the massive wave in innovation.
We are blessed to hope for positivity, and in my view, the feeling of optimism is what makes us human.
Arcadia was challenging, but I look forward to the excitement and adrenaline Nebula shall bring! Here’s to a new flight!
XTM; 2020
