William Van Rest, ITV Exec Who Helped ‘Love Island’ Merch Make Millions, Launches Jem Media Ventures
29.01.2024 - 09:15
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: ITV made big bucks from Love Island brand extensions, and the man behind the merchanise millions has now launched his own company.
William Van Rest has set up Jem Media Ventures, a UK-based company designed to help business, brands and talent create ancillary income from IP, including programs and films, plus other assets and unused inventory.
Jem will look to work with producers and distributors to commercially optimize their IP, find IP for companies to license into their operations to develop new commercial products around fandoms and audiences, and establish partnerships with brands and advertisers.
As Jem gears up for a formal launch, the company is already working with unnamed VR firm on several initiatives, helped a global distributor secure a deal to launch a restaurant for an unnamed major TV format and helped a tech start-up win a major media business tender. It has also secured deals to license global IP into an immersive experience business; secured IP for gambling and games companies; created a partnership for a leisure business; and helped a talent agency find commercial deals for a major fashion and music star, a UK pop group and a children’s author.
Industry veteran Van Rest was most recently ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s Director of Games, Live & Merchandising, a role that allowed him to create brand extensions for the likes of dating smash Live Island and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. Love Island brand extensions were worth millions in revenues, with more than one million personalized water bottles and 25 million downloads.
“Typically, rights owners spend most of their energies getting their shows on air or projects off the ground and then move on to the next idea,” said van
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