We’ve been a fan of the actor John Krasinski since the first episode of The Office. So it’s no surprise that we enjoyed his Coronavirus-era “home-made” (as in, “made at home”) on-demand, streaming video called “Some Good News.” Just how did Krasinski do it? We found the answer from SmallBusiness.com contributor Steve King at SmallBizLabs.com and on Twitter: @smallbizlabs.
Fast Company’s recent feature, “Meet John Krasinski’s secret weapon that helped make ‘Some Good News’ a hit‘ explores how Krasinski used Communo, an online creative talent marketplace, to find and engage his post-production team.
The Good News Team
- Post-production | NYC’s Senior Post and Leroi
- Video Distribution | Nashville’s Made in Network
- Social Media| Calgary’s Arcade
- GIF Analytics | New Haven, Conn.’s Giflytics
Alright everybody, how about #SomeGoodNews ! Send me the stories that have made you feel good this week or the things that just made you smile!
— John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) March 25, 2020
There are now eight episodes and the series was sold to ViamcomCBS for a reported $100 million +. Pretty good for a couple of months’ work, although many fans are unhappy that Krasinski sold the show.
Some things jumped out at us about this story:
- Krasinski was able to scale up a very successful, professionally produced TV show in just weeks using distributed nonemployee labor.
- “Some Good News” bypassed the traditional media gatekeepers by using YouTube and going directly to consumers.
- All the players involved are very small geographically distributed firms or independent workers who collaborate on this project.
Of course, the show’s success would have been much less likely – and probably not possible – without the talent and star power of John Krasinski.
But the show’s success still illustrates how teams of distributed, independent workers and small firms can quickly form and produce world-class results.
And this is not just happening in creative fields. It’s happening in almost all industries and professions.