From content creation to distribution
How does Mike manage to record his content all alone?
“Our content is our gold mine and our Dad understood that very early on. When he was swimming down the Amazon alone, with a hydrospeed, he'd sometimes set up his camera and kayak back up again, so he could bring us the images.”
Jessica Horn
There aren’t many sportsmen and women who perform their feats far from the stadiums, drones and lights. Alongside the survival kit and rations, recording equipment is planned for with social media campaigns in mind. Nothing is left to chance, but chance is often involved.
“An expedition is never over until you’ve actually passed the finish line. And it's not something you plan for, there's a real risk of death.”
Jessica Horn
Terrifying footage of Mike falling into icy water will soon be published. Danger, exhaustion, isolation. And yet the tales of Mike’s travels continue to come in.
Can you send live footage from halfway around the world?
Images can't always be transmitted instantaneously. A satellite connection is required, which is very expensive considering the limited and strictly irregular bandwidth. The information is then broadcast with a time delay, during Mike's expeditions.
Some content still manages to come in almost directly. Often, this content comes with an exclusivity stake, for example, the campaign paired with Mike’s expedition to the North Pole. In cases like these, the media is also seeking to broadcast the latest news on the expedition, meaning that they’re in fact competing with Horn Media to air the content first!
What is the agenda for posting on social media?
During his expeditions, Mike records himself talking. "You can hear the evolution inside his mind," reports Jessica, "at the beginning he is very precise about what he’s doing, then after a few days, the subjects become more philosophical".
When he returns home, the content is guarded preciously. The rights are not given up - in spite of many requests! Horn Media manages the selection, editing and posting of the content, with daily themes depending on the social network in question.
In addition to the expeditions, there are conferences, television appearences, and more recently a series on YouTube that has achieved hundreds of thousands of views. Instagram remains the agency’s social network of choice for Mike Horn. Jessica follows many other accounts - photographers, but also fashion accounts - that contribute to her inspiration for her father's account.
Before each post, the content (especially the captions) is checked by Annika, who is the relay of Mike's mentality. There's a very clear editorial line.
