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Mediaset Distribution's sales manager Claudia Marra talks about the pandemic effect on her business after Miptv cancellation

Mediaset Distribution's sales manager Claudia Marra talks about the pandemic effect on her business after Miptv cancellation
Two words with Claudia Marra, sales manager at Mediaset Distribution about the situation in Italy after the shut down of all the offices in Milan and Rome due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Miptv cancellation is offering new opportunities and let's see how Claudia is managing the business at home.

1) How did this pandemic affect work?
As everybody knows Italy was the first country in Europe to be affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. It has been tough since the very beginning and our Milan headquarters took immediate action allowing us all to stay safe at home experiencing smart working. Of course, this affected our business relations, with markets closed and no travelling, new ways of communication must be found.
We are organizing video calls, constantly in touch with our clients and their needs. As a consequence of local productions being stopped, we are observing an increase in the demand for ready-made series, dramas, long-running series. Clients need programs now! So, the challenge is to get those masters delivered while respecting lockdown regulations. Sometimes it gets complicated, but we try our best.

2) What are the most appetible titles?
We are proposing The Silence of water – 2nd season coming soon on Canale5 – this series is having a great success. The disappearance of a young girl in a little community by the sea, where nothing ever happens, will give start to an investigation. Beautiful locations in northern Italy and profound psychological depth of characters make this a good series, with all the necessary ingredients to compete on the international market.
We already closed several deals in Europe (France) and around the world (Georgia, Latin America, Armenia) for the Silence of Water, and also, we have many other deals in negotiation, it’s strength is that of being a universal story, fit for all our clients.
We are also receiving much interest for our period drama Love and Sacrifice, a passionate and impossible love, set in the historical period time before the First World War. The series was sold in Albania, Romania, Montenegro, Croatia and Latin America.

3) What are the strategies you are promoting for the next upcoming months?
We are focused on responding to our clients for the immediate need of ready-made programs. We are also focused on offering our dubbed catalogue. With dubbing studios closed and no possibility to dub because of the global shutdown, we are offering the series we have dubbed in the past. This seem to be an appreciated strategy and a good response to the actual situation. 

4) What are the instruments that you are using in order to get closer to your clients around the world?

Well, as usual, mobiles and email make the most. We now often use WhatsApp, skype for Business, Teams or any other means, as preferred by our clients. We also send links with screeners, newsletters, trailers, synopsis, whatever is needed….
We offer virtual meetings to replace market cancellation and do our best in order to support our clients around the world with the hope that pretty soon this will all be over.

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