• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, November 9, 2017

Los Angeles-based ad agency Idea Farmer has just launched a new content and commercial production house called Crop Circles. It will be run by former Endemol Executive Matthew Forrest, who will serve as president of the new entity. 

Forrest joined Idea Farmer earlier this year as its first CFO, a post he will retain while running the new production studio. He reports to Idea Farmer CEO Josh Beane. 

Idea Farmer, founded in 2011, began as a content studio and then evolved into a creative agency, cultivating clients such as KitchenAid, Subaru, Shutterfly and Viceroy Hotels. The commercial and other content the agency has created for its clients has largely been done in-house. 

Now that in-house operation will be split off to form the core of Crop Circles, which is also hiring a number of new production content creators to join the team. 

According to Beane, the idea is to generate a new stream of revenue from content and commercial production work via new Crop Circles-specific clients. At the same time, the entity will now handle content and creative execution from existing Idea Farmer clients. 

Beane said the time was right to launch the new entity, given the growing interest brands have in content beyond traditional commercials. Brands believe strongly that storytelling in many forms helps them connect more effectively with consumers, he said. 

“Original video content is the puzzle pretty much everyone is trying to solve for,” said Beane. “The level of demand we’re seeing from marketers, companies and agencies continues to grow. With the launch of Crop Circles, we now have a standalone company totally dedicated to serving this high volume business.”

Prior to joining Idea Farmer earlier this year as company CFO, Forrest oversaw all production for Endemol Beyond, including branded and original content for the lifestyle network Icon and the esports and gaming network Smasher.  

Forrest echoed Beane: There is a “ton of opportunity going forward” in the original content space, given brands’ appetite for it.