For some producers, Internet and mobile offerings for made-for-TV properties are mere afterthoughts. But not for Insight Productions executive producer John Brunton, who says multiplatform strategies are at the core of his Toronto shop’s shows, which include CTV ratings topper Canadian Idol and Project Runway Canada, set to launch this fall on Slice.

‘Over the last year, there’s not a TV project we’ve discussed in production, preproduction or development where we have not taken multiplatform into the equation,’ says Brunton, who describes digital media as the Wild West for content creators and storytellers.

But while much of the industry is still struggling with ways to turn multimedia into profits, Brunton is so bullish on emerging platforms that he is developing his first significant project that is exclusively in the new media realm without a traditional TV element. Although he would provide few details, the project will generate revenue on a pay-per-download basis, and Brunton is confident that downloads will be in the millions. Production is expected to start in the fall.

Brunton says digital media has provided ways to build a closer relationship among producer, broadcaster and advertiser. And for him, these relationships are the key to success.

‘We work very closely with advertisers on Internet and multiplatform applications,’ he says. ‘For us, the revenue model [for those] has more to do with a big-picture relationship with a sponsor or an advertiser.’

He points to product-placement strategies as an example. Although it is too early to cite brand names, he says a beauty product could be featured in a backstage shot on Project Runway Canada, and viewers could go to the website to watch video of the show’s stylists providing tips on using that product.

While such tactics clearly add value for advertisers, Brunton says they also ensure that the web or mobile experience gives fans added value, rather than simply alternate access.

‘A year ago we were saying ‘Let’s try to repurpose TV for the Web.’ Now we’re all talking about providing exclusive information as value added…It’s a huge change,’ he explains. ‘People want to feel that they’re being let into a crack through the door – that you’re giving them special access because they’re a fan of the show.’

Fans can vote for their favorite singer in the Canadian Idol competition via text message at a cost of $0.25 a pop for owners of Telus mobile phones. (Telus became the official wireless sponsor of Idol last year.) If fans are tech-challenged, they can watch clips on the website (www.ctv.ca/idol) featuring show host Ben Mulroney teaching them how to text.

Also, a Telus/Idol website linked with the main site offers contests and sells mobile downloads of songs featured on Idol, as well as videos, images of the contestants and ringtones. According to CTV, in June, the Idol site recorded eight million page views and 725,000 unique visitors.

Brunton’s philosophy is that allowing fans to interact with the show on other platforms is a win-win situation.

‘The more activity on more platforms, the better it is for the traditional TV property. It’s not taking eyeballs away. It’s creating more buzz and brand recognition,’ he says.

The approach, he adds, also helps retain advertisers, which like the cross-platform potential. For example, Pantene shampoo, which has done product placement spots on the traditional broadcast, also features prominently on the website with its logo and a promo contest.

While emerging platforms have not killed traditional TV, as some had prognosticated, they are certainly changing it. According to Brunton, new media habits – such as surfing the net and texting friends while watching TV with an iPod in one ear – are shaping the type of television that gets made.

‘What kind of TV shows can audiences watch out of one eyeball while looking at a computer at the same time?’ he queries. ‘That’s why a lot of these reality shows do so well.’