Hotel GB can service your digitals

14 September 2012

This October some of Channel 4's biggest names will come together in Hotel GB, an ambitious cross-platform factual entertainment series which will tackle the issue of youth unemployment and aim to help get Britain working by raising money for employment charities and training schemes.

Channel 4's on-screen talent, including Gordon Ramsay and Mary Portas, will take over an existing London hotel and run it as a fund-raising machine and training ground for a range of currently unemployed people desperate for a break.

Stripped across a week on Channel 4, the series will have a big multiplatform offering to keep viewers up to date with all the action from the hotel. A team of multiplatform producers will be based on location at Hotel GB to gather and post exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, photos, news and gossip.

The social media campaign will be fronted by two social media champions who will encourage some healthy rivalry between the teams, supporting and acting as cheerleaders for Team Gordon and Team Mary respectively.

The specially designed website, which will sit on Channel4.com, will serve as a hub drawing together the best of the chat and social media content across Facebook and Twitter. Crucially this viewer engagement will then help to create challenges for the ‘staff' and could potentially influence editorial decisions during the week. 

The website will also be a one-stop shop for viewers wanting to get involved themselves.  Any viewers wanting to book a room/dinner/spa treatment in Hotel GB and possibly appear on TV will be able to register interest via the specially built online booking/casting tool.

The site will also provide practical advice on careers opportunities in the hospitality industry for young people looking for work.  Interviews with the on-screen talent will offer their insight to their personal experiences of the work place and their top tips for getting ahead.

It will also host a Hotel GB quiz offering players the chance to try a shift at the hotel, working in each department in turn and having to deal with different demanding decisions. At the end of the quiz players find out if they survived the shift from hell, along with a heads-up on what hospitality jobs and other careers might match their strengths as well as guidance on what skills are required for a job in the hospitality industry.

The site will go live from Friday 21st September.

Notes to editors:

Maverick is one of the UK's leading interactive producers, creating multiplatform approaches to shows ranging from Embarrassing Bodies to Fresh Meat, winning four Baftas and an Emmy in recent years. Maverick worked closely with Hotel GB producers Optomen during the development of the project, to fully integrate the multiplatform elements into the production process and the editorial of the show.