WKEntertainment explained

WKE
Type:	Subsidiary
Industry:	Entertainment
Location City:	Portland, Oregon
Location Country:	United States
Key People:	Dan Wieden, David Kennedy (Founders) Bill Davenport (CEO) Mark Fitzloff, Susan Hoffman, Aaron Rose (Creative director) Janice Grube (Content Director)
Products:	Film & radio
Parent:	Wieden+Kennedy

WKE (abbreviated from WKEntertainment or Wieden+Kennedy+Entertainment) is an independently owned American production company and arts and culture delivery channel, a subsidiary of the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy. The site contains material from a number of contributors, as well as original materials created by W+K under the creative direction of filmmaker Aaron Rose.

History

Wieden+Kennedy had created original contents for various brands under the name 'W+K Entertainment' since 2001, with Bill Davenport as CEO.^[1] Its productions include Battlegrounds,^[2] an MTV2 series showcasing street basketball;^[3] Ginga,^[4] a documentary about Brazilian soccer players; Road to Paris,^[5] documenting Lance Armstrong's path to his third Tour de France victory in 2001; and Say My Name, a worldwide documentary project about women by Nirit Peled.^{[6] [7]}

Wieden+Kennedy's exploration into producing its own non-branded content was started after in early 2009 after five prior months of refinements with WK Radio,^[8] an internet radio station. WK Radio was created by singer-songwriter Janice Grube, in collaboration with Davenport and under the executive creative direction of Mark Fitzloff and Susan Hoffman.^[9] WK Radio broadcast DJs, live music performances and interviews with "low key emerging talents, musicians and designers",^[10] where staffers often pitch in as well as outside artists and musicians.

Present

WK Radio stream was put on hiatus on mid-2009, and Wieden+Kennedy hired creative director and filmmaker Aaron Rose to help relaunch the station as entertainment content delivery platform and production house.^[11] The studio's first project is a daily recap coverage of Portland Institute for Contemporary Art Time-Based Art Festival 2009, done in collaboration with Portland Radio Authority and Radio23.^[12]

A full site launched in October 2009, with episodic shows such as:

• Califunya, a comedy variety show.
• Don't Move Here a look inside Portland's vibrant underground music scene
• DIY America, a documentary-based exploration into the American subcultures of skateboarding, graffiti, punk and hip hop.
• HOW TO!, a series of offbeat instructional shorts.
• 12, a documentary on Wieden+Kennedy's agency-disguised, experimental advertising school.

External links

• WKE Official Site
• Say My Name at Women Make Movies

Notes and References

1. Web site: Wieden + Kennedy Names 2 Partners . March 17, 2009 . ADWEEK . August 27, 2009 . ...Wieden Entertainment president Bill Davenport....
2. Web site: LeBron James, MTV2, Comcast, Charter, and Nike Join Forces for 'Nike Battlegrounds: King of the Court' . PRNewsWire . August 25, 2009 . Nike Battlegrounds is a Nike, Wieden + Kennedy Entertainment and @radical.media production in partnership with MTV2..
3. Staff report (June 16, 2004). MTV2, Nike Take to the Streets for 'Battlegrounds.' Zap2It.com
4. Web site: December 14, 2005 . Nike Ginga: The Soul Of Brazilian Football . August 25, 2009 . ...Ginga is a dynamic documentary that explores Brazil through the country's favorite sport..
5. Web site: September 2009 . Wieden & Kennedy Looks To Branch Into Other Creative Areas . Business 2.0 . August 25, 2009 . W&K created a film around Nike endorser Lance Armstrong entitled "Road to Paris".
6. Web site: SXSW Film Preview: Say My Name . March 12, 2009 . Austinist . August 27, 2009.
7. Web site: Say My Name Documentary. Women Make Movies.
8. Shots . 115 . 31 . WK Radio Portland . June 2009. The concept took five months to refine and launch, and since going live late in 2008 .
9. Web site: Wieden+Kennedy gets real with online radio . April 15, 2009 . The Oregonian . August 27, 2009 . Last fall, Grube made a [radio] pitch to the agency's senior managers. They said yes before she finished the presentation..
10. Web site: WK Radio Facebook Group . Facebook. August 25, 2009 . WK Radio exists to inspire creativity through provocative conversations, interviews, and artistic expression relating to the arts, culture, music and media..
11. Web site: July 6, 2009 . Aaron Rose hits the road for Wieden+Kennedy . Boards Magazine . Christine Clarke . ...the project is only a small slice of what Rose was brought into Wieden to do. His primary job is to help the agency develop an online media channel, which will debut September 1. The channel will air original content produced by W+K . August 28, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110927055948/http://www.boardsmag.com/articles/online/20090706/aaronrosewk.html . September 27, 2011 . dead . mdy-all .
12. Web site: W+K Portland · Wk Radio = Wke . June 28, 2010 . September 29, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100929152617/http://blog.wk.com/2009/08/wk-radio-is-now-wke.html . dead .