It was 2013 and Wayne Denning was waiting outside the offices of the producers of Sesame Street in New York for his turn to make a cold pitch.
As owner of the then-fledgling multimedia production outfit Carbon Media, his concept was as bold as it was unique: a Down Under segment featuring Indigenous Australian actors to be included in the world’s most successful and longest-running children’s television show.
Sesame Street had been in Australia for 44 years but never actually had Australian content. Denning’s aim was to make Australians proud of the nation’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage.
Today the company Denning presides over is worth a good many millions and is running major government campaigns while producing two TV series and a live show.
Against all the odds he had convinced the world’s leading children’s entertainment network to let his company produce the segment 5 Kangaroos, which first aired in the US in late 2013 (then in 2014 in Australia).
The segment is an ebullient ode to Australia, featuring Indigenous Australian singer Jessica Mauboy, five dancing children and Indigenous themed art and design.
But it was about much more than kids and kangaroos for Denning, who saw the opportunity to position Carbon Media as an international player.
Since 5 Kangaroos, Carbon Media has gone on to make another six segments for Sesame Street. Even more impressive are the doors that have opened off the back of that original pitch.
“There is a lot of symbolism selling to such an important and iconic show,” he says. “The concept works well for us and it also presents a unique selling opportunity. Australia is a fantastic place with wide open spaces and the oldest continuous culture on Earth – that is something worth getting excited over and worth taking to the world.
“That’s at one level. At the other level it makes Aboriginal kids proud of their identity and inspires them to be leaders. It makes them realise they can go anywhere on the planet and lead.”
While Denning admits that pitching to Sesame Street was “highly aspirational’’, he says the move was part of his broader strategy for the company.
“Working with the oldest children’s TV show on the planet and one of the world’s most respected brands is important to us.
“It says we operate internationally and it shows we have a strong remit.”
It also makes a great calling card when doing business with other executives around the world, he says.
“A lot of executives have an association with the show in the past or they can find their way to YouTube and see our clips. It’s been a great door opener for us and has helped us establish relationships.”
So where is Carbon Media now?
“We are an international company. We have an entertainment arm and we produce shows and apps that go with our various platforms. We are also work on social change with state and federal governments.
“At the moment we are doing a campaign to get more Indigenous people to go to university. We are also doing a slate of TV shows.”
Denning says Carbon will soon be producing a sports and entertainment show called League Nation Live to show 32 weeks a year for 90 minutes on Wednesdays.
“The other thing we’re doing is a new teen drama series with Essential Media set in Cape York where a group of kids have to solve a mystery.”
They are also involved in an animation series called Cheeky Dog aimed at eight to 10-year-olds.
The 65 three-minute episodes are based on the illustrations of wheelchair-bound Tennant Creek-based Indigenous artist Dean Beasley.
“They teach kids about values, based around learning and friendship through the eyes of five dogs.”
“So we do multimillion-dollar campaigns with a social focus or socially-focused drama or live animation, all supported by a digital service and all have to seamlessly come together in a continuous remit for the company.”
Denning spends up to a quarter of the year travelling, pitching and attending conferences and meetings and relies on professional banking support to seamlessly run his business while on the road.
“We are an Indigenous-owned Aussie business whose aim is to make the world a better place while being proud of our Aboriginal base as a company,” he says.
“As an Aboriginal man and as the owner of a business that employs both Aboriginal and non-Indigenous Australians I understand that to make change and to be in business you have to manage risk and be innovative – I need a banking partner that understands and supports that as well.”
Stephanie Knox, head of Indigenous finance and development at NAB, Denning’s banking partner for almost a decade, says the goal is to become the bank of choice for Indigenous Australia.
“We are passionate about our customers and helping them achieve their aspirations for success,” Knox says.
“Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enterprises to prosper and grow creates shared value for a strong economic future and prosperous communities.”
