Way back in July, I had no idea that a relatively innocent coffee with a TV producer would lead to my life being taken over by a reality TV show. Especially when I don't even watch them and I hadn't applied to be a contestant in one. Perish the thought. But just a few weeks after that coffee, we had signed up as a show sponsor for the DIY makeover show the Block: Fans Vs Faves, and well that's when my life became a bit mental.
My professional life that is. Filming started in September - at least I think it was September, it seems like yesterday. That meant we had just five weeks to get all our in-show content ready and pull our advertising plan together. If that wasn't tricky enough, I've now learnt that there is a only a very basic structure to a TV show like this, and even the producers seem to make it up as they go along, never mind the contestants. Since The Block is in its eighth season, they clearly know what they are doing, but if you're working with them, its seat of the pants stuff. And the filming lasted for a full twelve weeks, so you can see why it's been crazy.
There hasn't been a single day in our office since that The Block hasn't been the top of the agenda. There's been ups and downs, tears, in-fighting, drama, laughter and lots of swearing. Often all at the same time. In fact you could have made a reality TV show out of our marketing department.
It's been a journey, as they say, and thankfully both the show and our marketing have come up trumps so far. Which is a relief. Or it may have been my head on The Block. I've spent a little bit of time on the set, visiting right at the start when the old office block was simply a shell, and most recently now that the apartments have been finished. As there are still more than 5 weeks to go on air, I am bound to secrecy on what I've seen, but I can tell you that the apartments all look great. Especially all the shiny appliances (did I mention that we are the official suppliers of all kitchens and appliances?)
I've also spent a fair bit of time with Steve and Chantelle, one of the couples on the show. They aren't doing that well in the show, in fact you could say they are taking a bit of a battering in the media, especially chimney sweep Steve (think Tim Nice-but-Dim) who everybody seems to enjoy making fun of. The truth is they really are a delightful couple, and I've enjoyed hanging out with them. They had absolutely no idea what they were getting themselves into, but even if their five minutes of fame peters out in the next few months, they will probably be $250,000 richer for their twelve weeks work if the reserve prices of $2m+ are met. Who's laughing now? I'm not.
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