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multi-scene costumed shows to flash mobs to one-off spectacles.

Down in the ted production ‘engine room’, it’s a constant hive of activity. This is where the performances are crafted – scripts written, costumes and props acquired, visuals and graphics created, and music, choreography and lighting imagined and developed.

And it’s not all for the delectation of grown-ups. The company produces a huge repertoire for children, with shows and interactive activities to keep them entertained all holiday. No wonder ted is so popular with the parents, not to mention the likes of TUI and Haven.

Children’s entertainment may traditionally have the fiercest critics, but it comes with benefits. Create characters that the kids can resonate with and you’ve got yourself a mascot that they all want to take home with them.

Cue the tedretail team. In collaboration with the production department, whose members create the character and the costume to the client’s vision and values, ted’s experienced retail team gets the design off the page and manages the manufacture – and even the marketing and stock control –

of the bespoke merchandise range. So everyone goes home happy.

In fact, tedretail is sourcing and branding hundreds of thousands of souvenirs for its clients. Haven, for instance, has recently approved production of 220,000 items to support its FunStars and Seaside Squad brands, including jumping characters, snap bands, 3D drinks bottles, character pencil cases, snow globes, finger puppets, caps and figurines. The kids just love it.

A strong double actMeanwhile, ted’s media department is a one-stop shop for digital content creation. Whether you want a voice-over, a song or

a whole show, written and/or produced, tedmedia has the expertise to do so at its in-house production studios. It also designs all point of sale for print, screen and web to promote events, develop microsites to support entertainment on a venue’s website, produce digital signage for resorts, and even film on green screen to produce special effects and supporting virtual backgrounds for acts.

For instance, the tedmedia experts have provided all the elements – from track production, vocal recording, mixing and mastering to production and development – for more than 45 original shows in 2016 alone.

The relationship with Haven has been established for more than 25 years, but not to the scale it is now. With new ideas and popular talent constantly being offered, ted supplies the entire visiting artistes programme to Haven’s 37 holiday parks across the UK.

It’s a similar story with TUI, the world’s biggest tour operator.

The two companies have worked together for many years and now tedav, the audio-visual department, is responsible for the systems design and installation, equipment

maintenance, and training of sound and lighting technicians across the entire Sensatori and Holiday Village estate overseas. Meanwhile, tedtalent currently ranks as the largest live-act booking office in Europe and, after personal vetting of all acts, supplies them to TUI resorts and various other leisure companies.

Meanwhile, tedleisure is busy creating and supplying fun and relaxing day and evening activities, as well as original well-being concepts, at Thomson’s hugely successful 5-star Sensatori hotels, where emphasis is on luxury accommodation, high-end dining and total relaxation. It’s a relationship that has thrived since 2007 when Sensatori was launched, and ted continues to take innovation for TUI to new heights.

Which brings us round to the second act of ted’s remarkable performance so far: the establishment of a new style of talent management company, Represented Talent.

What next from the UK’s leading entertainment and creative company? Watch this space.

tedgroup.com

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With barely two-and-a-half years since the management buyout of The Entertainment Department owned by Qdos, and a few

months since the new owner rebranded the company as ted (in lower case), with a vibrant new look, top management is putting its vision into practice.

Chief executive Robin Breese-Davies and managing director Amanda Donohue vowed in April 2014 to take the business forward, “evolving products and services even further and delivering more creative content around the world”.

The next act is about to unfold and it promises to be an enthralling episode. This innovative duo is rapidly proving to be forward-thinking. Recognising a gap – particularly in the burgeoning cruise market – Breese-Davies and Donohue are launching a new kind of artistes’ management company, one promising to nurture the talent of its artistes (something many agents don’t do) and in turn, provide ted clients with the very best professional stage performers.

Represented Talent, billed as The Performers’ Company, has arrived.

As well as looking after its artistes, the new management company will benefit from ted’s equally burgeoning client list of top UK and international holiday providers and entertainment venues with a much greater list of top-quality performers. Already, ted supplies entertainment to leisure, travel and holiday leaders such as TUI (from its First Choice family-orientated Holiday Villages to its Thomson exclusive 5-star Sensatori brand), Haven, Hoburne, Butlins, Warner Leisure, Park Resorts, Away Resorts and Parkdean. The cruise list is growing too, with relationships already established with specialists such as P&O, Cunard, Royal Caribbean, Saga, Fred Olsen, Disney and, of course, TUI.

The management has reorganised, restructured and, earlier this year, rebranded The Entertainment Department into the simpler, sleeker ted, with six clear departments – audio-visual, leisure, media, production, retail and talent – adding its own vast experience to the performance. The abbreviated name, ted – all in lower case – and a circular logo of blue, red and green emphasise the complete, all-round, colourful performances it executes for not just its big-brand clients, but also for the schools

and council leisure centres where it helps to bring entertainment and leisure activities to spectacular life.

The company is attracting the best in the business and building itself a reputation for jaw-dropping, reliable, inspired productions and supporting services based on its mantra: “Creative, passionate, straightforward.”

Much like its top management really. Breese-Davies comes from a background

of agency and artiste suppliers, while Donohue was responsible for sourcing innovative entertainment at TUI UK for Thomson, including Sensatori, and First Choice brands.

“What ted delivers today is very different from two years ago [before the management buyout],” says Breese-Davies.

“Technology, for instance, is being embraced at such a pace. We’re certainly not standing still. Our creative teams are constantly coming up with new types of original entertainment. Our staff has grown enormously and they are our greatest asset.”

They’re not just making a show of it (pardon the pun). Much progress is being made in the wings at ted, where the day-to-day creation and implementation of entertaining day,

evening and sports activity programmes from Morecambe to Mexico seems to know no bounds. It’s head-turning. It’s eye-catching.

That’s entertainment.

A big act behind the scenesStars are emerging in the creative back rooms, in the lighting gantries and at the sound desks, as first-class popular entertainment is being produced to a very high standard. Many feature the interactive shows that today’s discerning audiences demand. At ted’s in-house media studio facility, teams of ambitious, talented people are producing quality entertainment tailored to clients’ needs, from lavish,

promotion

Cue applause for new artiste management company spotting a gap in the talent marketthere’s more than a flurry of excitement this week as the curtain goes up on the Entertainment Department’s newest innovation. the recently rebranded entertainment company launches the second act of its original, core business with the creation of the performers’ Company…

promotion

‘Ambitious, talented staff produce work ranging from costumed shows to flash mobs’

‘We don’t stand still. Our teams are constantly creating new types of original entertainment’

Right: ted chief executive Robin Breese-Davies and managing director Amanda Donohue