Media Entrepreneur

Bridget Scarr, managing director and executive producer of Pollen, is reshaping the new media landscape one bud at a time.

Her greatest achievement is building up a group of companies over the past five years from a small startup. The Hummingbird Group, which now consists of five companies, is becoming a force in the industry that will generate in excess of R100-million this year.

This success is built on her ability to constantly break new ground across the entire spectrum of new and traditional media production, founded on her unstinting pursuit of quality content.

Scarr credits the critical thinking skills that she acquired in her university education in drama and English as contributing to her current success. That paired with tenacity, drive and ambition has seen the group grow from strength to strength.

Scarr believes her success in building the businesses is partly due to eschewing industry traditions and stereotypes by focusing less on the medium than the content. This approach has been recognised in the accumulating of a number of Loeries, Promax, Design and Art Direction (D&AD), Clio and African Magic Viewers’ awards.

“I would like Pollen and the Hummingbird family to be an architect of the future of content in South Africa and the world,” she says.

“Our ambition is to play in the broadcast, digital and mobile spaces and grow the type of content produced here while growing international partnerships. I’d like us to change the world’s perception of what the local content industry can offer.”

Reflecting the emerging trend toward open collaboration and social entrepreneurship, Scarr is firmly committed to pursuing a similar path in all that Pollen does.

“Money is an indicator of success, but not the only thing we are working at making here … we are working to build a wonderful environment for creatives to thrive and that creates the best content out there,” she says.
— Johann Barnard

Twitter: @bridgetscarr