James Grant Hay is the founder and managing director of Australian product placement and branded entertainment agency In Shot. Since launching In Shot in March 2003, James has earned an industry reputation for reducing producers’ below the line costs as well as adding to the bottom line of distributors’ P&A marketing budgets. His company’s recent Australian feature film projects include Three Dollars, Hating Alison Ashley and Little Fish, starring Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett. Across continents, James has consulted with almost every major Hollywood studio. In addition to its film and television portfolios, In Shot specialises in in-game advertising in video games, branded mobile games, in-video advertising online and the development of in-text advertising tool technology. In Shot’s client list includes Kodak Australia, Hyundai, Nike, Apple Computer, Sony, Atari, Foster's Group, Siemens, Microsoft Xbox, Swatch Group and Champagne Bollinger. Prior to launching In Shot, James worked in media sales with Foxtel and The Val Morgan Cinema Network. He was a speaker at X/Media/Lab, Resfest Digital Film Festival and Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) conference in 2004 and is a founding board member of the Australian chapter of the Branded Content Marketing Association (BCMA) based in London. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bond University and is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts School of Film and Television. A regular news media commentator and university guest lecturer of RMIT, James is also a guest feature writer on the branded entertainment space for Marketing Magazine in Australia. In 2008, In Shot will launch its online video product placement marketplace.
