Sign up FAST! Login

YouTube’s Marketing And Content Platform Nets Startups Millions


YouTube s Marketing And Content Platform Nets Startups Millions TechCrunch

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/23/youtube...

Lighter areas contain newer construction, while darker areas are older. What stands out immediately is the difference between the Sunbelt--areas in the Southeast and Southwest where growth has been booming--and the Rustbelt--an arc stretching around the Great Lakes from North Dakota to New York. Nebraska and Kansas haven't seen much in the way of new construction either. This tracks pretty well with the overall population change in these areas. Over the past 10 years people have migrated to the Sunbelt and away from the Rustbelt.

Urban areas stand out as dark clusters of old housing stock surrounded by coronas of newer development. 

...

Unsurprisingly, many of the investors who have been active in backing new deals, like MiTu and FameBit, are returning to the ground that brought them so much success with Maker Studios. “I was a personal investor in Maker in the early days when they first started,” says Michael Jones, the chief executive and co-founder of Science. “Even then we saw the power that YouTube brings to brand exposure.”

The investment fits a thesis that Jones and his fellow investors at Science share. “We love platform companies that focus on emerging social platforms and the way that brands can connect with influencers,” he says.

Since its launch, FameBit has brokered 1,200 video campaigns for over 200 brands and has 3,000 active YouTube personalities producing roughly 500 videos per month.

Stashed in: YouTube!, Monetization, startup

To save this post, select a stash from drop-down menu or type in a new one:

J, you have the text from the old house article. 

The rise of YouTube and its attendant online celebrity millionaires has created opportunities for venture investors to launch new marketing and advertising platforms, like the new startup FameBit, catering to brands wishing for these virtual stars to hawk their wares.

YouTube ad revenue for 2013 totaled $5.6 billion for 2013, according to eMarketer, or roughly 13% of the $42.8 billion spent on online advertising in 2013. Broadcast television numbers were $40.1 billion over the same period.

The new online marketing and distribution platforms can bring more cash into the pockets of YouTube’s “talent”, who see 45% of the ad dollars generated from their videos go straight into YouTube’s pocket.

At Santa Monica, Calif.-based FameBit, developers led by company co-founder and chief executive David Kierzkowski are working to build a marketplace for brands to find, hire, and collaborate with YouTube content creators for product and service endorsements.

The company raised $1.4 million in a round of seed funding from investors including the “technology studio” Science; the accelerator 500Startups; the Japanese technology conglomerate DeNA, and individual investors like Allen DeBevoise — the founder of gaming-related content website Machinima.

FameBit has a bounty model which allows brands to post products and services and have YouTube content producers directly build video segments around a company’s virtual or actual wares.

Investors in Los Angeles argue that technologies developing new channels for media and advertising will be a large component of the startup company ecosystem that the city is creating.

Companies like FameBit, or MiTu, which announced a $10 million round on Friday from investors including Allen DeBevoise, and Upfront Ventures, which backed the multi-channel network Maker Studios. In fact, Walt Disney’s acquisition of Maker Studios, was one of the early exits that have validated how valuable an investment in YouTube-generated content can be.

It's amazing how much revenue YouTube has ($5.6 billion). 

Makes Google's acquisition of YouTube seem like a bargain.

You May Also Like: