YouTube's Biggest Viral Video Stars Sign With Hitviews to Tap Into Marketers' Budgets

User generated content represents a critically important new digital marketing tool but it has yet to be packaged as a marketing opportunity Radio industry veteran Walter Sabo and a group of investors that includes The Weinstein Company39s Bob Weinstein Slaight Communications39 Chairman Gary Slaight cable news entrepreneur Reese Schoenfeld and former ABC Radio executive Allen Shaw believe they have discovered the futureThat future is Hitviews wwwhitviewscom and it is personified by its Chief Creative Officer Caitlin Hill who at only 20years old is one of the best known and most popular video stars on YouTube with a cumulative view count of over 17 million producing under the name TheHill88httpwwwyoutubecomwatchvW2j29AflbXU and httpwwwyoutubecomwatchvucqdt2PK6Kw Caitlin was dubbed quotthe goofy princess of cyberspacequot by Australia39s 60 Minutes but now she39s putting her talent to work for marketers in a business that is anything but goofy httpjackmyersmagnifynetembedmvpw370h660v1227556233quotIt39s a proven axiom of show business and entertainment that each medium creates its own starsquot Sabo told me in an exclusive interview quotThat phenomenon remains true for online Jay Leno39s monologues might generate big numbers online but online video stars get a quarter million views in 48hoursquot Sabo is not referring to 39cats peeing in a toilet39 videos but to a new generation of talent like Hill who have an extensive base of fans who subscribe to their videos and sign up for notification when new videos are posted Sabo with the active guidance of Hill has gathered 20 of these stars as members of the Hitviews network and has successfully tested a new approach to integrating marketing messages into the video programming they create The company has been operating in stealth mode and is officially launching today and with an industry event on December 16quotThese video stars are creating content regularlyquot comments Sabo quotIt39s not just usergenerated videos These are video performers who have a large following and who understand how to get people engaged and to respond Rather than attaching preroll billboards product placement and interruptive commercials our video stars organically build videos around a marketer39s message Products are presented in ways that are organic amp8211 part of the videoquot Caitlin is responsible for working with marketers to understand and then interpret their goals to the most appropriate of Hitviews39 video performers who then integrate the marketers39 messages and products into videos that are produced exclusively for Hitviews Hill Sabo and their team provide feedback and submit finished videos to marketers for approval before they are uploaded virally to YouTube and other video sites quotThis is a group of people so intuitively involved with the online video medium they can simultaneously engage with their audiences and effectively deliver a marketer39s messagequot says Sabo quotThey attract millions and millions of views and they get their audiences to listen watch and often respondquotquotThese are gifted and talented creators who are dedicated to attracting large crowds on the internetquot Caitlin points out quotThey are not producing sensationalistic or scandalous videos We have identified the online video stars who have been on the net as early as 2005 and who have passionate fans and are still generating bigger numbersquot She says there are 30 more quotstarsquot waiting in the wings to become involvedquotWhen Walter Sabo approached me with the ideaquot Caitlin explains quotI thought it was a great opportunity for both me and my friends I can help protect others from bad deals and also they can make an income from their workquot In response to a challenge about talent producing commerciallyfunded videos Caitlin responded quoteveryone is making money off the medium There are online video stars with 150000 subscribers who are already earning Google AdSense money and everyone is trying to get a piece of the Google enterprise People don39t use the term 39sell out39 as much as they did before YouTube We are doing bigger deals now and we will also learn watch trends and watch who39s coming up and down This is a journey and I39m excited about learning the marketing business and learning to be creative and professional It39s not every day a 20year old gets to meet people like Bob Weinstein Reese and Walter I get to learn from them and they help make me and my friends a lot of money and show that online user generated video is a real medium and it works for marketersquotHitviews offers marketers and agencies one stop shopping handling creative video production editing music scoring rights management and distribution wherever the brand wants But Sabo adds the brand has full control and approval before videos are distributed Hitviews39 talent Nalts generated more than 680000 views for videos produced for Readeramp8217s Digest httpwwwyoutubecomwatchvAthB586MBj0 and distributed on YouTube and Yahoo httpwwwyoutubecomwatchvRrluxjfCspg Hitviews39 talent Mr Safety produced videos for TiVo httpwwwyoutubecomwatchvNKRX5Z68sZk and httpwwwyoutubecomwatchvojnSEtD8SfI that have generated more than 140000 views to date plus 3000 viewer comments Hitviews39 investor Bob Weinstein comments quotrather than guessing how web video works these entertainers have figured IT out A brand that has an urgent message to present on the Internet should cut the risk and let these entertainers become the messengersquot Gary Slaight Hitviews39 largest investor adds quotHitviews has created a unique model that makes it easy for brands to put their message and product in videos made by proven entertainers who Intuitively understand the Internet This cuts risk and response is instantaneousquot Allen Shaw suggests quotHitviews reminds me of what FM rock radio did to help establish brands like Toyota and Sony among young consumers in the 1970squotOn December 8 Caitlin will be the youngest person ever to receive the National Arts Club39s Medal of Honor at an event in New York City quotI kind of like the attentionquot says Caitlin quotbut it39s overwhelming I feel like a fish out of waterquot Perhaps she39s just introducing the traditional arts world to a whole new pond For more information on Hitviews contact Caitlinhitviewscom or walterhitviewscom Jack Myers advises emerging media companies on marketing and revenue strategies Contact Jack at jmjackmyerscom amp160

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

YouTube's Biggest Viral Video Stars Sign With Hitviews to Tap Into Marketers' Budgets

Author

Publish date

Channel

Jack Myers

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

More Videos:

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

YouTube's Biggest Viral Video Stars Sign With Hitviews to Tap Into Marketers' Budgets

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Jack Myers

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

The payment was successful

Cookies