Beet.TV

Uber Agent to the Web Video Stars: This Is Becoming a "Real Business"

YouTube's $100 million investment in original content has helped accelerate the business of online video, and many Web stars are now making a living from their online work, said George Ruiz, Head of New Media SVP Business Affairs at ICM, during an interview with Beet.TV at the Digitas NewFront in New York last week. "A lot of clients have turned Web video into a real business and it's their day to day business now," he says in this video interview. He adds that he attended the NewFront in part to network with both potential brand partners as well as portal partners. His client Jenna Marblesjas amassed nearly half a billion views for YouTube channel. Other Ruiz clients with strong online video viewerships include Felicia Day and Kevin Pollak.

All Media Should be Earned, Digitas Creative Chief Says Many brands are focused on the new paradigm of paid media and earned media, but all media should actually be earned, including the ads made for the Web, said Mark Beeching, Worldwide Chief Creative and Strategy Officer at Digitas, during an interview with Beet.TV at the Digitas NewFront in New York last week."All media must be earned whether you own it or not. What is the content doing to earn attention and create value?" he poses during this video interview. Consumers can easily ignore advertising messages, and that's why the moniker of "earned media" should apply across the board inluding to paid media, he says.He also elaborates on trends in online video including the larger role data is playing in bringing brands on board. Marketers are relying on the plethora of data now available to them to help reach the targeted audiences online. More content is being produced specifically for digital distribution rather than simply being repurposed for the Web, he adds.