Bell Media’s Much brand celebrated its 31st birthday in August 2014, meaning that activist Jack Weinberg’s famous warning “Don’t trust anyone over 30” suddenly applied to a media brand long synonymous with youth culture.
Much entered the growing multi-channel network space with the May 2015 launch of Much Digital Studios. Announcing the online venture, the company described it as the “next natural step” in the evolution of the Much brand as it sought to retain – and possibly even grow – its core audience of people 12-34.
Yet there was some uncertainty around the venture, with Justin Stockman, Bell’s vice-president, business and channel strategy, calling it a “complete experiment” for the media company. “This was a totally new world for us,” he said. “We weren’t sure how it was going to go, but we’re really happy with the results.”
In the year since its launch, Much Digital Studios has grown its “creator” roster from 13 to 44, spanning multiple content verticals including comedy, music and lifestyle. “We’re now running a talent management company,” joked Stockman, noting that Bell is committed to having 100 creators on its roster by the end of the year.
The company has also worked hard to ensure its creators are a reflection of Much’s youth audience by enlisting creators from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. “We were really focused on diversity, because we feel that young people in Canada are an incredibly diverse group and don’t always get to see themselves reflected back at them,” said Stockman.
To date, its creators have garnered more than 200 million combined video views (they are currently averaging more than 5 million views per week), with some personalities also appearing on Bell-owned linear properties such as E-Talk and The Social.
Many of its creator partners have also seen their profile increase as part of Much Digital Studios:
- Comedian Jus Reign’s subscriber base increased 38% to more than 720,000. He has also landed a repeating gig as co-host of The IHeartRadio MMVA Red Carpet show;
- Vlogger and The Danocracy personality Dan James now has 305,000 subscribers, representing a 296% increase since joining Much Digital Studios;
- Deejdesign has seen his subscriber base grow 951% to more than 62,000 since joining Much Digital Studios in November.
While Stockman declined to be anything other than “purposely vague” about revenue numbers, Much Digital has also enlisted a long list of brand partners including Taco Bell, Puma, U by Kotex, Ubisoft, Virgin Mobile Canada and L’Oréal.
“Our goal is to find true incremental dollars,” said Stockman. “We didn’t want this to cannibalize our existing business [and] we’re very pleased with the results so far. They more than justify the investment.”
Catherine Halliday, Bell’s group manager of brand partnerships, said Much Digital Studios has “absolutely” exceeded the company’s initial sales expectations. She said the venture has enabled the company to successfully meet “at least 75%” of the client briefs it receives for the Much brand.
“Every brief that comes in, we have a bank of 40 different creators [that we can call on],” said Halliday.
Halliday said the venture had produced “other wins” aside from revenue, most notably on metrics such as video views and time spent. The recent contest for feminine care brand U By Kotex, which featured creators The Baker Twins and Tasha Leelyn, led to a more than 50% increase in entries over last year.
A typical Much Digital Studios brand partnership involves one or two YouTube videos that Bell amplifies via a combination of pre-roll video and on-air spots. Creators typically have editorial control over the videos, said Halliday.
“We like to make sure that whatever it is that they’re talking to their fans about is authentic and something they would be doing on their platform anyway,” she said. “We’ll give them a brand and the concept and have them do some brainstorming on what might work for their audience.”
Much Digital Studios also boasts a significantly faster production time than standard integrated partnerships. According to Halliday, campaigns can be turned around in as little as three weeks, compared to eight weeks for a typical brand integration.
For brands that do request a certain amount of campaign oversight, Bell will bring a creator to its studio to work alongside the client. “Some advertisers are really open to let the creators talk to their audience the way they normally would, but anybody who has a brand they want to protect and ensure that they communicate with more control we’ll bring them in-house,” said Halliday.
Much Digital Studios has a dedicated full-time staff of three people who manage its stable of creators, and also pulls in people from various departments including PR and brand partnerships.
While much of its creator roster is focused on YouTube, Much Digital Studios also boasts people with expertise in various social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and Vine. The company is also looking at other creators that could possibly be a fit with other properties in its portfolio, although Stockman said that those discussions remain in the “exploratory” stage.
