Collaboration with creators is vital for brands working with digital producers and talent, says Jason Krebs, Head of Sales at Maker Studios, in an interview with Ashley J. Swartz, CEO of Furious Minds, for Beet.TV. Maker Studios creates and distributes video content focused on millenials and its videos generate 6.5 billion views each month to more than 450 million subscribers.
The talent that Maker Studios works with is closely involved in programming, production and branded content, Krebs says. “Brands needs to understand that creators have an audience for a reason and speak in their voice and if they don’t speak in their voice the creators won’t do it,” he says. Specifically, if a creator produces a video that feels inauthentic, chances are they’ll lose audience and therefore money. That sort of “self-preservation” helps ensure the branded content process is collaborative and worthwhile to both parties, he says.
Maker Studios is owned by Disney, which acquired the digital content network for up to $950 million this past spring. “There is a natural alignment. We are in a huge movie production company now so there are dozens of other stories we can attach to online video,” he explains, pointing to a video for the Maleficent film in which a Maker Studios makeup artist showed her audience how to become Maleficent. “Disney didn’t have that before joining Maker. We have folks who bring those things to life,” he says.
We interviewed Krebs at the Beet.TV leadership summit on branded video. You can find additional videos from the event here.
