Ypulse Mashup Sponsor Interview: Chris Williams, Take 180
Posted by meredith on 04-20-2010
Today’s Ypulse Interview is with Chris Williams, General Manager for Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup Roundtable sponsor Take 180, an online video network for teens and young adults which launched in March 2009 and recently debuted the second season of its popular web series “I <3 Vampires.” We caught up with Chris via email to find out more about what goes into producing the original shorts (nothing longer than 3 minutes, hence the 180!) and what comes next for the growing network.
Ypulse: Can you describe how content is created for Take 180? How much viewer input is involved?
Chris Williams: We start with our audience (primarily females 13-17) and ask them to participate in authentic ways. For example, on “I <3 Vampires,” our main characters run the biggest fansite for a fictional book series, which gives us a device for having them speak directly to the audience through vlogs that are incorporated into the show. When they get into trouble, they ask the audience for help, with the winning responses actually dictating the plot of a future episode. Sometimes, video responses from the audience literally appear within an episode. On “Electric Spoofaloo,” we ask the audience if they have a question for a (fake) celebrity, and for ideas on how to spoof movies or TV shows, and those ideas are produced into episodes. We go from audience participation to selecting a winner to producing a video in a matter of weeks.
YP: What unique advantages and disadvantages are there for web series compared with traditional broadcast television shows?
CW: Since we all use the internet as a two-way communications platform, the main advantage for a web series is that we have an amazing opportunity to create deep and highly engaged relationships with the audience. In today’s cluttered media environment, those relationships are absolutely critical to growing and monetizing audiences. That clutter probably represents the main disadvantage to web series, as well. The web is the greatest distraction machine the world has ever known. That’s why we’re all about creating engagement, forging relationships through participation, and developing series that create value for existing communities, such as vampire fans.
YP: How do those advantages and disadvantages apply specifically to a teen audience?
CW: Teens are most open to web series, since they spend so much of their free time online and are used to engaging with content. On the flip side, breaking out of the clutter is the greatest challenge facing any company developing web content.
YP: Why do you think networks have had so much trouble translating web series into long form content on TV (quarterlife, College Humor Show)? Are there any plans to take any of the Take 180 shows to another platform?
CW: Frankly, translating anything to television is tough. We have seen that the web audience favors different attributes in a web series, such as developing a personal connection with someone on-screen, which is more difficult to foster on TV.
T180 has plans to engage audiences via mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone and on social networking platforms, specifically Facebook.
YP: What has changed on the Take 180 site since the official launch last year? Can you describe some of the new developments you’re most excited about?
CW: We increasingly think of Take180 as a network rather than a site and have focused a lot of our resources on our YouTube channel, which now has over 200,000 subscribers. We’ve also made participation more essential to our content so that its impact is more than superficial. We’ve really started focusing on two primary franchises, one dramatic, “I <3 Vampires” and one comedic, “Electric Spoofaloo.” Within each franchise, we produce a range of segments and other content. For example, with “Electric Spoofaloo,” which we want teens to think of as SNL for their generation, we have created a variety of segments such as “The Faux-1-1” and “Fake Celebrity Auditions.” With “I <3 Vampires” we’ve expanded the universe by creating numerous spinoff shows. Because the main show is about two fangirls of a fictional book series, the audience demanded that we make the book real. We obliged and are releasing the chapters one by one online.
YP: Do you think we’ll see the dialogue around branded entertainment change between studios, brands, and talent or do you think we’ll still see brands struggling to get on board?
CW: The dialogue is constantly changing, and the consumer leads. In the end, whoever produces content that engages an audience will ultimately lead the conversation.
YP: Anything else Ypulse readers should know?
CW: Yes! Last year, we focused on audience growth through high quality content and are proud to announce we just received three Official Honoree designations in this year’s Webby Awards and are now generating over 5 million video views per month across our network. We’ve also begun telling our story to outside brand marketers. As part of The Walt Disney Company, we started internally with several campaigns in support of other Disney business units that have been major successes. For example, a series of Spoofaloo episodes sponsored by Walt Disney Pictures’ “G-Force” last year produced our most viewed video ever, “Guinew Moon,” with over 7 million total views. The campaign demonstrably moved the needle with the teen audience’s desire to see the movie.
About Take180
Take180 is a new online network targeting teens that features broadcast-quality shows made with audience participation. With its official launch in April 2009, members of Take180 contribute videos, stories, photos and artwork in response to specific challenges from the show producers. Winning submissions are featured in future episodes, and the winners of each challenge receive various prizes. Much of Take180’s original web content revolves around pop culture and what’s happening now in youth culture.
Categorized under: 2010 Mashup, Tweens, Web