AwesomenessTV Goes To TV (Again) With New Roku App

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by Sahil Patel

AwesomenessTV has launched an app on Roku.

Developed by 1 Mainstream, the app features all of the multi-channel network’s original content, including shows like Side Effects, The Jenn & Andrea Show, and Runaways. Other content includes shows and videos featuring beauty tips, teen advice, celebrity gossip, sketch comedy, and pranks produced by the youth-oriented digital media company.

The move to Roku for AwesomenessTV continues the trend of YouTube-built media companies expanding to other platforms in order to attract new revenue streams. Fullscreen is also working on a Roku app as well as an over-the-top video platform, while Maker Studios has launched an owned-and-operated platform called Maker.TV as well as apps for some of its creators in recent months.

For its part AwesomenessTV, which was acquired by DreamWorks Animation in a deal that could be worth $117 million, has been pretty active in expanding its brand to other platforms. The company has a weekly TV show on Nickelodeon and a feature film in the works with Vine stars Nash Grier and Cameron Dallas, among other projects.

News of AwesomenessTV’s Roku app launch was first reported by Variety.

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

Brands Are Beginning To Show An Interest With ‘The Whistle’

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The sports-focused multi-channel network The Whistle celebrated its recent success of accumulating 6.7 million subscribers earlier this month by opening a brand new studio in Dallas in addition to their existing offices in New York and LA. This YouTube allstar has garnered over 1 billion views, has a carefully curated network of 135 partner channels, and is now pushing to conquer the YouTube sports platform even further by attempting to team up with Xbox.

Last Friday, The Whistle launched its own free native app for Xbox featuring exclusive video content from their partner networks. The Whistle holds partnerships with some of the most popular sports creators on YouTube and has even configured deals with most major league sports, including the NFL, MLB.com, MLS, the PGA Tour, NASCAR, The Harlem Globetrotters, Major League Lacrosse and the Association of Volleyball Professionals–all of whom are scheduled to provide content for the app.

Considering Xbox and the Whistle already share a similar target demographic, with a platform that is also known for sports gaming, the potential crossover is highly appealing.

According to The Whistle’s EVP Brian Selander, the company’s goal is to “bring compelling sports content to the platforms where fans are spending their time.”

Brands are already showing interest in The Whistle’s new community. For example, Subaru has decided to sponsor the launch of the app, as well as collaborate with Whistle partner and Ultimate Frisbee star Brodie Smith on a video that will be featured on the platform to promote the launch.

 

Acura Lets You Build Cars With Tweets

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Making the ideal car can be a strenuous process, especially when it comes to browsing through the various details and putting everything just the way it should be. Not to mention paying for it, which can be a struggle in itself. However, Acura has come up with a unique way for you to create a vehicle with very minimal effort.

The car manufacturer has launched a new program where you can modify your own 2015 TLX performance luxury sedan (well, virtually, anyway) by simply putting together characters in Twitter.

“Here’s something you haven’t seen before. Configure your dream 2015 Acura TLX below without ever leaving Twitter,” the company said in a tweet from its official account.

So here’s how it works for users. First, they pick which engine they prefer for the car (either a 206 HP four-cylinder or 290 HP-V6). From there, they can use which kind of steering they want, between Precision All-Wheel and Super Handling. Next up is exterior color, with black, metallic and blue choices available. After choosing these three items, users will see a final image of their vehicle, which they can then tweet out to their friends however they see fit.

So maybe it’s not the deepest customization system available, but it does provide users a chance to build somewhat of a dream car with just a few simple keystrokes. Plus, it’s free, up until you want to buy the car, that is, so it never hurts to dream and see what you can build.

The campaign, put together by the team at Mullen, is the biggest for Acura to date, as it utilizes both promoted tweets and accounts alike. The company’s Facebook page will also keep busy with TLX videos, as well as spots on television.

Michael Accavitti, senior vice president and general manager for Acura, said, “The TLX heralds a new era for the Acura sedan lineup and the scale of the marketing effort behind the launch signifies the importance of the model both to the brand and its position within the luxury sedan market.”

So, get to building!

Source: Digiday

#MustReads for August 22

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Here’s some of the interesting stories we found this week rummaging in the odd corners of the Internet. There’s some deep thoughts and a laugh or two for you to digest this weekend:

The Internet’s Original Sin: It was advertising, according to Ethan Zuckerman, one of the architects of this. It’s a long piece that’s thought-provoking. What should the Internet be like

Social Media Marketing is Dead: Jeff Fromm has an interesting take on this. Don’t be wary of the headline. Social media marketing isn’t dead, per se. It’s just a component of your ‘content excellence’ strategy.

Swing Copters, clones and the dismal failure of the ‘open’ app store: Ben Kuchera at Polygon tells it like he sees it. The trouble with an ‘open’ app store is the variety of attempts to mislead consumers trying to find the real game.

Ad of the Day: Bryan Cranston and Arron Paul Reunite in Audi’s Hilarious Emmys Promo: One of the best ads we’ve seen in a while, with a great twist at the end.

Does Journalism Have A Future : Something to consider when you think about the future of media.

Is Twitter The Only Authentic Platform With Its User Content?

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If you are an avid Facebook user you have undoubtedly seen an abundance of “Ice Bucket Challenge” videos flood your timeline for the past week and a half. If you are an avid Twitter user, however, chances are most of your updates have consisted of the recent shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

But why? Well, (believe it or not) there is a method to this madness.

According to a piece done by Digiday, a social media analytics company called SimpleReach has provided data that suggests, while there have been far more stories published about Ferguson over the past week and a half, Ferguson stories are far less popular on Facebook than Ice Bucket Challenge content.

Ferguson stories have generated an average of 256 Facebook referrals, while Ice Bucket Challenge stories are garnering an average of 2,106. More so, Ice bucket stories have received a greater number of Facebook interactions ( likes, shares, comments) with an average of 796 compared to Ferguson stories with 518.

This being said, Twitter has generated over 3.6 million Ferguson-related tweets sent between Aug. 9 (the day Brown was killed), and Aug. 17, compared with 2.3 million Ice Bucket Challenge tweets, via Digiday.

The reason for this Twitter is a platform that consists of an unfiltered stream of everyone a user follows. Facebook, on the other hand, has an algorithm that selects specific content to show its users. Additionally, Twitter provides analytics companies access to its data, while Facebook does not provide complete access.

These differences tell us is that there is something fundamental about the two platforms. According to Razorfish’s senior director Matt Heindl, a key element is that Facebook is “a place for friends and family and fun,” Heindl told Digiday. “People want it to be their happy place.” Or, in other words, aside from election season, Facebook is a forum that doesn’t provide hard news.

As a member of the public, this leaves you questioning the quality of Facebook’s content. While content involving the militarization of the police and America’s painful racial history may indeed seem out of place next to wedding photos and relationship statuses, Facebook’s inability to present such topical conversations undermines its recent efforts to become a authentic news source.

According to group director of social and content strategy at DigitasLBi Jill Sherman, Facebook’s algorithm “may actually hinder the ability to surface breaking-news stories.”

“Facebook has a few more kinks to work out if it intends to be a more serious breaking-news outlet,” said Sherman. “But there’s value to both the way Facebook is set up and the way Twitter is set up. People are at each for different reasons.”

This all implicates that relying solely on Facebook’s algorithmic content streams can result in a kind of censorship. Users are deprived a choice in what they get to see, whereas anything goes on Twitter.
Source: Digiday

HP Makes TV Ad Entirely Of Vines

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Hewlett-Packard has enlisted some social media star-power for its latest campaign.

About a week and a half ago, HP unveiled a new 30-second spot for the Pavilion x360 — a notebook that can also turn into a tablet — made entirely out of Vines.

Since then, the software company has teamed up with several famous Viners to promote the notebook on its own personal Vine account. If you visit HP’s Vine, you will see the likes of Zach King, Brodie Smith, and Robby Ayala all pushing the new the Pavilion x360 while showing off their Vine-ing abilities and including a #BendTheRules hashtag {link no longer active}.

Take a look at some of the best ones below and let us know what you think in the comments.

‘Prank It FWD’ Campaign Comes Back In Time For The Holidays

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by Jessica Klein

Break.com’s “Prank It FWD” will return with its inspiringly sneaky antics starting today, when viewers can begin nominating people deserving of kind acts during the holidays. The digital campaign garnered over 30 million views since it came out with a number of “positive” videos this past April Fools, encouraging people to use pranks to achieve something more than a laugh. “Prank It FWD” will build on this concept during the second season’s launch this coming holiday season.

“Prank It FWD” partners with DoSomething.org to draw attention to the problems of homelessness and poverty in the U.S. For every 1,000 views, Break.com will donate a dollar to the cause, along with an additional dollar for every social media mention and share.

Viewers can submit to the digital campaign at PrankitFWD.com, which will feature original video from Defy Media’s Break.com, Smosh, Screen Junkies, and Greg Benson. Further talent contributing to the campaign has yet to be announced.

“’Prank it FWD’ gave the world a dose of positive pranks and was overwhelmingly embraced by viewers, confirming our notion that positive uplifting messages have incredible power to connect and impact the lives of others in a meaningful way,” Barry Blumberg, Defy Media’s EVP noted. “The outpouring of support and positivity we saw from our first iteration of ‘Prank it FWD’ was inspiring, and it was clear that we needed to move the effort forward and go bigger.”

Past “Prank It FWD” pranks came from high school seniors and vloggers like Manuela Baron alike. The first season’s most popular video, “Best Shift Ever,” showed Chelsea Roff, a California waitress, receiving tips that went from $1,000 to all the way up to a new car.

 

Canadian Clothing Retailer Gives Instagram Influencers Free Reign

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In an effort to prove that, when it comes to fall fashion, it’s not all about the product, but rather the people who are wearing them, Canadian clothing retailer Aritzia has created a new fall collection is called #FallForUs.

#FallForUs is a big step for marketers and advertisers alike. Aritzia is giving star Instagrammers the creative reign to show off their own style with their products, proving yet again that marketers should take note to trust influencers with their own audience.

The collection is designed to inspire falling in love with a particular piece of clothing as opposed to what is going to fit or look best. The catch The campaign is utilizing Instagram as the platform for revealing these new styles. Each model participating in the collection gets to choose their own outfits based on what they like the most out of the new featured items. Some notable women taking part in #FallForUs include Samira Wiley from Orange is the New Black, Once Upon A Time regular Jamie Chung, DJ Alix Brown, comedian Chelsea Peretti and more, each showing off their own distinct style. Aritzia is also pushing to get the faces of women from all walks of life looking happy and carefree, promising wearers the same thing if they pick up these products.

“I think you can really see each woman’s individual personality come through. They let me go for this whole fuzzy Eskimo vibe that I was really feeling for some reason on an unbelievably humid day in New York,” said actress Greta Lee who, according to PSFK, told Style.com that the brand was more than willing to let her choose her own look, even if it was a tad bizarre.

Additionally, Aritzia is encouraging people to pick up these brand new items either in store or online and then post pictures of them wearing it on Instagram using the hashtag #FallForUs. Aritzia hopes this will usher in a collection that is more than just a catalogue of pretty pictures, but rather a growing lookbook of people who don’t just look good, but feel good, too.

Source: PSFK

In The Niche SnapChat Leaves, Sobrr Gains Userbase Quickly

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Ephemeral apps are having quite the hayday. With Snapchat continuing to gain prominence with users and marketers, there was a niche that Sobrr creator Bruce Yang felt was yet to be filled: the kind that seems uniquely suited to sharing and then deleting raucous party photos. Sobrr was created with the same ethos as the city of Las Vegas.

“Life in the moment,” Sobrr’s catchphrase is perfectly apt and demonstrates the appeal of these share and forget ‘em apps that are so catching these days. No worries about that the questionable keg stand photo in the following morning daze.

Since the app dropped in July, it’s already gained an impressive 10,000 users and is currently finalizing a $1 million dollar seed round from IDG Ventures. Yang already has in mind that bars and restaurants will be using its location-based features in the future, luring partiers with temporary discounts, although a broad appeal for marketers is obvious.

Yang is foreseeing a sharp increase in users come fall, when social-savvy college students return to campus, ostensibly wanting to curb any possibility of ruining job prospects with less than professional photos.

“We want to help people stay sober online, while they have all kinds of craziness offline,” said Yang.

 

Here Are The Nominees For The Fourth Annual Streamy Awards

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by Jessica Klein

Nominees for the fourth annual Streamy Awards {link no longer active} were announced today, giving digital video fans a preview for what’s to play out during the award ceremony on Sunday, September 7 in California’s Beverly Hills.

Presented by Coca-Cola, the Streamys cover original digital video across 47 categories, from comedy to gaming to pranks. Honors include two Audience Choice Awards, which mean audiences get to vote for their favorite online creators.

Starting at 7:30 p.m. PT on September 7, the Streamys will also be available to watch via live streaming on streamys.org. Though 16 category winners will receive their awards live on that date, a reception at the YouTube Space LA will honor the other 31 on September 4.

This year, the Streamys are also honoring creators in several new categories, including gaming, beauty, pranks, science and education, sports, kids and family, and one that pays homage to traditional TV shows that are working to further engage viewers through digital video and social media. One new category will also honor Vine video creators.

Produced by Dick Clark productions, the fourth annual Streamy Awards are executive produced by Drew Baldwin, Assaf Blecher, and Joshua Cohen. You can find a full list of this year’s nominees below:

Channel, Show, or Series – Overall

 Comedy

Companion

Drama

Non-Fiction or Reality

Channel, Show, or Series – Subject

Action and Sci-Fi

Beauty

Dance

Fashion

Food and Cuisine

  • Anthony Eats America {link no longer active}
  • Epic Meal Time
  • Nerdy Nummies
  • SortedFood
  • Thristy For…  {link no longer active}

Gaming

  • PewDiePie
  • Smosh Games
  • SourceFed Nerd
  • Stampylonghead
  • TableTop {link no longer active}

Health and Wellness

Kids and Family

News and Current Events

Pranks

  • FouseyTube
  • JackValeFilms
  • Prank it FWD
  • Roman Atwood
  • Stuart Edge

Science and Education

Sports

Special

Animated

First Person

Indie

  • Bad Timing {link no longer active}
  • Destroy The Alpha Gammas
  • Little Horribles
  • Sad Motivator
  • The Platoon of Power Squadron

International

  • Alaa Wardi (Saudi Arabia)
  • EnchufeTV (Ecuador)
  • Galo Frito (Brazil)
  • Neymar Jr: Life Outside the Fields (Brazil)
  • Noob (France)

Performance

Actress in a Comedy

  • Johanna Braddy, Video Game High School {link no longer active}
  • Brittany Furlan, SHFTY ~ Super Happy Fun Time, Yay!
  • Mamrie Hart, You Deserve A Drink
  • Charlotte Newhouse, Idiotsitter {link no longer active}
  • Joanna Sotomura, Emma Approved {link no longer active}

Actress in a Drama

Actor in a Comedy

Actor in a Drama

Collaboration

Ensemble Cast

Music

Cover Song

Music Video

Musical Artist

Original Song

Craft

Choreography

Cinematography

Costume Design

Directing

Editing

Original Score

Visual and Special Effects

Writing

Vine

Vine Comedian

Vine Creativity

Viner of the Year

Campaign or Event

Brand Campaign

Live Event

Public Service

Television

Television Show

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.