On April 4, at Simulmedia in New York, PromaxBDA’s latest Emerging Media Workshop informed and enlightened a packed house with speakers from Guide, Xfinity and Frank N. Magid Associates.

Following each presentation, members could use their mobile devices to ask questions, and many took advantage. Below, we present the first round of questions from the Guide presentation, and the company’s corresponding answers. We will be posting additional answers from all three companies on a daily basis, so check back in for new installments!

Questions for Guide

Answered by: Leslie Bradshaw, COO

Are you still in beta?

We are currently in an invite-only private beta. We plan to be in the Apple and Android app stores in mid-May.

How are you finding partners?

We are looking for three important types of partners: publishers, advertisers and personality licensors. For each, things have been unfolding in really exciting and fruitful ways.

For publishers, we are proactively reaching out to top-tier outlets as well as receiving inbound interest from a variety of publishers big and small.

For advertisers, we are entertaining conversations with advertisers that are looking to try out a new and innovative ad format (the sponsored avatar). We are also looking to bring in brands that make sense for the content and audience we are serving, namely that the brand will add value by being a part of the Guide ecosystem in a permissive, value-add way. Our CEO and founder Freddie Laker served as the VP of global strategy at SapientNitro where he worked directly with brands like Unilever, ESPN and Coca-Cola; his

blue chip relationships have been great starting points for soundboard conversations.

For personality licensors, we are having some really interesting conversations with Internet celebrities, Hollywood celebrities, athletes and animation studios about licensing their personalities to develop custom news anchors for purchase. We are working through our adviser and investor Omar Epps (actor/producer) for many of these opportunities, as well as proactively reaching out to top online personalities.

How is the deal structured?

We structure revenue sharing based on a 70/30 split, depending on who brings the advertising deal to the table. If there are in-app purchases being made, there will be standard splits in place, which we are currently modeling.

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