Awesomeness TV focuses on Gen Z and branded content at first NewFront
Multi-channel network Awesomeness TV focused on the spending-power of the debt-free and influential Gen Z generation at the company’s first-ever NewFront presentation on Thursday.
“When you’re trying to engage them, they’re the most influential generation ever,” CEO Brian Robbins said. “They’re the ones driving household decisions – purchase decisions.”
President Brett Bouttier furthered Robbins’ sentiment in a follow-up interview with Cynopsis Digital “What’s happening now for really the first time in the 80-plus year development of the media landscape is that the younger demos – who have always been early adopters – are now influencing the way other demographics consume media,” he said. “They’re not growing into older demographics’ patterns – they’re actually influencing the older demographics to behave more like them. It means that more people are watching TV on devices, and on demand.”
With a family of investors comprised of Dreamworks Animation (51%), Verizon (24.5%), who they'll be launching a premium service with, and Hearst (24.5%), it’s clear that big media is interested. Complicating things, however, is NBCU’s recent acquisition of Dreamworks Animation, which Robbins did not address.
The multi-channeler also talked about Signal, a program in-partnership with digital analytics firm Zefr. The program charts 10,000 content types in order to inform branded content distribution across platforms. Awesomeness also has a deal with interactive agency, Brightline, to develop branded interactive experiences.”
Awesomeness also announced that it is now available on Apple TV, as well as Kik, the chat-bot app that has taken college campuses by storm. According to Robbins, Kik is used by 40% of teens in the U.S.
Their new content includes a scripted series in partnership with the MLB, the Kids’ Game Awards, a digital video-game voting show, as well as renewals for original series Royal Crush and Guidance.
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