video interview at ad:tech NY

by Kevin Doohan

Just came across this iMedia Connection interview online thanks to @jdoohan's Google search for me+machinima.  I always love talking with Bethany (@bethanysimpson).  She's the best.  ad:tech was a great event as always.  I learned as much (probably more) than I shared, I reconnected with old friends and I made some valuable new ones.

Machinima featured in today's New York Times

by Kevin Doohan

So stoked that this article came together the way it did.  It's the biggest PR win for us since I joined as the marketing leader in September.

I was really hoping that Brooks Barnes (@BrooksBarnesNYT) would be stoked on what's happening at Machinima.  He totally got it.  I'm honored that he took the time to learn about our business and our deep connection with our young male audience.  The Machinima team works our asses off to deliver value for our viewers, advertisers, and partners.  Recognition like this means a lot. 

A significant passage:

But Machinima has rapidly evolved into a must-visit site for young men by improving the quality of its programming. The company’s mission is not dissimilar to that of cable channels: gain a foothold with inexpensive content (in Machinima’s case it was user-generated videos) and then use that perch to attract higher-quality programs, as AMC did with “Mad Men.”  Ultimately, Machinima intends to produce its own long-form episodic series.

Look at many networks through history and you'll find they didn't have much of their own intellectual property when they started.  Machinima uses MTV in the 80s a lot as a comparison but think about it... MTV started out as only music videos and VJs.  They built a brand on that content and evolved the brand and network to a place where they developed their own formats and series.  The original MTV series are what define the network today.

That's the track Machinima is on.  We have a loyal global audience built across a diverse base of content.  We are now introducing our audience to longer form narrative content that's on point for our brand and their tastes.  Across formats, devices, and channels.... Machinima is advancing the first dominant global video entertainment brand born in the 21st century on the YouTube platform.  I'm honored to be a leader on the team.

Click on the image below or click here to read the whole piece.

Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome Debuts on Machinima Prime

by Kevin Doohan

I haven't had time to write much because my role at Machinima consumes virtually every moment of my time.  It's tough to learn and execute at the same time and our business is fairly complex.  Still, I have a better handle on it every day and I'm excited for the future.

Despite the furious pace at work, I made time to take a moment and post our latest long format original content release here on kevindoohan.com.  We partnered up with SyFy to be the exclusive premiering digital distribution channel for Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome.  This is a first in terms of pre-airing a television series on YouTube before airing on linear and selling on DVD.  

The combined Machinima and UCP teams jammed on PR and promotions around the series launch.  As I type, a little over 24 hours after launch, we're at about 465,000 views.  This compares really favorably to the first 24 hours for HALO 4 Forward Unto Dawn considering the tactics we used for each.  I cannot wait to see how the whole series performs.