DECA

Power doesn’t come easily in the digital content world.

Despite the buzz about the iPad or Foursquare, audiences and revenues generated by programming on PCs or wireless devices is still a pittance compared with that on such established mediums as film and TV. But measured by the more intangible metric of influence, even the slightest innovation can portend big changes to come in the evolving media business.

Which makes the accomplishments of the 50 men and women highlighted in The Hollywood Reporter’s third annual Digital Power issue worth noting.

The second deal was for a collection based on the Web site goodbite.com, called Good Bite’s Weeknight Meals: Delicious Made Easy. The site features video recipe demonstrations by a number of popular food bloggers, and the cookbook will bring together a mix of those recipes to, as Glick said, “demonstrate a range of styles and flavors.” Wiley is planning a fall 2011 publication.

By supplying content in a robust, visual manner through video, you can engage audiences on a whole new level. Momversation does this very well through a network of online influencers who contribute videos on topics of interest to moms, ranging from sick days to learning disabilities, to how to keep your kids healthy. The videos provide additional exposure for the influencers involved, and another forum for ad-based revenue.

For marketers, this is a reminder that today’s video goes beyond the traditional 30-second spot. Production quality can vary, length of time can vary, and even tone can be modified, but as with social media, the voice and the content should be authentic and genuine.

The ad market for original online video has been hit hard of late by the recession and an oversaturated market.

But the online video startup firm Deca has scored a spate of successes—particularly with traditional brands—by focusing on aggregating and nurturing grassroots Web talent. The company has unveiled a branded entertainment video program for General Mills’ Betty Crocker on its recently launched property Good Bite, as well as a new service-oriented parenting site called Parents Ask.

DECA, an acronym for Digital Entertainment Corp. of America, is exploring several ways to produce Web series in unusually marketer-centric ways. It seeks extended sponsorships—generally three months or longer, the prices for which start in the six figures—for specific properties. Rather than attempting to import to the Web the scripted series model birthed by television, DECA capitalizes on existing bloggers’ popularity to build properties that feature established online personalities and are aimed at specific demographic slices. It also enlists its talent to make and star in commercials for its advertisers. If this works, DECA will have found a way to fund online video—having a long-term sponsor or two significantly reduces the pressure to sell lots of ads—and bring chary advertisers into a new media realm.

DECA is always surprising me. It really looks at the digital space as a blank canvas and constantly rethinks and reinvents what a content experience might look like. Some projects it’s developed over the last year include the innovative vlogger aggregated show Momversation and expansion of the Smosh empire. And in addition to developing and expanding great shows, it also develops the brand utilities that surround shows and motivation strategies.

Momversation’s Heather Armstrong, Karen Walrond, Giyen Kim, Mindy Roberts, and Daphne Brogdon (also of Cool Mom) were featured on the April 6, 2009 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Secret Lives of Moms.