DECA

DECA CEO and the appointed IAWTV chairman of the board Michael Wayne gamely parried a wide variety of questions, desires and dissents from a roomful of members and would-be members, many of whom had flown to LA for the event.

For now, the IAWTV’s principal responsibility is to run the second-annual Streamy Awards show next year, but along the way it’s also hoping to structure itself in the Hollywood mold. Wayne laid out a plan for 22 peer groups — which sounds rather unwieldy given the total current membership is around 100. But to be fair, the second part of his session was addressed to prospective members, and the room for that was packed. No actual academy business was carried out; this was more of an informational meeting.

Carl’s Jr., the CKE Restaurant fast food retail chain, in June sponsored Smosh, a Deca-produced comedy sketch for teens and 20-somethings. In addition to their normal slapstick humor episodes about picking up girls, Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, the two young hosts of the show, dedicated a two-minute short to their preferred methods of eating what they refer to in full as “a Carl’s Jr. portabello mushroom $6 burger.” The video, which can be seen on the Smosh Web site, YouTube and a number of social networking and video sites, has pulled in over 1.3 million views.

“Reaching our target audience, males 18 to 34, is really challenging with traditional media,” says Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing at Carl’s Jr. “Guys aren’t watching TV shows, but they are on the Web, tuning into videos.” The ability to reach the right audience coupled with the low cost of production made it absolutely worth doing, Haley says.

Audiences in this space also tend to be more engaged, says Michael Wayne, Deca co-founder and CEO. On Momversation, a Target-sponsored talk show run by mothers, moms can post videos with their reactions to episodes. “This isn’t passive TV,” Wayne says. “It’s engaging audiences and marketers like that.”

DECA is not about big splashy production, or name Hollywood talent – instead they are successfully delivering content that is “of the Web, by the Web, and for the Web.” Their programming model is focused on creating information based formats that leverage already established web talent in verticals like Moms and Cooking. We see DECA as a leader in the emerging content space and great partner for brands that are looking to dip a toe or jump head first into the waters of emerging content.

Still, discipline is the key to success. That was my takeaway from a conversation I had yesterday with Michael Wayne, co-founder and CEO of DECA, an online-only entertainment company whose properties include Smosh, Momversation, Good Bite and others. Michael notes DECA’s success stems from being very analytical about which projects to greenlight. Key success criteria include how large the targeted audience is, how engaged they are (measured by things like blogging, Twittering, commenting), whether other media properties have succeeded with the audience and if there’s demonstrated advertiser interest.

Importantly, DECA looks hard for pre-existing online communities or “tribes” along with “tribal leaders” as Michael puts it - people who have emerged from the online rabble to become recognized leading voices in their vertical space. DECA tries to partner with these tribal leaders to build properties that have video at their core, but capitalize on all the publishing and interactive capabilities the web has to offer. Michael notes the need for all of this to be done on very lean, non-Hollywood budgets.

Momversation hit the vaunted 100th episode marker this week, and the A-list mommyblogger show continues to draw audiences not just as viewers but as active participants. Santa Monica-based DECA, the digital studio that created the web series, says this frequent community chatter was by design.

Shortly after it launched back last November, DECA was able to land retailer Target as an exclusive sponsor for the property, convincing them that their remote assembling of mommybloggers would bring together quite the audience of wired 25-45 year-old moms.

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.

Meanwhile, some of the studio efforts left in the field include… DECA, which is now focusing on video-focused vertical community sites like Momversation and others.

Content Captains: Developing new-media programming to remember

Michael Wayne
Co-founder, president and CEO, DECA

Wayne launched his first startup, an English-language magazine in Prague, right out of college in 1995. He then helped build music site Launch.com, which raised $80 million in 2001 and was later bought by Yahoo. And since 2007, he’s raised $15 million for his digital entertainment startup that nurtures “organically grown Internet stars.” So far, he’s built seven properties, including Smosh, a teen site that’s the third most-watched YouTube channel of all time; Momversation, videos and blogs by moms; and Project Lore, dedicated to the popular online game World of Warcraft. “There is this idea that talent is based in L.A,” he says. “We feel that Internet talent is all over the world.”

The player: Michael Wayne, co-founder and CEO of digital studio DECA.

The play: DECA is a digital studio that funds, markets and distributes digital shows. The company makes money via advertising support for its shows.

The pitch: DECA’s focus is on nurturing talent and personalities who are unique to the Web, Mr. Wayne said. In addition, DECA aims to bring brands early on into Web-centric content that they feel comfortable sponsoring. The company’s projects include Momversation, Project Lore and Smosh. These all have a Web ethos but are also brand-safe for many advertisers, Mr. Wayne said. DECA has stuck deals with brands including Activision, Bank of America, Blizzard, Falcon Northwest, IBM, Target, Verizon and Visa.

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.