YouTube BrandConnect
| Type of business | Private[1] |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
| Headquarters | Santa Monica, California[1] , United States |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Founder(s) | Agnes Kozera, and David Kierzkowski[1] |
| Industry | Influencer Marketing |
| Revenue | 36 million[2] |
| Employees | 11-50[1] |
| URL | www |
FameBit is an interactive entertainment company founded in 2013 and headquartered in Santa Monica, California with an additional office located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.[3]
The company develops and maintains a popular Influencer Marketing link sharing platform. As of 2016 the company has been a subsidiary of Google, grouped under their YouTube division.[4]
History
Early Beginnings
FameBit was formed in 2013 by high school friends Agnes Kozera, and David Kierzkowski. Kierzkowski had previously co-founded the digital marketing platform, TapClicks, but was wishing to create something more interactive.[5] He was approached by Kozera who was the founder of SeasonsBox, a subscription based gift delivery service, who had been able to perform the majority of her companies advertising through the use of social influencers.[6] The two combined their knowledge to develop FameBit, an interactive link sharing platform that allowed companies to post offers for influencers, and for influencers to search and apply.[7][8]
On September 16, 2013 FameBit received its first round of seed funding from venture companies “500 Startups” & “HighlineVC.”[9] Following their initial round of funding, Famebit was one of 4 companies invited to the New York Extreme Startups investor convention.[10]
In February 2014 FameBit was one of two Canadian based companies, out of over 1,000 applicants, accepted into “500 Startups” venture fund.[11] In September 2014 FameBit received 1.5million in additional seed funding from DeNA, Third Wave Digital, and Science Ventures.[12]
Growth & Success
By 2015 FameBit had signed up over 9,000 YouTubers, and had run over 1600 campaigns for more than 1200 brands. At the time the average subscriber count for a FameBit Influencer was 46,000.[13]
By the end of the 2015 that number had risen to 21,000 across 6 social media platforms (Vine, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, & YouTube)[14]
By 2016 FameBit had helped in the creation of over 25,000 branded videos, with and estimated 2 billion minutes of viewing time.[15]
Acquisition by YouTube
On October 11, 2016, Google acquires Famebit, for what was later disclosed to be 36 million dollars. At the time of purchase, FameBit claimed 50,000 registered users. Google planned to merge the platform within their YouTube division.[2] [16] [17]
Since being acquired by Google, FameBit has allowed marketers to retarget videos made on FameBit to viewers via Google's Ads.[18]
Business Model
Unlike other influencer platforms, FameBit is not subscription based, instead it is free to sign-up, and the company receives 10% of the transaction fees between Influencer & Brands.[19]
FameBit's basic business plan allows brands to post products, and have YouTube content creators to produce content advertising those products for a negotiable fee. FameBit refers to this business strategy as “The Bounty Model”[20]
Controversy
FameBit has been criticized by brands for allowing YouTubers to join without verifying their followers. FameBit has also been criticized by Content Creators for banning them from the platform due to brand disputes.[21]
Several employees have claimed that FameBit promotes a toxic work environment, with 3 out of 4 of their glass door reviews awarding the company 1 star.[22]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "FameBit AngelList Profile". angel.co.
- ^ a b "YouTube FameBit Branded Content Product Promotion". theverge.com.
- ^ "FameBit on CrunchBase". crunchbase.
- ^ "Google Acquires Famebit To Connect YouTube Creators With Brands". techcrunch.com.
- ^ "Starup Dreams Come True As FameBit Engineers Head To California". therecord.com.
- ^ "FameBit turns any business brand into a Youtube star". itbusiness.com.
- ^ "Bloomberg Profile on David Kierzkowski". bloomberg.
- ^ "Agnes Kozera on small budgets and big results". StreamDaily.
- ^ "Famebit Seed Funding Round". crunchbase.
- ^ "Extreme Startups Supercharges Founders Development, Evolves Into Three Integrated Programs". marketwired.
- ^ "2 CANADIAN TEAMS MAKE THE 500 STARTUPS CUT: FAMEBIT AND VENUESPOT". betakit.
- ^ "Famebit Second Round of Funding". crunchbase.
- ^ "FameBit's Long Tail Of Creators Grow To More Than 9k YouTubers". techcrunch.com.
- ^ "FameBit Banks On The Little Guy". streamdaily.com.
- ^ "Google Acquires FameBit". variety.com.
- ^ "Startup Dreams Come True As Famebit Engineers Head To California". therecord.com.
- ^ "Publishers Acquiring Marketing Agencies Surge". adage.com.
- ^ "YouTube's FameBit New Sales Boss Expanded Platform Post". marketingland.com.
- ^ "FameBit Overview". influencermarketinghub.com.
- ^ "YouTube's Marketing And Content Platform Nets Startups Millions". techcrunch.
- ^ "Famebit Seedy Underbelly Influencer Marketing Tale". linkedin.com.
- ^ "FameBit Glassdoor Profile". glassdoor.com.