It’s not particularly crazy to say that Machinima is targeting itself at the coveted 18-34 male demographic. They state this outright in statements about their company. Given that fact, the online video distributor’s decision to hire former Red Bull Digital Marketing head Kevin Doohan as its new Executive Vice President and Director of Marketing, where he will attempt to use the same savvy he employed at Red Bull to continue Machinima’s reputation and one of the Internet’s leading video distributors.
With Red Bull, Doohan gained a lot of experience in gaming-related video, a focal point of much of Machinima’s content. He was able to launch two separate video game tournaments, Red Bull LAN and Red Bull Battlegrounds, both of which had robust online coverage. I’m sure Doohan’s team passed around plenty of gg’s after that success.
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Much of Doohan’s efforts at Red Bull were centered around extreme sports, another 18-34 hot spot and a common theme in the company’s advertising. The company’s Red Bull Rampage extreme racing event and their organization of regional Flugtag tournaments are particularly popular on YouTube. Doohan believes that his extreme sports marketing know-how can easily translate into the video game space:
I’m looking forward to applying techniques I have learned to build the “forward thinking” marketing model within Machinima. I see many similarities between video games today and action sports in the early days. What started out as a niche audience has grown into a much larger one with significant cultural influence and economic power. Gaming and the geek lifestyle are a force in pop culture. Machinima has the potential to become a powerful, global lifestyle brand. I look forward to realizing that potential with the team.
Machinima is a fast growing network that needs fast-paced social media to keep up the pace. In Doohan, the company may have found the perfect man to stand at the helm.
