Machinima, like many other brands within the digital gaming community, is bullish on e-sports, and it wants to make sure its brand partners share its excitement. During its presentation at the NewFronts, it announced Mach-1, an “in-house gaming agency” that will guide brand partners through the burgeoning e-sports landscape.
Mach-1 is Machinima’s response to the fact that many of the people in charge of ad media accounts may not be familiar with the e-sports community, the creators who cater to it, and the viewers who consume its videos. By leveraging its own expertise in that space (the company has stood as one of the Internet’s preeminent gaming networks since its 2000 inception), Machinima can tell its brand partners “the exact kind of content” they should advertise on, according to CEO Chad Gutstein.
The self-proclaimed “many2many” network began dishing out that advice at its NewFronts event, where it held an educational panel about the growth of e-sports. Among the panelists were Activision Blizzard EVP Mike Sepso, ESL CEO Craig Levine, and e-sports commentator Alex Rodriguez (no, not that one), who will host an upcoming Machinima series called Inside eSports. The key takeaway: The global e-sports market is growing, and it currently totals more than $910 million.
Beyond Mach-1, Machinima also announced Machinima Preferred Media Solutions, a service that will help users find the right segment of gaming and fan culture YouTube channels to match their personal advertising needs. As Gutstein puts it, “e-sports is everywhere,” and his team is best equipped to serve as adept navigators.
Google Preferred, the program that lets brands and agencies run ads on the best-performing channels on YouTube, will now extend to trending videos at well. At its yearly Brandcast, which occurred during the fourth night of NewFronts, YouTube announced Google Preferred Breakout Videos, which will make up-and-coming viral hits available within the Preferred marketplace.
Breakout Videos will identify trending content on the world’s most popular video site and allow advertisers to run their messages before those videos. It’s not the only new feature coming to Preferred. YouTube also announced that its Preferred inventory will be available through the DoubleClick Bid Manager, thus allowing brands and agencies to unite their video campaigns. In addition, Brandcast host Lilly Singh chatted with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who announced that his company’s basketball videos are now available through Preferred.
“We firmly believe that the businesses that will be the most popular globally tomorrow are those that are the most popular on social media today,” said Silver. “And we’re confident that our partnership with YouTube is going to keep boosting our popularity well into the future.”
Another one of Brandcast’s guests was Big Bird, who took the stage to discuss Sesame Street’s ongoing commitment to YouTube. The iconic children’s program will launch a new channel called Sesame Studios, on which it will release a new suite of web videos, collaborate with YouTube stars like Todrick Hall, and bring new content to the YouTube Kids app.
More information about this year’s Brandcast is available via the YouTube blog.
Huang, who makes music with unique objects like balloons, tires, and other household items, will work with Fullscreen’s live touring division, the company told Tubefilter. Stammer will also pursue live event opportunities with Fullscreen. The 21-year-old fashion and beauty guru counts 2.2 million subscribers on her YouTube channel and was part of Fullscreen’s Girls Night In tour last year.
Cristman, who has worked as a fashion correspondent for E! and also runs a blog in addition to her burgeoning YouTube channel, will aim to expand her presence across digital and traditional entertainment. She will also continue to forge partnerships with fashion and home decor brands.
Beveridge and Scott are a couple who got their start on Tumblr. Fullscreen will partner with their channels, NowThisIsLiving and Scott’s eponymous Cammie Scott, to explore collaborations, brand integrations, and merchandising opportunities.
Finally, 17-year-old Neels Visser started his career as a model and initially built his presence on Facebook and Instagram. He aspires to work in fashion and music, and is also a noted philanthropist, having collaborated with the Thirst Project.
Fullscreen is home to bold-faced creators like Grace Helbig, The Fine Brothers, Andrea Russett, and Jack and Jack. In March, the company signedKingsley, Teala Dunn, Catrific, TipsyBartender, and Jay Alvarrez. “With an arsenal of services to support our creators,” said Fullscreen’s SVP of talent, Beau Bryant, “we are thrilled to welcome these influencers to the network.”
In a nine-minute-long sketch last month, Nash Grier announced he was relaunching his YouTube channel. “After a lot of soul-searching,” he said in the clip, which alluded to a new creative direction and more polished approach, “I want to tell stories that exploit the truth — that use the highest quality cinematic filmmaking … I want comedy, I want action, I want thrill, I want drama, fantasy, romance — I want a damn silent film. I want it all.”
Now, it looks like the tides are turning. The 18-year-old influencer is set to collaborate with 25-year-old filmmaker Jonah Feingold to create a five-episode scripted series on his channel, debuting in June. Titled Confessions Of A Teenage Cupid, Grier will play a high school student who acquires magical powers on prom night in the vein of cupid — the mythological god of desire. The comedy series will reportedly explore modern dating tropes and notions surrounding first love.
Each of the five-minute episodes will feature guest appearances by Grier’s social influencer friends from YouTube and Vine.
Feingold, a USC grad and alum of Buzzfeed’s Producer Fellowship Program, has created work for CNN’s Great Big Story, Elite Daily, and Refinery29. He is repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
Grier, who is repped by UTA and Legacy Talent and Entertainment, recently joined the Awesomeness Films feature You Get Me — a thriller about two women competing for the same man. He is also set to headline DigiTour’s first tour in Central and South America, The Wave, which kicks off on May 11.
The ICON Network is setting some goals for its viewers. The digital destination, founded in 2015 by YouTube beauty queen Michelle Phan and digital network Endemol Beyond, will be the home of #LifestyleGoals, a series that will follow three YouTubers around LA for a weekend while examining the work that goes into their respective channels. Subway will be the show’s official sponsor.
The three stars of #LifestyleGoals will be Promise Phan, NataliesOutlet, and SofiaStyled, all of whom are well-established on social media. Across eight episodes, they will collaborate among themselves while looping in nail artists, dancers, vloggers, and other creative friends. Along the way, they hope to reveal their lives behind the camera. They will also eat a lot of Subway sandwiches.
“In the ever-changing landscape of digital, we’ve come to know and love the authenticity of creators,” said Bonnie Pan, President of Endemol Shine Beyond USA, in a press release. “We’re thrilled to have the Subway brand join us on this unique series, where we move past what you see on screen and take fans on a journey, into the real lives of these digital influencers as they explore a new environment and build new relationships through collaboration.”
The press release did not share a release date for individual episodes, but when they arrive, they will be available across ICON’s distribution network, as well as on the respective YouTube channels of #LifestyleGoals’ three stars.
Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments of YouTube Millionaires here.
This installment of YouTube Millionaires is brought to you by Epoxy.
If you want to watch fearless individuals as they dive off bridges, leap over cars, hit insane trick shots, and pull off whatever other audacious stunts come to mind, People Are Awesome should be your next destination. The channel is known for its regular compilations, which collect user-generated videos and assemble them into exhilarating montages. The People Are Awesome brand has stood out since posting its first compilation in 2014, but it truly took off after it was acquired by Jukin Media in September 2015. Since then, it has accelerated its audience, and it recently passed one million subscribers. To celebrate that milestone, we talked to the channel’s founders, Dan Rice and Jean Coffey.
Tubefilter: How does it feel to hit one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?
People Are Awesome: It’s great! It’s a huge milestone and happened so incredibly fast. We’re super grateful to our fans for watching and sharing our videos. It’s exciting to have built a huge community of people that want to see positive and inspiring content that celebrates human ability and ambition.
TF: The word “awesome” gets a lot of use these days. What qualities would you say make a video “awesome”?
PAA: People are Awesome is all about showcasing ordinary people doing extraordinary things. By “extraordinary things,” we mean any amazing physical talent, from extreme sports to trick shots to circus arts to displays of physical fitness. The people we feature in our videos are not professional athletes, they are everyday people who are pushing themselves to achieve incredible things, simply for the love of it. An ‘awesome’ clip is really anything that makes us say ‘wow’ and want to share it with the world.
TF: How do you find the clips to include in your videos?
PAA: We get a lot of great submissions through our website. In addition to that, we spend a lot of time searching YouTube to uncover hidden gems. We want to feature people who have incredible talent but haven’t had a lot of views on their own videos yet; featuring them in our compilations can help promote them and drive traffic to their own channel.
TF: Do you field a lot of submissions that don’t make the cut? What are some of the common reasons why clips don’t fit into People Are Awesome montages?
PAA: The standard of the submissions is actually really high! We sometimes have to reject clips because the actual video quality is poor (please shoot horizontally!) but more often than not the the tricks are great.
TF: What about your music choices? Where do you source those from?
PAA: We’re lucky enough to have built a reputation for working with great new music from big acts, so now we have major artists, labels and managers pitching us music for partnerships. In just the past few months we have helped launch new music from bands like Bloc Party, Wolfmother, Band of Skulls, and Digitalism. We love being part an artist’s single release campaign helping to promote their music to our global audience. We also follow some great specialist radio shows and blogs for new artists.
TF: Why do you think the list format works well with your channel?
PAA: The compilations work well because they showcase a huge amount of content in a very short space of time. They’re extremely engaging because there is no filler, it’s just back to back amazing tricks.
TF: How do you decide which people to “introduce” on the People Are Awesome channel?
PAA: Sometimes we come across athletes who have so much great content we can’t just choose a single clip to feature in a compilation, so we’ll feature them in a full length video of their own. We’ll work with them to create a showcase of their talents and tell the story of how they developed their skills.
TF: How has the People Are Awesome brand been tied into other Jukin Media properties?
PAA: We work really closely with the teams on FailArmy, JukinVideo, and The Pet Collective to collaborate and share ideas. There are super talented teams behind all those brands and we’ve learned a lot from them.
Last year we edited some of our favorite People are Awesome clips together into a compilation for the “FailArmy Presents” series. They featured the video on their channel and it drove 20,000 new subscribers to People are Awesome in 24 hours. There’s a natural crossover between the two brands; we like to think of ourselves as the Yin and Yang of the Internet! Of course, you can’t achieve something awesome without failing many times along the way, so it’s fun to watch both.
Next month we’re collaborating with The Pet Collective to create a Pets are Awesome compilation, featuring animals doing extreme sports like skateboarding and surfing.
TF: What’s next for the channel? Any fun plans?
PAA: We’ll soon be increasing the amount of compilations we release to include “Best of the Week” compilations alongside our current “Best of the Month” series. We’re also developing several new formats focused on our talented creators, and launching amazing new music from high profile artists. You might also see People Are Awesome on some new video platforms, which is really exciting for us. Our fanbase is growing really quickly, so we just want to make sure to provide enough high-quality content on as many platforms as possible.
This installment of YouTube Millionaires is brought to you by Epoxy.
This installment of YouTube Millionaires is brought to you by Epoxy, the premier company that helps multi-platform creators and digital networks distribute videos, engage with fans, measure success, and grow their communities across the social web. Check out Epoxy’s new Sharing Studio, a place for quickly creating and distributing native social content from your YouTube channels.
[Editor’s Note: The Confessional is an ongoing interview series from Brendan Gahan in which he talks to influencers, brands, marketers, agencies and Multi-Channel Network executives to get honest, no-bullshit opinions on working in the digital media industry. The anonymity is essential so that each interviewee can be as candid and forthright as possible. We’ll hear their biggest gripes, toughest lessons, and most valuable advice. The setup leads to some surprisingly frank and sincere points of view. You can read more installments of The Confessionalright here on Tubefilter and here on Brendan’s personal blog.]
My latest installment of The Confessional is with a senior advertising agency executive who’s worked on the media and strategy side of the business for over a decade. In this extensive interview, we discussed how the new media ecosystem has evolved, how much advertisers have (and have not) adapted to working with digital influencers, as well as the NewFronts and its role in influencing the flow of advertising dollars.
Here are some of the major points we covered in bullet form:
How the ecosystem has changed over the years.
The best ways for advertisers to work with creators.
The role of the Digital Content NewFronts and YouTube’s Brandcast in digital advertising.
(Editor’s Note: The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. It also contains some expletives.)
Brendan Gahan: How has the digital entertainment space changed since you started nearly a decade ago?
Anonymous Advertising Executive: The biggest change is probably the money. I remember when I first got started it was hard to get clients on board with the idea of even paying YouTubers to create content around their brands. Everything was so siloed back then. And more often than not, clients thought of YouTubers as PR and PR should be free.
It was really fucking dumb. Brands would pay millions of dollars in production and media for an agency to create content, but wouldn’t spend any money at all on a YouTuber who could create the content and actually had a massive audience that could watch it, too.
BG: Do you feel like the process of working with YouTubers is more defined today?
AAE: It’s getting better. It’s certainly a lot more accepted to work with YouTubers, Viners, Instagrammers, etc. than it was even a year or two ago. That said, I think a lot of the agencies, creatives in particular, look down upon a lot of the influencers. There’s a certain arrogance that a lot of agencies have when it comes to anything involving creative.
But regarding how to work with creators, it’s not really defined. Anyone can work with them any number of ways. The media agencies sometimes do ad buys and sell through branded content done by influencers as part of the package. Creative agencies and PR agencies sometimes carve out this space as being part of their domain. It’s not uncommon for brands to have direct relationships with influencers, too.
Also, the way to reach creators to work with them is a clusterfuck. You have MCN’s, talent managers, traditional talent agencies, and the creators themselves all negotiating deals. There’s a huge dog pile that creates a lot of confusion.
BG: In your experience, what’s the best way to work with creators?
AAE: It depends. There are some great mediators out there who really add value – whether that be a talent manager, MCN account manager, or whoever. It really varies from person to person and influencer to influencer. However, it never hurts to have at least some access to the source – the creator. That allows you to have a better feel for who you’re working with and what they are and are not receptive to.
BG: The NewFronts are this week. As an advertiser, what’s your take on that?
AAE: The NewFronts is the ultimate industry circle jerk. Upfronts was something created from the Mad Men era when there was limited ad inventory and you had to work with people face to face. None of that is relevant today.
I can buy media cheaper by NOT dealing with the publishers than I can by dealing with them directly. It’s insane. There’s more inventory than anyone knows what to do with. Why are we, as advertisers, paying a premium? That premium goes to pay for salespeople, bloated organizations and events like those held at the NewFronts.
As a vendor, I totally understand why you’d do the NewFronts. However, brands and their media agencies should be smarter, but they’re not. Why should they be? They can go and be wined and dined by potential partners and then spend the brand’s money. There’s no real accountability to work harder and smarter within a lot of these organizations. In fact, if anything a lot of them are so rigid in their processes you’re better off career wise to play it safe and not stick your neck out to try something new or against the herd.
BG: What about YouTube’s Brandcast?
AAE: Brandcast is really more of the same. I’d say they do a better job than most in putting on a show and providing tangible insights to help convince advertisers to shift more dollars to YouTube, so in that sense it’s good.
However, typically, YouTube is trying to dumb down their offerings for their audience. Once again, I’m not blaming them or the publishers. They’re all REALLY smart to continue to do these events. It’s the brands and media agencies that are dragging their feet that make these events necessary.
The platforms and the publishers have to bend over backwards to work with advertisers in ridiculous ways. Want to get more brands to buy on YouTube? Sell it like TV! They did that with Google Preferred. How fucking insane is that? YouTube needed to make things more complicated and inefficient in order to help pull these decision makers at advertising agencies into the 21st century. Fucking drives me nuts.
BG: What’s your take on all the attention and ad dollars that have gone into promoting the creators over the years?
AAE: Once again, it’s taking an old school approach and applying it to this new medium. Want to get advertisers to invest in branded content with YouTube stars? Put them on a billboard! That’s kind of crazy when you think about it. The fact that they were reaching 10 million people wasn’t enough?!? Fuck. Do you not do any research whatsoever about the media habits of your target audience?
BG: Any parting thoughts?
AAE: Everyone follows the money. If brands evolved and really changed their processes and how they chose to work with creators and agencies this could be a much more exciting industry than it is today.
Today, it’s hard to push innovative work through. I don’t think it should be easy, but I don’t think it should be this hard.
So much of this industry is based on legacy relationships and old school ways of working. These major brands are going to disappear in a few years if they can’t adapt. I genuinely believe that Fortune 500 companies will disappear if they can’t change the way they spend their ad dollars. TV isn’t impactful enough. You’ve got upstarts spending pennies on the dollar in digital to get way more impact. Brands need to stay hungry and adapt if they want to survive the next few decades.
Brendan Gahan is Founder of EpicSignal, a social media agency which works with Fortune 500 brands with their YouTube influencer and community building campaigns. He was named Forbes 30 Under 30 in Marketing & Advertising. To read additional interviews with creators, MCN executives, and marketers – like this one from Ad Agency Executive or this one from an MCN Vice President – take a look at Brendan Gahan’s blog right here.
Ahead of its Brandcast presentation this evening (which will be hosted by top creator Lilly Singh), YouTube has released a brand new trailer touting the original series that have already debuted on its subscription service YouTube Red, as well as a handful of shows to come.
The action-packed clip teases two series set to premiere later this month: Sing It, an American Idol spoof from The Fine Brothers, and Bad Internet from IAC-owned CollegeHumor that’s described as “10 darkly comedic stories about technology and the Internet failing in surprising ways.” Bad Internet will feature a rotating cast of YouTube stars including iJustine, Rosanna Pansino, and Smosh. Both projects arrive on Wednesday, May 25.
The trailer also features the first glimpse of two as-yet-unseen YouTube Red projects: MatPat’s Game Lab and Escape the Night with Joey Graceffa. Matthew Patrick of the popular YouTube channel The Game Theorists will a host a forthcoming 360-degree virtual reality show that explores the real-life science behind popular video game scenarios. Graceffa’s reality adventure series will bring together an ensemble cast of top YouTubers for a murder mystery.
Also featured in the teaser are clips from YouTube Red’s current slate, which includes AwesomenessTV’s Foursomeand Dance Camp; Prank Academy starring Jeana Smith and Jesse Wellens; ScarePewDiePie; Rooster Teeth’s Lazer Team; and Singh’s documentary A Trip To Unicorn Island.
Last October, CNN funded Great Big Story (GBS), a video platform that offers curious video pieces to the viewers that visit it across its distribution network. At the time, GBS drew a lot of comparisons to Vice, and now, just like Vice, it is headed to TV. At its NewFronts presentation, CNN President Jeff Zucker announced GBS’ first two TV programs.
As Zucker tells it, GBS has been well-positioned to jump to TV since its launch, thanks to the backing it receives from CNN and Turner. The first place where GBS will make its jump is on The Weather Channel, where it will launch a show called That’s Amazing. Across eight hour-long episodes, GBS’ producers will discuss surprising and unusual natural phenomena. In addition to that program, GBS is also planning The Great Big Show, which will present its digital content on terrestrial stations. The specific partner channel for that program has not yet been announced.
At its heart, though, GBS is still a digital network first and foremost, and while it expands to TV, it will also produce plenty of new web content. It will bring the wisdom of Willie Nelson to a new audience with Hey Willie, will discover Hidden Gems alongside Chris Funk of The Decemberists, and launch its first VR original program with a travel show called Take Me There.
These programs, combined with the other narrative content GBS will produce, will help the company build on the success it has already seen in its first six months. According to Zucker, GBS now gets 40 million video views per month.
Time Inc. is going over-the-top. At its NewFronts presentation, the publishing company announced a new venture called the People/Entertainment Weekly Network, which will bring content from its two titular brands to OTT devices and other digital platforms.
When it launches in the fall, the People/Entertainment Weekly Network is expected to carry more than 100 hours of original content, with new videos added to that total each day. The network’s offerings will blend live coverage, short-form pieces, and long-form content, and Time Inc. believes that a combination of those formats will lead to a superlative library. “Very few companies can master all three,” said Time Inc. President of Video Rich Battista of his team’s triple threat.
Like most other NewFronts presenters, Time Inc. used its pitch to unveil a number of original programs it plans to release in the coming year. The publisher’s slate includes an animated short film about Kobe Bryant, which will be distributed by Sports Illustrated; an interview series hosted by People/EW editorial director Jess Cagle; and a Southern Living program hosted by Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter of President George W. Bush. Details about Time Inc.’s full NewFronts slate is available over at Variety.
As Yahoo’s board continues to weigh a potential sale, one of the centerpieces of the tech giant’s media strategy — global news anchor Katie Couric — is said to be distancing herself from the company as she considers next steps.
Couric will reportedly wait to see who acquires beleaguered Yahoo before making any moves, according to Page Six. That said, Couric — as well as key hires in Yahoo’s tech and style divisions, David Pogue and Joe Zee — reportedly have gripes with the discoverability of their content as well as the company’s lack of advertising to promote programming.
Page Six also notes that Couric has not attended several high-profile Yahoo events of late — including the company’s drastically scaled-back NewFront presentation yesterday. While Couric was featured at Yahoo’s splashy 2015 event at Lincoln Center, this year she was absent due to the Los Angeles premiere of her Sandy Hook documentary Under the Gun.
For its part, Yahoo said it looks forward to continued work with Couric after renewing two series featuring the long-revered anchor — The Katie Couric Interview and Cities Rising, which is focused on urban renewal across the country. All told, Yahoo says Couric’s interviews have racked up over 397 million views throughout her two-and-a-half year tenure.
“I’m very proud of our incredible team and how they are producing consistently high-quality content on a daily basis, despite the uncertainty,” Couric told Page Six.
The Hearst Corporation, like fellow magazine publishing conglomerates Conde Nast and Time Inc., is keeping up with shifting entertainment paradigms by investing in digital content. Among other platforms, Hearst has big plans for Facebook, where it plans to launch 200 live broadcasts per month.
Hearst’s Facebook streams will be spread across its proprietary publications. Esquire, for example, will host a hybrid game show/interview series called Who’s That Guy?, which will examine the fashion and style of notable men while also sitting down with them. Cosmopolitan, for its own part, will distribute Facebook Live content related to Magic Mike Live, an upcoming stage show inspired by the Channing Tatum film Magic Mike. Tatum himself showed up at Hearst’s NewFronts presentation, where the corporation pitched its upcoming programs on Facebook and elsewhere.
While it is eager about newly-emerging platforms, Hearst is also sticking with some tried-and-true distribution methods. It announced a development fund alongside A+E Networks, and according to Hearst Magazines Digital Media President Troy Young, projects supported by that fund will have “high potential for linear distribution.”
Absent from Hearst’s presentation were details on RatedRed.com and Seriously.TV, the two millennial-facing destinations formed out of a partnership between Hearst and Verizon. Both of those sites launched earlier this year, but the unit that oversees them is separate from the Hearst Magazines Digital Media team that ran the corporation’s NewFronts event.
Here, via a Hearst press release, are details on the programs it introduced during NewFronts:
Magic Mike Live + Cosmopolitan – An exclusive, year-long content partnership between Cosmopolitan.com and Channing Tatum’s new live show at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas that brings the box office smash Magic Mike to life. Expect multiple video series, articles, galleries, Facebook Live broadcasts, virtual reality, Snapchat takeovers, Instagrams, quizzes and more.
WhoHaHa + Cosmopolitan – Actress/director/producer Elizabeth Banks brings her new women’s comedy site WhoHaHa.com into partnership with Cosmopolitan.com to create an original female-centric comedy series that will be distributed across both platforms.
All In – Want to know what it’s like to audition to be a Jets cheerleader? To try out for The New York City Ballet? The Olympics? The opera? Each episode will follow one woman who, after years of dedication and preparation, gets the chance to make her dream a reality. Viewers will go behind the scenes as she puts it all on the line in what could be a life-changing moment. From Triple Threat TV, producer of MTV’s True Life and more ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries than any other entity.
SnapHacks – Exclusively on Cosmopolitan’s Snapchat Discover, this tip show delivers 10-second hacks across beauty, fashion, food and fitness to make life easier, more creative and hassle-free for the Snapchat audience.
Beautiful Nights – On special nights, the right makeup is as important as the right outfit. In this new beauty series, Cosmopolitan.com inspires viewers to create their own sexy, sultry, sophisticated looks.
Show Day – What’s a pop star’s life really like? This new series from Hearst and Sony Music takes an exclusive look inside the crazy, hectic world of a performer on the day of a big show. Each episode will follow a different Sony Music artist from sunrise to stage as they hit a new city and navigate through the interviews, fittings, rehearsals, sound checks, mishaps, laughs, rituals and more, leading up to the transformational moment when they grab the mic and take the stage.
How Do I Wear That? – The latest looks from the runway can be incredibly intimidating, or feel ridiculously out of reach for real women with limited funds. In this smart, service-oriented series, stylist Celia Lee Roach shows viewers exactly how to wear today’s trendiest looks.
My Turn – Every day, ELLE.com features the stories of inspiring, powerful women who break boundaries and lead change. In this new signature video series, these amazing women share the one life-changing moment when they found their voices and inner strength, and the profound lessons it taught them.
How to Be a Man with Frank Kobola – After years working at Cosmopolitan.com, average-guy Frank Kobola is on a mission to reclaim his manhood. Each episode follows Frank in a ridiculous attempt to master the “manliest” of tasks, from chopping down a tree and changing a tire, to drifting cars and day-trading. Frank quickly learns that “being a man” isn’t as easy as it looks. Luckily for us, he’s just as hilariously hapless at Esquire.com as he was at Cosmopolitan.
Manhood – A first-of-its-kind documentary series that gets real men talking about their aspirations, insecurities, confusion and conflicts; the moments of doubt and moments of clarity that define them as men. With a raw, unfiltered look at the changing definition of manhood and the lives of men, the series and companion content across Esquire.com will spark conversation about fatherhood, careers, relationships, regret, optimism, pride, identity and more.
Who’s That Guy? – Esquire’s Editor-in-Chief, Jay Fielden, stars in this Facebook Live series where interactive game show meets style-packed talk show. Launching this summer, each episode will feature Fielden and a well-known guest, along with Esquire’s Facebook audience, playing a guessing game that combines celebrity, humor, and fashion in a way that only Esquire can.
The Younger Games – Beauty may be skin-deep and aging inevitable, but that doesn’t stop our quest to find the fountain of youth. From cold lasers to lunchtime facelifts, this series follows host Kelly Deadmon on her mission to turn back the clock, one doctor’s visit at a time.
BAZAAR Unbridaled – Brides today often feel trapped by tradition, bogged down by outdated fairy tales and overwhelmed by too many Pinterest boards. And while sweetheart necklines and Cinderella skirts work well in the movies, if you really want to turn heads as you walk down the aisle, you’ve got to find a modern style that’s all your own. In this series, HarpersBazaar.com and stylist Anita Patrickson help brides-to-be find a wedding-day look that is anything but basic.
SWEET
The Sweet Guide to Living a Better Life – Did you know you can learn basic calligraphy in a few hours? Have you ever held a sloth? Should you go to Tallinn, Estonia? (Yes, you should.) In this new series, exclusive to Snapchat Discover, Sweet suggests daily horizon-expanding, joy-inducing ways to unplug, explore, and live passionately.
Brendan Gahan is Founder of 
