At BuzzFeed’s NewFront event in NYC, CEO Jonah Peretti tossed out some impressive numbers. Firstly, BuzzFeed sees 7 billion monthly content views in 12 countries. Peretti also proudly informed attendees that 75 percent of all BuzzFeed content is consumed off of the publisher’s owned and operated sites and apps. Instead, content reaches consumers across more than 30 platforms, including Facebook (27% of monthly views) SnapChat (21%), and YouTube (14%). Most content, he said, is viewed on mobile. The message was clear: BuzzFeed isn’t a website, or a platform, but a global brand whose tendrils reach across the digital and social ecosystem.
BuzzFeed announced a few new projects, including The Try Kids, a spinoff series from BuzzFeed’s popular comedy troupe The Try Guys. Like their grownup mentors, the kiddos in The Try Kids will be filmed trying various experiences for the first time. (Admittedly, it’s easier to happen upon new experiences when you’re a toddler.) The company will also be debuting Broke, a 12-episode sitcom from Quinta Brunson, based on her experience of moving from Philadelphia to L.A. And popular BuzzFeed creator Ashley Perez will star in seasons two and three of You Do You, a comedic soap opera directed at female millennials.
BuzzFeed heavily emphasized its efforts in the branded content space, including an initiative with NBCU, which invested $200 million in the company last year. NBCU will help BuzzFeed to produce video content for brand partners. Frank Cooper III, a busy, busy man who doubles as both Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Content Officer, had a message for brands: BuzzFeed treats branded content with as much TLC as it treats its own content – because, actually, they’re one and the same. “We integrate your brands as a vital part of our own content,” he said. Among other branded partnerships, the company highlighted the video content it produced for Google Photos.
The presenters also highlighted the success of Tasty, BuzzFeed’s food vertical (360 million Facebook engagements each month), and emphasized the detailed data that BuzzFeed has collected about its audience.
Of course, absent from the presentation was any mention of an ugly Financial Times report (the veracity of which BuzzFeed has disputed) claiming that the company recently cut its 2016 revenue projections in half. One thing is clear: At a moment in time when some prospective brand partners may be a bit wary, BuzzFeed’s NewFront was an important opportunity to beam out optimism and calm some nerves. And it must be said that the company acquitted itself well.
