Six-month-old Revolt’s Upfront bash was like no other. “That Millennial s*** is whack,” music net founder Sean Combs told the packed house at NYC’s Marquee Tuesday Night. “No one likes to be called that. I’m coming up with a new name.” Combs did come up with a new name for the Upfront: Omni-front, to describe the brand’s diverse multi-platform content.
The music mogul’s pitch to advertisers: Join the party. “I’m telling you we’re going to be available in over a billion devices in five years,” said Combs. Execs including CEO Keith Clinkscales, who boasted of “an impressive slate of new brand initiatives that underscore our commitment to being the most accessible name in music on every platform,” president and co-founder Andy Schuon, EVP programming and production Val Boreland all made the case for a brand that understands the “festival generation.”
VP of audience insights Jake Katz unveiled a “Road to Truth” study, which found Millennials place value on brands that have a point of view, take risks and project irreverence. The big announcement of the night was a new, free Revolt app for iOS and Android devices. “We are living our own audience insights by releasing our app early,” said Katz. “By putting the unfinished product in the hands of our audience, we will be able to build its design to be radically intuitive based on their feedback, but more importantly let the early fans champion it into the culture.”
The night featured net talent including DJ Damage and Sibley, and performances by Childish Gambino and Dillon Francis.
