Break Media: New Audience, New Era

Situation

  • Break.com recognized as a humorous online entertainment experience for men aged 18-34
  • Business model morphing into an ad network specializing in the young, male demographic
  • Low advertiser/brand awareness and credibility of Break.com as viable advertising outlet

Strategy

  • Create awareness and preference among advertisers and premium content creators as the destination to reach men aged 18-34
  • Differentiate from other ad networks and position the company as THE leader for online entertainment for men
  • Demonstrate advertiser value to drive increased ad revenue from nationally recognized brands

Tactics

  • Develop new corporate messaging to reinforce Break Media's unrivalled ability to connect advertisers with coveted 18-34-year-old male demographic
  • Re-launch Break.com as Break Media, the holding company of Break.com, Cage Potato, Chickipedia, Holy Taco and Wall Street Fighter, and ad network to 60-plus relevant sites
  • Highlight breadth, depth and scalability of media buy through Break Media
  • Introduce Break Media business model to key industry influencers via influencer tour and online communications vehicles to drive validation
  • Make big splash and introduce Break Media value proposition to advertising/business community through national media tour and digital media outreach

Results

  • Secured 15 in-person media briefings with top-tier ad media including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Advertising Age, AdWeek, MediaWeek and MediaPost; garnered a dozen unique articles in top-tier ad and business press and forged valuable media relationships resulting in coverage in industry trend stories
  • Added more than 25 new customers since launch, including leading brands such as Hershey's, AMP, Schick, Denny's, T-Mobile, Sprite and Full-Throttle
  • Secured 30 new premium content deals since launch, further establishing the company as a destination for all forms of content for men
  • Average advertising buys tripled in size compared to prior year
  • Revenue increased overall by 200% from Q2'07 to Q2'08
  • Since launch, Keith Richman, CEO, recognized by AlwaysOn and Hollywood Reporter as a technology leader in the entertainment industry